March 17, 2002

Dear Friends,

In a previous letter dated February 6, 2002, I reported on the misconduct of Fr. Marshall Roberts, one of the founding members of the Society of St. John (SSJ). In that letter I revealed that Fr. Roberts had been kicked out of the Institute of Christ the King in 1993 for pursuing a "particular friendship." I now have more detailed information about Fr. Roberts' dismissal.


I have been informed by the then vice-rector of the Institute's seminary in Gricigliano, Italy, that Marshall Roberts, who was a seminarian at the time, was pursuing a young seminarian to the point of writing him explicit love letters. According to the vice-rector, Marshall Roberts was enamored of this seminarian and, in his love letters, proposed a physical relationship.


The young seminarian, who did not appreciate Marshall Roberts' advances, gave the love letters to the vice-rector who then saw to it that Marshall Roberts was dismissed from the seminary within 24 hours.

Fr. Roberts found a happier home with the SSJ. As previously reported in my letter of February 6, 2002, both Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity and Fr. Dominic O'Connor gave Fr. Roberts the freedom to pursue a "particular friendship" in the SSJ. The object of Fr. Roberts' affections this time was a boy from St. Gregory's Academy who, upon graduation in 1999, joined the Society of St. John. Fr. Roberts and this boy occupied the same room on the SSJ's property in Shohola prior to Fr. Roberts' departure for England. When Fr. Roberts visited the SSJ in France, he was given special permission to spend time alone with this boy in his room after compline (night prayer).


In keeping with the SSJ's pattern of deceit, the profile on Fr. Roberts on the SSJ website does not even mention Fr. Roberts' time at the Institute of Christ the King. It is interesting to note that, of the eight priests in the Society, the only one without a profile is the Superior General, Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity. I have supplied a "profile" of Fr. Urrutigoity on our website at www.saintjustinmartyr.org/news/notices.html.


There are now three confirmed homosexual predators in the Society of St. John:

Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, Fr. Eric Ensey, and Fr. Marshall Roberts. All three priests were founders of the SSJ. They comprise almost 50% of the priests in the Society of St. John.


Because Bishop Timlin failed to do background checks on the SSJ, these three priests were allowed to function as chaplains at St. Gregory's Academy, an all-boys school in Moscow, PA. Bishop Timlin furthermore failed to remove Fr. Urrutigoity from his chaplaincy when Bishop Fellay of the Society of St. Pius X reported to Bishop Timlin in February 1999 that Fr. Urrutigoity had molested a young man. Bishop Timlin still maintains that background checks on the SSJ were not necessary. This suggests that Bishop Timlin would still have invited these priests into the Diocese of Scranton even if he knew of their homosexual predatory habits.


All of you who are fed up with episcopal denial and cover-up of homosexual activity in the clergy should communicate your distress and disgust to Bishop James C. Timlin at jchmil@epix.net.


Sincerely,

Dr. Jeffrey M. Bond
President
College of St. Justin Martyr
142 Market Road
Greeley, PA 18425