Society of St John Update

Deacon Joseph Levine, former Superior General of the suppressed homosexual cult known as the Society of St. John, has recently been assigned to a parish. Monsignor John T. Conway of the Mother of Divine Mercy Parish in King-of-Prussia, Pennsylvania, made this announcement in his August 21, 2005 bulletin (http://www.mdpparish.com/parishlife/news.htm):

"I am pleased to tell you that Rev. Mr. Joseph Levine has been assigned to Mother of Divine Providence Parish for his Sunday Diaconate Placement during the 2005-06 Academic Year. Deacon Levine's home diocese is Scranton. He is studying for the diocesan priesthood at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. Deacon Levine will preach at Sunday Masses and assist with the administration of the Sacraments. His assignment will begin on the weekend of September 3rd and 4th. We warmly welcome him to our staff."

The parishioners of this parish must be warned about Deacon Levine. As those familiar with the Society of St. John scandal already know, Deacon Levine became the Superior General of the SSJ after Carlos Urrutigoity, the former Superior General and founder of the SSJ, was exposed as a homosexual predator priest. While I have no evidence that Deacon Levine was personally involved in the homosexual molestation of boys or young men, Deacon Levine actively sought to protect those in the SSJ who engaged in these perverse deeds. In fact, upon his election to the office of Superior General, Deacon Levine publicly praised Urrutigoity in the SSJ's May 2002 Epistle. Deacon Levine gave this public endorsement of his predecessor despite his having been informed, as early as August 19, 2001, that Urrutigoity had a habit of sleeping with students from St. Gregory's Academy in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania. On that day Mr. Alan Hicks, the founder and headmaster of St. Gregory's Academy, personally informed both Deacon Levine and me that Urrutigoity was the object of a possible lawsuit for his "sleeping sickness." Moreover, Deacon Levine was fully aware by May 2002 that there was abundant and weighty evidence, including affidavits, establishing Urrutigoity's habit of sleeping in the same bed with boys and young men. (See www.SaintJustinMartyr.org/news/notices.html.)

It was Deacon Levine's position, however, which he personally expressed to me, that Urrutigoity was like St. Ignatius of Loyola insofar as he operates on a plane "above the realm of human reason and prudence." As a result of this conviction, Deacon Levine turned a blind eye to the overwhelming evidence of Urrutigoity's gross immorality. Indeed, by that time I had made public the fact that Urrutigoity had been formally accused of homosexual molestation by three different people from three different places: first, by Rev. Andres Morello, the former rector of the SSPX seminary in La Reja, Argentina, where Urrutigoity was a seminarian; second, by Bishop Fellay on behalf of a young seminarian who had left with Urrutigoity when he was expelled by Bishop Williamson from the SSPX seminary in Winona, Minnesota, where Urrutigoity was a professor; and third, by a graduate of St. Gregory's Academy where Urrutigoity was a chaplain. This last accusation was made by John Doe and his parents in a federal lawsuit that was recently settled at the cost of $450,550. In fact, the Scranton Times has reported that Bishop Joseph Martino intends to apologize to John Doe for the harm he suffered at the hands of Urrutigoity and Eric Ensey, another SSJ predator priest. Moreover, in a written statement provided to the Scranton Times, Bishop Martino all but admitted the guilt of Urrutigoity and Ensey: "In view of the serious claims made by the young person and in light of the statements by the witnesses who supported his claim, it was determined that the just decision was to reach a settlement that will assist the victim and his family as they attempt to heal."

Yet Deacon Levine not only publicly praised Urrutigoity for his leadership, but he also credited Urrutigoity with transforming the members of the SSJ into a "disciplined religious community." Deacon Levine thereby sought to continue to portray the SSJ as Benedictine, a fraud initiated by Urrutigoity and perpetuated by Deacon Levine. Although the SSJ was nothing more than a group of diocesan priests with permission to live together, nevertheless the SSJ literature published under Deacon Levine's reign continued this fraud to the detriment of many unsuspecting Catholic donors.

