August 19, 2002

A Second Open Letter to Deacon Joseph Levine,

Superior General of the Society of St. John

Dear Deacon Levine,

One year ago today, I received a visit from Mr. Alan Hicks, the Headmaster of St. Gregory's Academy, who informed me that Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, then Superior General of the Society of St. John, had a habit of sleeping with young men. Earlier that same day, Mr. Hicks had shared this same information with you, and he warned you that there was a family in California contemplating a lawsuit against the Society of St. John that would expose Fr. Urrutigoity's "sleeping sickness."

Since that fateful day, I have done everything in my power to uncover the truth about Fr. Urrutigoity, and then to expose his grave misconduct and that of other members of the Society of St. John. You, on the other hand, have done everything in your power to conceal the truth concerning the sexual and financial misdeeds of Fr. Urrutigoity and the Society of St. John.

Most recently, on August 15, 2002, you published on the internet a statement entitled "Press Statement Released by the Lawyers of the Society of St. John." (See below.) Was it your intention to make your readers believe that your lawyers actually wrote the entire statement that follows, including the "Introduction"? The introduction concludes with a plea to God to show mercy on those who "persecute us." Are we supposed to believe that your lawyers wrote that?

Despite your previous claim that you would have no more to say about this scandal outside of the courtroom, it seems clear that the portion of the press statement entitled "Introduction" was written or at least approved by you (though you did not put your name to it). There you say that the lawsuits filed against the Society are "untruthful." You also speak of "lies and calumny." But not once, neither here in this press statement nor anywhere else to date, have you made a single FACT-SPECIFIC denial of the any of the grave charges made against you. You dismiss the accusations as "lies and calumny," yet you are careful never to specify the supposed lies. Hence, it is obvious that your dismissal itself is a lie and calumnious, for you accuse your accusers without ever addressing the particular accusations that have stood unanswered for almost a year now.

Furthermore, you attempt to dismiss the accusations against you by claiming that they arise from an "evident hatred of the Catholic Church." This is nothing but a feeble, not to say malicious, attempt to wrap yourself in the mantle of the Church in order to avoid answering the charges brought by those who would rid the Church of liars, hypocrites, and perverts in clerical collars.

Finally, I have three questions for you and your lawyers: (1) Do you ever tire of stating, over and over again, that "henceforth" you will make no further statements? (2) Do you ever tire of making statements that say nothing? And (3) what will happen when your lawyers discover that you are lying?