Abbey Pledges Cooperation with Any Sex Abuse Investigation

Associated Press
July 19, 2018

https://wtop.com/national/2018/07/abbey-pledges-cooperation-with-any-sex-abuse-investigation/

A Massachusetts monastery being sued by a man who says he was sexually assaulted by a monk as a child says it cooperated fully with a police investigation into the allegations and will continue to cooperate.

Saint Benedict Abbey in Harvard says its monks are “committed to the safety and well-being of others and the protection of all children.”

The lawsuit against the Roman Catholic monastery and Abbot Francis Xavier Connelly alleges that Connelly failed to tell the alleged victim that Brother Joseph Martin admitted abuse to police in 2013. It also alleges the monastery withdrew an offer to pay for the victim’s mental health treatment. Martin has since died.

The abbey says the alleged abuse occurred prior to its founding.

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