In the same May 2002 Epistle, and throughout his term as Superior General, Deacon Levine also continued to deceive Catholic donors concerning the status of the Catholic city the SSJ had proposed to build. Although it was abundantly clear by this time that there was no hope of building on the Shohola property--in fact, the SSJ was secretly trying to sell the property--nevertheless Deacon Levine exhorted his supporters to continue to donate more money to a project he knew was dead. The Scranton Times has recently reported that the Shohola property was sold to repay the 2.6 million dollar loan which the Diocese made to the SSJ to cover their enormous debts.

Furthermore, Deacon Levine used his office as Superior General to defend the sexual predator priests of the SSJ and to attack me personally for my efforts to expose their crimes. In a six-page fundraising letter date June 19, 2002, which was sent to the tens of thousands of Catholics on the SSJ's mailing list, Deacon Levine repeatedly lied in an effort to protect the SSJ and defame me. Rather than list the libelous statements made by Deacon Levine (for which he has been named in a defamation lawsuit), I would encourage you to read my response to his defamatory remarks which can be found on the College of St. Justin Martyr web site at http://www.saintjustinmartyr.org/news/ResponseToDeaconLevine.html. You will see there why it is absolutely imperative that this man never be permitted to work in a parish or ever be ordained a priest.

Finally, it should be noted that Deacon Levine was not willing to leave the SSJ until it was made clear to him that he could not be ordained a priest while remaining with them. There is no reason to believe, then, that Deacon Levine would not seek to rejoin the SSJ, or some other cult-like group, once he has been ordained. As many of you know, the SSJ is desperately seeking to re-establish itself in Paraguay, and those like Deacon Levine, who have a cultist devotion to the SSJ, are very likely to return to the SSJ if the SSJ is permitted to resurface outside of the Diocese of Scranton.

Please forward this email to anyone you know who attends mass at the Mother of Divine Mercy Parish in King-of-Prussia, Pennsylvania. Please also contact Bishop Joseph Martino who is ultimately responsible for allowing Deacon Levine to be placed in a parish. Bishop Martino's address is 300 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503. His telephone number at the Chancery is (570) 207-2238, or you can fax him at (570) 207-2236. Even if you are unable to speak directly with Bishop Martino, please register your concern with whomever you do speak.

SHOHOLA TOWNSHIP, Pa- Although two priests were able to draw a walk on criminal charges because of Pennsylvania‘s “statute of limitations,” a civil settlement, along with a concession statement from the Scranton Diocese, has now effectively branded them guilty of sexually abusing a young boy in the name of “spiritual guidance.” The scene of the abuse, the former St. John’s property in Shohola Township, has been sold.

In the case of John Doe vs. the Diocese of Scranton, the Society of St. John, the Fraternity of St, Peter and Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity and Fr Eric Ensey (both founding members of St. Johns in Shohola ), the defendants have agreed to a settlement with the former student of St. Gregory’s Academy in Moscow who also spent time in Shohola.

According to John Doe’s attorney James Bendell, under the terms of the settlement the defendants will pay the plaintiff $255,000 in cash and future periodic payments of $199,550, for a total settlement of $454,550. He now lives in North Carolina.

Bendell said, “During the course of the litigation of this case, information was brought to light concerning the corruption existing at the Society of St. John, a clerical association approved by former bishop James Timlin, who allowed these priests to form a clerical association in the Diocese of Scranton and to act as chaplains at a boys’ prep school after they had been expelled from the Society of St. Pius X. The new bishop of Scranton, Joseph Martino, has since suppressed the Society of St. John.”

The Society of St. John in Shohola was “suppressed” by Scranton Bishop Joseph F. Martino back in November but the organization in Shohola has operated its web site, conducted fundraisers and held services since the suppression.

The Society of St. John’s 1000-acre property in Shohola was sold on May 6. The land was originally acquired by the society in 1999. Diocese of Scranton Spokesman Bill Genello said, “The society's failure to meet obligations as an ecclesiastical entity, its financial decisions and conduct, and allegations of sexual misconduct against two of its founding members compelled the bishop to suppress the group.”

Genello explained, “A critical feature of today's property transaction was the full payment of the loan which was arranged by former Scranton Bishop James C. Timlin. The diocese was guarantor of a loan in the amount of $2,650,000.”

