The tragic death of 24-year-old Alana Chen may have been caused by "conversion therapy." Led by the very priest she met at one of her summer camps at the age of 13, the priest allegedly took an interest in the young girl after confiding in him about her attraction to the same sex.

Secret Meetings 

As written by The National Catholic Reporter, Alana often meets secretly with Father David Nix, priest at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Boulder, Colorado. 

Father Nix reportedly convinced the teen to receive "spiritual direction." She kept her sexual orientation a secret to her loved ones. 

These sessions with the priest went on for eight years. Joyce Calvo-Chen, Alana’s mother, was alarmed that her young daughter was meeting secretly with a priest, had told a pastor from the church. 

Joyce wrote that her daughter's devotion to the church only grew throughout her teen years. 

She also continued her meetings with Fr. Nix, and he insisted that she keep her sexual orientation a secret to help her overcome it through his guidance. The priest also asked her if she would want to become a nun. 

The meetings with Nix involved him asking Alana to share her innermost sexual thoughts and giving her articles condemning homosexuality. 

He told Alana that she needed to follow him to achieve her vocation. These are all accounted for in Alana's journal.

After Father Nix was transferred, Alana was advised by another priest in the congregation. 

Father Peter Musset encouraged the girl to apply in Desert Stream's Living Water program that claims to help people get rid of their "unwanted same-sex attraction." 

Alana reportedly applied to the program and put Musset's name as a reference for who advised her to go.

Another Suppressor Appears

When Alana started attending the University of Colorado Boulder, she joined a ministry called the Sisters of Life that caters to college students. 

They called on the phone to ask Alana's mother for permission for her to undergo "conversion therapy" with a licensed therapist. The expert reportedly specializes in assisting clients with seeking congruency between their sexuality and faith-based convictions. 

Her mother refused this.

Later on, it was revealed from a report by Pink News that Alana harmed herself. Pieces of evidence of scars on her arms were discovered by her family. Before the incident, Chen already confessed to a friend of her thoughts of suicide. 

Her friend reported this to her family, resulting in her being admitted to a local hospital. She left the church after being released from the hospital.

Alana blamed Fathers Nix and Musset's counseling sessions for her hospitalization. However, Nix denied the allegations of subjecting Alana to any "conversion therapy."

In one of her written entries in her journal, she wrote, "I'm so tired of being afraid of going to hell."

Her mom reportedly tried taking her to churches and ministries that accepted her sexuality, but she just could not overcome the trauma.

Alana then took her own life on Dec. 8, 2019. Her body was found at Gross Reservoir in Boulder County. 

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