Rev. Isaac True, O.S.B.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Benedictine order, True was accused in a September 2011 lawsuit of having sexually abused a young relative in the late 1970s. His accuser said the abuse began when he was a 9 or 10 year old boy and continued until he graduated 8th grade. He said the abuse occurred in his home, on trips and at church. In March 2012 True remains pastor of a Bethany, MO parish.

Ordained: 1966

   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1966

Kansas CIty-St. Joseph bishop was Charles Herman Helmsing (1962-1977), followed by John Joseph Sullivan (1977-1993)

1987 Conception Abbey

Conception

• A relative of True's filed a lawsuit in Sept. 2011 accusing True of sexually abusing him as a boy in the late 1970s, beginning when he was 9 or 10 years old and through 8th grade. The man said the abuse occurred during visits to the boy's home, on trips and at church. The boy was an altar boy at Nativity parish in Independence.

MO True is referred to as "Very Rev." in the 1974-1982 Directories

The same man accused Monsignor Thomas O'Brien of sexually abusing him when he was a ten year-old altar boy, along with three friends. One of the three boys suicided a few years later.

True celebrated Mass at Nativity on several occasions, per a statement in 2011 from the diocese.

1973 1987 Conception Seminary College Conception MO President-Rector  
1987 1988         True is not indexed or listed at his previous assignments in the 1988 Directory.
1988 1989 Sabbatical   Guatemala,
Central America 		  Per Conception Seminary College , True was in Guatemala for a year and two summers, beginning in 1988.

1989
2007

Sullivan was succeeded by Raymond James Boland (1993-2005), who was replaced by Robert William Finn
(2005-)

2004
2011
 Conception Abbey Conception MO   True is not indexed or listed as at the Abbey in the 2005-2007 Directories.
1988 2011 Conception Seminary College Conception      
2008 2011 Blessed Sacrament Bethany MO 1/1 Blessed Sacrament had a religious education program with 16-13 students.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1988-2011)

• Metro Man Files Lawsuit against Priests Claiming Sexual Abuse, By Tess Koppelman, Fox 4, September 1, 2011
• Lawsuit Claims Sex Abuse by Priest, Monk, By Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, September 1, 2011
• Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse at Independence Catholic Church, By Jeff Martin, The Examiner, September 2, 2011
• Deception in Conception. Murder and Misconduct at a Benedictine Abbey, By Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, September 1, 2011
• Tower Topics Fall-Winter 2010, Conception Seminary College, December 14, 2010



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates True's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on March 28, 2012