Frequently Asked Questions ABOUT OUR LIST

Even as our Abbey has made extraordinary progress over the past twenty years with cultivating a safe enviroment, we realized it was simply not enough. The sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in 2002 has resurfaced. The people of God, rightly so, are demanding accountability, transparency and oversight for any organization that works with children or vulnerable adults. We are using our website to provide the most up-to-date information on our work for fostering a safe environment at Subiaco. While we cannot change what happened in the past, we can recommit ourselves to ensuring the safety and care of all children and vulnerable adults TODAY at Subiaco. So, these webpages are meant to give the most timely information in our ongoing efforts. 

The Office of Child Protection is fulfilling the third standard assigned by the Abbot and Monastic Council for transparency: The archives of Subiaco will be reviewed for any instances of prior child abuse and we will provide a public list of monks of Subiaco that have established allegations. Subiaco committed to a off-site comprehensive review of all our files that would meet the stringent standards set by Praesidium, our outside third-party safe-environment accrediting organization. For our small little abbey founded to promote and live the message of Jesus Christ, what we are doing now is both just and right. This review included:

• Monks that have left, been removed, transferred, or been secularized as Diocesan priests since 1950
• Deceased monks of Subiaco since 1950
• Living monks of Subiaco
• Police records of any reported allegations
• Reports made by Alumni on possible lines of inquiry or other alums with information
• Referral allegations made by dioceses about a Subiaco monk

Heavens, yes! We have been shaken, horrified, and overwhelmed at the ongoing revelations about children, youth, and vulnerable adults being abused by members of the Church. To make the tragedy even worse for the victims, what followed has been coverup and concealment by some church leaders of these sinful and criminal acts. At Subiaco, we awoke on September 10 of 2018 to find that our Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock released a list of what he termed “credibly” accused clergy who had abused children. Included in that list were monks of Subiaco Abbey that were both alive and deceased. While the allegations of the abuse were historical in time from over decades ago, it did not dampen the anger and betrayal many members felt at the lack of full disclosure of these acts to even the monks of our own community.  Some new members in formation were so overwhelmed by this news that they chose to leave Subiaco in their monastic discernment. For those of us that have remained, we have committed not only to ensure that a safe environment will be established through updated policies, training, background checks, a thorough review of all monastic files, and third party outside accountability, but also that we will reach out to any victims that might have been abused by any monk, employee, or volunteer at Subiaco at any time—past or present.  Our Office of Child Protection was established by our Monastic Council precisely to ensure Prevention, Safe Environment Training, Transparency, Accountability, and Discipline. Our renewed focus is: creating a safe environment for children and young people; healing and reconciliation of victims and survivors; making prompt and effective response to allegations; cooperating with civil authorities; disciplining offenders; and providing for means of accountability for the future to ensure the problem continues to be effectively dealt with free from concealment or cover-up. You can learn more about our Monastic Council mandate by clicking HERE.

Three monks (all deceased) have established allegations of child abuse. One former monk, Fr. Jeremy Myers, is the only one still alive and he transferred to the Diocese of Dallas. His whereabouts is unknown. 

No. 

No. Assurance of this comes from the three-fold mandatory oversight provided by our Monastic Council, our external Review Board, and the Office of Child Protection. 

Trust the process of accountability and oversight we have established. For two reasons: First, in most monasteries the power and authority resides solely in the Abbot of the monastery. Recognizing the lack of trust in Church leaders by many people, Abbot Leonard has vested the oversight authority for the protection of children, youth, and vulnerable adults across three diverse groups-- the Monastic Council, the Review Board, and the Office of Child Protection. Rather than only one person, it is now the direct responsibility of over 25 people (married, single, parents, and monks) to ensure the policies and accountability standards are followed. Second, we have contracted with Praesidium, an outside third-party safe-environment organization providing consultation, risk management assessment, policy development, and training materials for use in preventing sexual misconduct and responding to allegations of sexual misconduct. Subiaco will receive regular audits by this outside agency  Praesidium to ensure compliance with all their stringent standards. 

• A completed national sex offender registry check.
• A completed criminal background check for every jurisdiction in which the candidate has resides for the previous seven years.
• A minimum of five references from specific sources.
• Two face-to-face interviews with Senior Monks including a behavioral assessment which goes into great detail about the candidate’s family background and sexual history.
• A psychological evaluation and psychosexual history conducted by a licensed psychologist with experience in conducting psychosexual histories, assessing psychosexual health and identifying potential indicators of future misconduct.
• A review of all publicly accessible content on social media platforms, personal websites and/or blog sites.
• Finally, vocation directors responsible for the recruitment of future candidates are provided with education to assist in identifying candidates who may be at risk of sexually abusing a minor or vulnerable adult.

As of July 1, 2017, the Diocese of Little Rock uses CMG Connect, a safe environment training program developed by the risk management company, Catholic Mutual Group (CMG). A background check is processed based on the information entered into CMG Connect. Our Subiaco Safe Environment Coordinator serves as the compliance officer to ensure all employees of Subiaco and all volunteers with routine contact with minors are trained and receive their respective background checks. Five-year renewal certifications are then also completed. We also provide safe environment training for children and youth. This is not “sex education.” Rather, it is age-appropriate information for children and youth so they can know how to help create safe environments for them, and what to do when they feel that a certain environment is not safe. For our children and youth, our diocese uses  Circle of Grace, a program developed by the Archdiocese of Omaha and endorsed by Catholic Mutual Group. You can learn more about these programs by clicking HERE. 

Any monk, employee, or volunteer at Subiaco that might come into regular contact with a minor. We are committed to establishing a safe-environment culture at Subiaco and our commitment to this is non-negotiable. 

Subiaco's Policy for the Protection of Minors states that if a person makes an allegation of child sexual abuse against a member of the institution, Subiaco will report the allegation to law enforcement and civil authorities as required by Arkansas state law. Depending upon circumstances, including the length of time that has elapsed between the alleged act and the allegations being brought forth, these authorities may or may not elect to investigate the allegations. Subiaco may engage a professional investigator to conduct a thorough investigation. The Abbot forwards this report to our new Review Board, which makes a recommendation indicating whether or not they find that the fact of sexual abuse has been established. 

You can find the information you need HERE. 

YES!  The Office of Child Protection will update this section of the website if there is a need to add additional names. 

State of Arkansas Hotline for Crimes Against Children: 1-800-482-5964

It is never too late for a victim to reach out for help, or to speak the truth about an abuser. We encourage anyone with information about abuse, whether present or long ago, to come forward and speak with Fr. Reginald our Survivor Assistance Coordinator – to help with their own healing and to make the truth known.

Yes!  Even if a monastic priest has been removed because of an established allegation, the sacraments that were administered are valid. A sacrament is a personal, saving action of Jesus Christ. This said, we note that, however worthy or unworthy that ordained person may be, the sacrament is valid as long as the priest is validly ordained and deputed by the Church.  The purpose of the sacraments is to make people holy, to build up the body of Christ, and to give worship to God. (Sacrosanctum Concilium [Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy], n. 59) 

First and foremost: All claims of sexual abuse of minors by ANYONE at Subiaco are reported to the appropriate public legal authorities. In addition to any investigation by a public legal authority such as the state or local police, all claims against a living monk are referred to our new external Review Board for investigation. A professional investigator is employed by the Abbey to begin a detailed review and investigation of the matter at hand.