Affidavit of a Former SSJ Novice

March 3, 2002

I, [name withheld upon request], attest to the following incidents while at the Society of Saint John in Shohola, Pennsylvania. I was at the Society of Saint John from the beginning of October, 2000 to the middle of January, 2001, as a postulant then novice. The following incidents are regarding Fr. Urrutigoity and Fr. Ensey.

After a few weeks at the Society of Saint John, I met with Fr. Urrutigoity and we discussed my difficulty in getting enough sleep. I mentioned that I would also like to run in the morning, but was unable to due to the filled schedule for the bathrooms in my residence, St. Joseph's House. He thought about it briefly and said that I could run in the morning and take my shower in his room at the Drummond House. I did this at least six times over the course of my stay at the Society of Saint John. After my morning run, I would go into his room. He would typically be finishing his shower when I arrived. Once completed and dried, he would open the bathroom door to let me in to take my shower. He then would be shaving in front of the sink and mirror. He would only wear his scapular and nothing else. I would quickly undress by the toilet and get into the shower. He would be clothed by the time I was finished taking a shower.

When I took time off from running in the morning, a week or two after I had started the routine, Fr. Urrutigoity came up to me and spoke to me briefly on one occasion. He asked why I was not running any more. However, he said it in a disapproving and somewhat frustrated way.

One of the Saturday events at the Society of Saint John was watching the movie, Babette's Feast. I was sitting on a sofa in Drummond House with a few other men. Due to limited seating, we were sitting quite close to each other. Fr. Urrutigoity came from upstairs and squeezed between another and myself on the sofa. During the movie Fr. Urrutigoity whispered some things in my ear, as he did after the movie when we were discussing the meaning of the movie. The action was both unsolicited and disrupting to me, as it made it more difficult to follow the movie and discussion.

Prior to leaving the Society of Saint John in early January, Fr. Ensey and I took a walk up the hill on the property. We followed the road up to the top of the hill. About half way to the top of the hill, we decided to cut across the snow, off the dirt road, to the other road, as the road loops around where we were. We took a break and sat on a rock. We had been talking about our families. When we set out to return to the community, Fr. Ensey was having difficulty keeping up, and I made a sarcastic comment about him getting older, as I knew he was young. He tried to tackle me into the snow, but only partly succeeded, as he ended up under me and I on top of him. After we resumed walking, I said something to the effect that he had gotten the worst of it, as he was covered in snow and I had hardly any on me. At that time he tackled me again, this time for a longer period of time. We both got covered in snow this time. We resumed walking and took one more break along the road at Fr. Ensey's request before completing the walk back to St. Anne's House.

COMMENT:

The anonymous affidavit above has been published to show the early warning signs of serious trouble with clerics of the Society of St. John, particularly, Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity and Fr. Eric Ensey, both of whom are subjects of an ongoing criminal investigation. The behavior described in this affidavit, while seemingly less significant than that cited in previous affidavits and letters, exhibits the symptoms of a hidden disease. Moreover, it reveals the first steps in the "grooming" process whereby potential victims are tested and prepared for future sexual encounters.

Fr. Urrutigoity's described practice of appearing naked in front of a postulant or novice is not only immodest, but also exhibitionist. It is immoral for want of judgment for a superior general to so orchestrate matters as to show himself naked to someone under his authority, and it strongly indicates ulterior sexual motives. This is indicated as well by his habit of establishing close body contact, including tickling, pinching, casual touching, and whispering in the ear of young and attractive subordinates. Of course, Fr. Urrutigoity and the SSJ would attribute criticism of such behavior to American puritanism, thus playing the cultural difference card, or rather, ruse.

As for the impromptu "wrestling bouts" initiated by Fr. Ensey, that too is a standard technique employed by homosexual abusers to test the responsiveness of potential victims. Needless to say, it is highly inappropriate for a priest to wrestle with those under his spiritual direction, or with anyone else for that matter.