November 16, 2011Bishop Katharine's statement answers many questions, and I'm grateful for her words. I only wish her statement had been released earlier.
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has issued the following statement concerning Bede Parry.
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Bede James Parry was serving as organist and music director at All Saints Church, Las Vegas, when I became aware of him. His arrival preceded my own in the Diocese of Nevada.
He approached me to inquire about being received as a priest, having served as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. At the time, he told me of being dismissed from the monastery in 1987 for a sexual encounter with an older teenager, and indicated that it was a single incident of very poor judgment. The incident was reported to civil authorities, who did not charge him. He told of being sent to a facility in New Mexico, serving as a priest thereafter both in New Mexico and in Nevada, and recently (2002) being asked to formalize his separation from the monastery.
In consultation with other diocesan leadership and the chancellor, we explored the possibilities and liabilities of receiving him. I wrote to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas and the Diocese of Santa Fe, receiving brief responses from each bishop, who indicated no problematic behavior. I wrote to Conception Abbey, from whom I received only an acknowledgement that he had served there, been sent for treatment to a facility in New Mexico, and had been dismissed for this incident of misconduct. Neither then nor later did I receive a copy of any report of a psychological examination in connection with his service in the Roman Catholic Church. His departure from the Roman Catholic priesthood had to do with his desire to take up secular employment.
Parry was required to fulfill all the expectations of the canons regarding reception of a priest from another communion in historic succession. He did undergo a psychological exam in the Diocese of Nevada, was forthcoming about the incident he had reported to me, and did not receive a negative evaluation. His background check showed no more than what he had already told us. He was forthcoming about the previous incident in his interviews with the Commission on Ministry and with the Standing Committee.
I made the decision to receive him, believing that he demonstrated repentance and amendment of life and that his current state did not represent a bar to his reception. I was clear that his ministry would be limited to an assisting role, under the supervision of another priest, and like any other diocesan leader, he would not be permitted to work alone with children. Since that time, as far as I am aware, he has served faithfully and effectively as a minister of the gospel and priest of this Church.
The records of his reception are retained by the Diocese of Nevada, and further questions should be directed to Bishop Dan Edwards.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
What's missing and what I'd like to have seen in the letter is an offer to make amends to anyone who has experienced abuse from Bede Parry or anyone serving in the Episcopal Church and an invitation to them to step forward with their stories, along with an assurance of confidentiality and compassionate treatment from the church. As I see it, Bishop Katharine missed an opportunity to reinforce the message that all accusations of abuse will be taken seriously by the Episcopal Church.
Was Bede Parry not permitted to work with children at all, or was he under only the ordinary constraints of any adult member of the church not to work alone with children?
Bishop Dan Edwards' letter states:
Nonetheless, the bishop added the restriction that he should not have contact with minors.I believe in forgiveness and redemption, and Bede Parry should have been welcomed into the church, but I still wonder why he was admitted to the priesthood. I don't doubt Bishop Katharine's intentions to do a good thing, but the policy on abuse of minors should be 'one strike, and you're out', and Parry had his one strike.
H/T to Kurt Wiesner at The Lead.
