Jerome Hanus

Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B. (born May 26, 1940) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, presiding as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1995 until 2013.

A member of the Order of Saint Benedict, Hanus served as abbot of Conception Abbey from 1977 to 1987. He also served as bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud in Minnesota from 1987 to 1994 and coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque from 1994 to 1995.

Biography

Early life and education George Hanus was born on May 26, 1940, in Brainard, Nebraska, to Leo A. and Kristine (née Polak) Hanus. He received his early education at parochial schools in Dwight, Nebraska, and Bellwood, Nebraska, Hanus graduated from St. John Vianney Seminary in Elkhorn, Nebraska in 1958.

Hanus joined the Order of Saint Benedict, at Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri. He continued his studies at the Pontifical University of St. Anselm in Rome, receiving a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1967.

Priesthood Hanus was ordained to the priesthood in the Order of Saint Benedict by Archbishop Gerald Bergan on July 30, 1966.

Bishop of Saint Cloud On July 6, 1987, Pope John Paul II appointed Jerome as the eighth bishop of Saint Cloud. He was consecrated on August 24, 1987, by Archbishop John Roach. Bishops John Sullivan and George Speltz were the principal co-consecrators. necessitated by the priest shortage and the changing demographics of the archdiocese. These conditions also forced Hanus to combine and close a number of parishes.

On February 1, 2006, Hanus announced a $5 million financial settlement for 26 victims of sexual abuse by priests in the 1950s and 1960s in the archdiocese. Six deceased priests were mentioned in the document; the one living priest who was listed was later laicized.

On May 12, 2008, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the Agriprocessors meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, detaining 398 employees who were overwhelmingly of Latino descent. In the wake of the raid, Hanus called for comprehensive immigration reform. He asked those attending at a prayer service to remember the scriptures; "to treat the alien in your midst like your brother or sister, and that when you receive the alien, the foreigner, you are welcoming Christ." In February 2012. Hanus suffered serious chest injuries when his car rolled over twice in a crash. Those injuries caused recurring body spasms that required hospitalizations and resulted in more arthritic pain.

Retirement and legacy

Hanus submitted his resignation as archbishop for health reasons, which Pope Francis accepted. On April 8, 2013, Hanus announced that Francis had appointed Bishop Michael Jackels of the Diocese of Wichita to succeed him. Hanus acted as apostolic administrator for the archdiocese until Jackels was installed on May 30, after which he resumed his life as a monk in Missouri.

In April 2013, Hanus was scheduled to make a deposition in two sexual abuse lawsuits against Conception Abbey. The plaintiffs were two Missouri men who claimed that in the 1980s Reverend Bede Parry, a priest at the abbey, had abused them as boys. Hanus served as abbot of Conception Abbey during that period. The lawsuits claimed that Hanus met with Perry in 1981, before the alleged abuses occurred. In that meeting, Perry confessed to "inappropriate sexual relationships" with minors. Hanus ordered Perry to undergo psychological counseling, but allowed him to continue as the youth choir director. According to Perry, Hanus told him not to do it again.