- Feb 5, 2002
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Benedictine monks in New Mexico have accused their abbot of homosexual predation, sexual harassment, sexual grooming, medical neglect, elder abuse, retribution, abuse of power, and financial malfeasance.
Several monks of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert (MCID) near Santa Fe have alleged in official complaints filed with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Consecrated Life in Rome that Abbot Christian Leisy, O.S.B.—elected Abbot of MCID in 2018—is guilty of numerous counts of sexual abuse and abuse of power, several instances of which could result in criminal charges.
These allegations, made in sworn affidavits, were sent to the Lepanto Institute by friends of the victims after Rome sat on the case for several years. Whistleblowers hope that media attention will break the pattern of ecclesiastical cover-up and help secure justice for the victims of Abbot Christian’s abuse. Several of the monks intend to seek civil recourse and protection after having been apparently stonewalled by ecclesiastical authorities both within the Benedictine Order and inside the Vatican.
Lepanto has obtained copies of signed and notarized written affidavits, as well as hundreds of pages of documentation submitted to ecclesiastical authorities, together with first-hand oral testimony from many members of Christ in the Desert Abbey, both current and former monks, corroborating the allegations included in this report.
Background
Continued below.
Several monks of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert (MCID) near Santa Fe have alleged in official complaints filed with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Consecrated Life in Rome that Abbot Christian Leisy, O.S.B.—elected Abbot of MCID in 2018—is guilty of numerous counts of sexual abuse and abuse of power, several instances of which could result in criminal charges.
These allegations, made in sworn affidavits, were sent to the Lepanto Institute by friends of the victims after Rome sat on the case for several years. Whistleblowers hope that media attention will break the pattern of ecclesiastical cover-up and help secure justice for the victims of Abbot Christian’s abuse. Several of the monks intend to seek civil recourse and protection after having been apparently stonewalled by ecclesiastical authorities both within the Benedictine Order and inside the Vatican.
Lepanto has obtained copies of signed and notarized written affidavits, as well as hundreds of pages of documentation submitted to ecclesiastical authorities, together with first-hand oral testimony from many members of Christ in the Desert Abbey, both current and former monks, corroborating the allegations included in this report.
Background
Continued below.