"We are very pleased that this sale has finally taken place because the burden of guaranteeing this group's financial obligation to repay the loan has been removed from the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton," Martino said. "It is unfortunate that this group of priests brought so much scandal and consternation to the priests and laity of the diocese. It is now time to move forward and put the society behind us."

The financial settlement has been apportioned in the following amounts: Diocese of Scranton - Bishop Timlin - $200,000; Society of St. John’s.Ensey & Urrutigoity - $55,000; and Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter -- St. Gregory's Academy - $125,000.

Martino said that the claims against the two priests, who are founding members of the Society of St. John, were “very damaging.”

"In preparing for the civil trial, more than 40 depositions were taken," the Bishop said. "The allegations made by the young man who asserted that he was sexually molested by Father Ensey and Father Urrutigoity were very damaging. In view of the serious claims made by the young person and in light of the statements by the witnesses who supported his claim, it was determined that the just decision was to reach a settlement that will assist the victim and his family as they attempt to heal."

The Bishop said the diocese deeply regrets that any young person would ever suffer because of the conduct of a priest.

The President of the College of St. Justin Martyr (formerly associated with St. Johns but now its biggest opponent), Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond of Greeley, said, “Yesterday also marked the flight of the Society of St. John from the property in Shohola, PA where the Society of St. John (SSJ) had planned to build their version of the Neverland Ranch, a homosexual playground where traditional families were to be enticed to deliver up their sons to the SSJ priests for "spiritual direction" in bed. The SSJ raised over five million dollars to construct their "Catholic village" in Shohola, but not a single building was ever erected.”

There is no official word today as to the whereabouts of Ensey and Urrutigoity or as to the future plans of the SSJ. Bond said, “I have been informed that the SSJ has fled to Argentina but I have no firm facts as to their new location. The SSJ leaves in its wake untold spiritual destruction of young souls, to say nothing of the material resources wasted by the SSJ's efforts to seduce boys and their families. We do know some of the other victims of the SSJ priests who never came forward to testify, but the full extent of the evil done will never be known until the Last Judgment.” Ensey is originally from California while Urrutigoity hales from Argentina.

Bond said, “The courage of those who did come forward to testify against the SSJ, especially John Doe, has served to protect many who would have otherwise become victims of sexual abuse under the guise of traditional Roman Catholicism. While no amount of money could ever compensate John Doe for the harm done to him and his family, we pray he will find some peace in knowing that the large financial settlement of this case makes manifest that these priests were guilty as charged.

“Sadly, the SSJ scandal is far from over. Urrutigoity and Ensey must still be laicized, a process which is supposedly underway, and a full investigation must be undertaken to determine the degree of guilt of the other SSJ priests. All of these priests--Fr. Daniel Fullerton, Fr. Dominic O'Connor, Fr. Basil Sarweh, and Fr. Dominic Carey--have lied to protect the predator priests of the SSJ, and all have been involved in deceiving Catholic donors. Moreover, Deacon Joseph Levine, who is now studying for the priesthood in the Diocese of Scranton, must never be ordained. As a former superior general of the SSJ, Deacon Levine not only insisted upon the innocence of Urrutigoity and Ensey long after their guilt was manifest, but he also perpetuated the fraud of presenting the SSJ as a religious community to unsuspecting Catholic donors.

“The College of St. Justin Martyr and I still have three lawsuits against the Society of St. John and the Diocese of Scranton, and we will continue to pursue justice through the courts, regardless of how long it takes. Our story, and the whole history of this sordid affair in the Diocese of Scranton, can be found on our web site at www.SaintJustinMartyr.org/news/notices.html,” Bond said.

According to Bond, Urrutigoity has been formally accused of homosexual molestation by three different people from three different places: first, by Rev. Andres Morello, the former rector of the SSPX seminary in La Reja, Argentina, where Urrutigoity was a seminarian; second, by Bishop Fellay on behalf of a young seminarian who had left with Urrutigoity when he was expelled by Bishop Williamson from the SSPX seminary in Winona, Minnesota, where Urrutigoity was a professor; and third, this incident by a graduate of St. Gregory's Academy in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, where Urrutigoity was a chaplain.

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