Tuesday, February 28, 2006
EMAIL FROM DR. BOND
Dear Friends,
The TimesLeader of Wilkes-Barre, PA has published an article on the return of the suppressed Society of St. John.
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/13959488.htm
Sad to say, this secular newspaper has done more than the Diocese of Scranton to expose the SSJ. Mark Guydish, whose past articles helped to inform the public about the SSJ, has evidently made a serious investigation into their reappearance. The Diocese of Scranton, however, wants to pretend the SSJ scandal never happened. Consider the following statement made by the spokesman for the Diocese of Scranton concerning the SSJ's latest effort to reinvent itself:
“Bishop Martino suppressed the Society of St. John in November 2004. Since that time, he has been taking all appropriate steps open to him under the Code of Canon Law to deal with the priests of the extinguished Society. The Diocese has no further comment on this matter.”
What exactly are the "appropriate steps" that Bishop Martino has taken? Why have the priests of the suppressed SSJ been allowed to wander here, there and everywhere with no sanctions being brought against them? How can Carlos Urrutigoity and Eric Ensey still be priests? How can the SSJ be permitted to raise money in the Church's name? Why does the Diocese of Scranton always seem to be drowning in a canonical glass of water?
At the very least, the Diocese of Scranton must tell the public where the SSJ priests are and what their status is. After all, a letter posted on the SSJ's new website claims that the SSJ is now operating under the authority of a bishop in Paraguay. (See http://www.ssjohn.org/documents/pdf/060101_Letter.pdf.) Does the Diocese of Scranton have nothing to say about this latest fraudulent claim? And is the Diocese of Scranton prepared to spend more money to settle more lawsuits after the SSJ priests homosexually abuse more boys?
Pax vobiscum,
Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond
