BishopAccountability.org
	State, Victim Clash over Monastery By Zeke MacCormack San Antonio Express-News September 21, 2007 http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA092207.04B.monastery_cases.33e8c9f.html Johnson City — James B. Wright Jr. and prosecutors alternate from allies to adversaries when it comes to the Christ of the Hills Monastery, depending on the case at hand. Wright's claims of being molested there a decade ago led to indictments being issued in January against the monastery's founder, Samuel A. Greene Jr., and two other monks. Greene died this week in an apparent suicide, leading to the dismissal Friday of criminal charges against him. Wright's testimony will be critical at the upcoming trials of the others charged in the case, Walter Christley and William Hughes, who have pleaded not guilty. But despite close collaboration on the criminal cases, Wright and District Attorney Sam Oatman's staff are rivals on another legal issue: who should take ownership of the monastery that closed after law officers raided it in 2006. In July, Wright won a $1 million judgment against Ecumenical Monks Inc., the nonprofit organization that owns the 105-acre site outside Blanco, to resolve a sexual abuse lawsuit. The state already had initiated a forfeiture action to seize the site as contraband, claiming it was used in the commission of money laundering, theft, fraud and molestations. Adam Kobs, a lawyer for Ecumenical Monks, said the state isn't entitled to the land because the nonprofit group "was unaware of the alleged criminal acts." On Friday, Assistant District Attorney John Couch and Wright's lawyer, Mark Long, faced off over whether Wright can join the state forfeiture suit against Ecumenical Monks. Couch said Wright shouldn't be allowed to intervene, calling it unnecessary and saying it would complicate the case. "He's already got a judgment," Couch said. "If he's already protected, why does he need to intervene?" Long argued the claim by Wright, who has secured a lien on the land, trumps the state's pending effort to seize it. Rather than go through a lengthy suit, he suggested the state drop it so Wright can auction the site, appraised at about $830,000, to collect his judgment. "The only way we can satisfy this judgment is by selling the property," Long said. District Judge Dan Mills gave both sides until Oct. 5 to submit briefs on Wright's intervention bid, and on whether his judgment overrides the state's claim. The irony of the sparring by the sometime-allies wasn't lost on Kobs, as he watched Friday's proceedings. "The state, in essence, is trying to take property away from its victim," he said. Afterward, Couch contended the state had a duty to seek the land, rather than allow Wright to take it, saying its value may exceed the $1 million judgment. "We're not trying to keep him from collecting," he said. "We're certainly willing to work something out." That remark was welcomed by Long, who said Wright, now 26, will cooperate on the criminal cases, "but he also wants to collect on his judgment." No autopsy results have been released since Greene's body was found Monday, but investigators say it appears Greene, 63, overdosed on medications. Croft Funeral Home officials said Greene's funeral arrangements won't be released. Beside Hughes and Christly, trials also are pending for two other monks — Jonathan Hitt and Hugh Fallon — charged with abusing novice monks in the 1990s. Oatman said he plans to seek money-laundering charges over the monastery's "Weeping Icon," a picture of the Virgin Mary the monks claimed cried tears of myrrh starting in 1985. Officials say Greene admitted that the purported "miracle" that drew hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations was a fraud perpetrated with an eyedropper and oil. "One of the most appalling things that occurs in this country is when people exploit religious beliefs to gain access to money and kids," Oatman said. zeke@express-news.net
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.