A company called Sacros, formerly known as Patmos, based in Shohola, Pennsylvania is selling a Child’s Missal. The publishers of this missal use of a photo of a priest accused of being a pedophile and allegedly banned from ministry by the Diocese of Scranton in the book.
Throughout the book, a guardian angel appears who guides a boy (called “Adam”) and teaches him about the Mass. The text that accompanies the angel is filled with explanations and good advice addressed to the boy “Adam” and to each child reading or being read to.
Leafing through the Missal one encounters a priest in full clerical garb. Look familiar? It is Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity. He is one of the Priests who helped found the Society of St. John, a traditionalist religious community in Shohola Township, Pike County, in 1998. He was accused, along with another priest, of fondling a boy. A civil case filed by the alleged victim against the diocese, the society, another priest and Urrutigoity was settled for $454,550 in 2005. The publishers of this book know full well that the priest depicted in the book is a pedophile and yet they present him as benevolent cleric celebrating the mass. He is presented as a model of a Catholic priest, someone who could be trusted to guide young minds in the development of their faith. This can be no farther from the truth.
I hope the guardian angel in the book will keep poor young Adam safe from the predator on the altar. “Hey Adam (and Adam’s parents) here is a piece of advice, stay away from the man near the altar, he is bad and he will hurt you like he has hurt others”.
The publishers, Anthony and Anne Marie Mioni of Shohola, PA, should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to sell this book with this monster prominently displayed within. I wonder if they changed the name of their company from Patmos to Sacros because of the bad press from promoting a pedophile in their children’s book? I guess it is more important to make a dollar than it is to make sure that children are safe from pedophile priests.
This book should be pulled off the market. Are there no other priests that can pose for a book such as this?
Please feel free to contact them and urge them to stop selling this book with Carlos Urrutigoity photo inside.
According to published reports Urrutigoity has fled to Paraguay. But his image as a pious, holy and benevolent priest remains thanks to this book. I guess everything is an illusion.
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