Cloistered priest enters no contest plea in sex assault

A former monastery priest faces up to two years in jail after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor indecent assault charge Tuesday, Sept. 6 in Susquehanna County Court.

With the plea, Phillip Albert Ferrara, 49, who now resides in St. Marys, Kansas, neither admits nor disputes the charge that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy who was staying with his family at the Our Lady of Solitude monastery on several occasions between November 2010 and January 2011.

The cloistered monastery is located in Middletown and Apolacon townships.

District Attorney Jason Legg said the victim’s mother was consulted regarding the plea and had agreed with the resolution of the case.

Additional charges of indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old and corruption of minors were dropped.

Mr. Legg said the indecent assault count is not a Megan’s Law offense but the court would likely order Mr. Ferrara to undergo a sexual predator evaluation.

Mr. Ferrara, who was arrested in March after surrendering to state police in Gibson, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20 and remains free on $10,000 unsecured bail.

He was previously referred to as Superior Hieromonk Angelus on the Our Lady of Solitude website, which is part of the Melkite (Byzantine) Catholic Church and is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Archbishop Cyril Bustros of the Melkite Eparchy in Newton, Mass., released a statement in early April that upon learning of the credible occurrence of abuse of a minor, ”Rev. Ferrara was immediately suspended and relieved of all priestly duties and placed in a treatment center for evaluation.”

Following Mr. Ferrara’s arrest, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton issued a statement that even though Susquehanna County was in its purview, the Melchite Catholic Church was not. It also underscored that the victim was presently a resident of Berks County which is within the Diocese of Allentown.

Contact the writer: swilson@independentweekender.com