Free Republic

Jun. 09 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican has endorsed the suppression of a troubled religious order in Pennsylvania. Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton announced last November that he was withdrawing support from the Society of St. John, a group that faced serious problems involved sex-abuse charges and allegations of financial improprieties. The Society appealed to Rome, but the Congregation for Clergy has backed the bishop, who has now barred the priests of the Society of St. John from saying Mass or raising funds within the Pennsylvania diocese. The Society of St. John was established in 1997, and inaugurated an aggressive fundraising...

Federal suit says two founding priests of the Society of St. John molested a boy. SCRANTON (PA) – The Diocese of Scranton has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle a civil suit that accused two priests of sexual misconduct with a minor, according to the attorney for the family that filed the suit. That’s only part of the total settlement of $454,550. As a result of the settlement, the 3-year-old case was dismissed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The case was filed in March 2002 by a man who, in court documents, was...