Fr.

James J LeBar 1936-2008

Chairman of the Pastoral Visitation Team to the Servants of Christ the King, appointed by the Most Reverend Albert Ottenweller, 2nd Bishop of Steubenville in January, 1991 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chief Exorcist of the Archdiocese of New York under the auspices of John Cardinal OConnor

Assessor of the Sword of the Spirit

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The Rev. James J. LeBar, 71, a longtime Hyde Park resident, died on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie. A Catholic Priest with the Archdiocese of New York, Fr. LeBar was a graduate of St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie. He was ordained on June 2, 1962, and served throughout the Archdiocese of New York. He was also a priest in residence at Regina Coeli Church, Hyde Park, and a Chaplain at the Hudson River Psychiatric Center for over 25 years, until his retirement. He was very involved with the Blue Army. Fr. LeBar worked with Fr. Flanagans Boys Town and directed many retreats and Adult and Youth Seminars there. A former Eagle Scout himself, he was affiliated for many years with The Boy Scouts of America. He was an authority and prolific writer on the subject of the occult and demonology for the Archdiocese of New York. Appointed by Cardinal OConnor as Chief Exorcist for the Archdiocese, he appeared on many television talk shows including Geraldo, EWTN, ABCs 20/20, and the CBS Early Show. Fr. LeBar gave testimony on pseudo-religious groups to the Congress of the United States in 1979. Before the Joint Congressional Proceeding under Senator Robert Dole, Fr. LeBar made the following comments:
Senator Dole. The next witness is Father James LaBar, Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of New York. I don't want to take away time from the witnesses, but we are under some time constraints because of other commitments. If anybody -- we have -- we are down to the last two witnesses. Some of the panel would like to submit questions. If we can speed it up, it would be helpful. STATEMENT OF FATHER JAMES LA BAR. Mr. LaBar. Members of the Senate and the House, it is indeed a privilege to be here today. I hope that the points raised today by all the speakers will be considered very carefully. Speaking of the religious cults, it is important to make some basic definitions. I certainly feel that the term "cult" can be applied to various offshoots of established churches as well. I would have to disagree considerably that the term pseudo-religious cult is inappropriate, because the very idea of the First Amendment and religion, we have to first determine was religion is. So I use the term pseudo-religious cults to describe those groups that purport to call themselves a religious movement, but in fact are only using religion as a shield for their true purpose. Four basic characteristics I see in them: 1. A close allegiance to a person rather than to God. 2. An inordinate preoccupation with the attainment of money, which is not used for the poor or charity, but for the enrichment of the leader. 3. Deceptive practices in recruitment. 4. And deprivation of freedom within the group, and in particular the lack of freedom when it comes time or a desire to leave the group because of what has been taught. I am sure that all of you know that the Roman Catholic Church has a high regard for religious liberty. Together with the World Council of Churches, there is common agreement with the United Nations

Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 that religious liberty, that is an immunity from coercion in religious matters, is an inviolable human right. There is agreement, too, that it is the duty of government to protect and promote human rights; and that includes religious liberty. I come to you today as an American citizen, a parish priest, a Catholic, with years of experience in education, youth programs, and counseling. I come to tell you there is great danger to our young people, to society as a whole in the activities and some practices of pseudo-religious cults. I ask you today to consider the human rights of the children of many of your constituents. These young people have been enticed with false promises and empty ideals and their freedom has been taken away from them in a process you have already heard described. That process is so subtle and so devious that the recruit is not even aware of what happens. Oftentimes leaders of the pseudo-religious cults will try to equate their practices with some of our Roman Catholic seminaries and religious orders, but the absolute falsehood of a charge like this is found in an examination of any of our orders. Let me point out just one difference: Before a candidate for holy orders or the religious life is allowed to make a permanent commitment or accept ordination, a period of years must elapse. During that time, the constant questioning of the individual's own motives and his or her realization of the importance of such a step must take place. Often the director or the novice master will almost try to dissuade them from continuing in the order. Constant reflection is needed and frequent review of the candidates progress is made. Contrast this with the instant membership, the deceit, the empty ideals promised the pseudo cult recruit. The government has no business investigating religion. Everybody opposed to the cults will agree readily to this statement. But when the practices of any group deprives the individual of basic human rights, then as the 1965 Vatican Council II Declaration on Religious Liberty states, "Society has the right to defend itself against possible abuses committed on the pretext of freedom of religion." A court order today can give a blood transfusion to a minor whose parents profess the faith of Jehovah's Witness. The Mormons were required to give up polygamy as a condition for joining the Union. Both of these examples show how society, that is government, can step in when it is needed for public order, public morality, and the respect of the rights of others. It is not the province of the government to declare that the Unification Church is not Christian. Both the National Council of Churches, their Faith and Order Commission, and the Catholic Church have come to that conclusion and stated it publicly on several occasions. Others can determine whether Hari Krishna is true Hinduism or not; but not the government, not the Catholic Church, not the Judaism. But the government can investigate the practices of any group, pseudo-religious or others, that has upset the public order. We must not be misled or hesitant because a certain group hides under the mantle of religious movement. It is important, doubly so in such cases, to protect the legitimate exercise of the First Amendment by out citizens. A true religious movement will be able to withstand any investigation. It is the ones that are falsely labeled that will fall.

Finally, let me advise you that a prerequisite for any understanding of pseudo-religious cults is a realization that what we say and we mean in our words is not always that they mean or they say. Since our value system differs from theirs, we must be on constant guard for the truth. Thank you very much. [Applause.] Senator Dole. Thank you.

One can read from these remarks that Fr LeBar had a very clear understanding of what constitutes good religious groups from bad ones. He understood the rights of individuals to form their own opinions safe from coercion or, as he put it: immunity from coercion in religious matters, is an inviolable human right. In Cults, Sects and the New Age (Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1989) Fr. LeBar would with three other writers- address problems in the Shepherding/Discipleship Movement. The book would specifically identify the Sword of the Spirit as a group that practiced shepherding. His rationale proved timely and accurate as Steven B Clark and Ralph Martin had allied themselves with the men of Christian Growth Ministries, a group of Protestant Charismatic teachers who developed and promoted the concepts of Shepherding throughout the Charismatic Renewal. In the posting, Meeting Minutes of THE COUNCIL: 1974-1977, Clark and Martin are sited as members of the Council, which deliberately kept hidden their meetings and allegiance to one another from the greater Charismatic Renewal. So it was in 1991 that the Most Reverend Bishop Albert Ottenweller would tap Fr. LeBar to lead the pastoral visitation to the Servants of Christ the King, a Branch of the Sword of the Spirit. Despite the complaints that would come from the Sword of the Spirit after the visitation was completed, Fr. LeBar was perhaps the most qualified member of the Catholic clergy to perform an objective assessment. The Report on the Servants of Christ the King was the beginning of a new era in the Catholic Churchs relationship with these Covenant Communities. Now the Church new had a fairly clear picture of what was going on inside of the closed systems of the covenant communities. Fr. LeBar once confided in me during that time that the people of the SOS Community were all good people who loved God and the Church, and for that reason the struggle to free them from oppressive, pastoral practices was worthy of the Churchs efforts. In the latter part of his life, beginning in 1988, Fr. LeBar would be appointed Chief Exorcist of the Archdiocese of New York. By his own account he performed as many as 20 exorcisms/year. He first came to prominence in 1991 when he took part in an exorcism in Palm Beach, Florida, which was broadcast on the ABC television program 20/20. He was appointed the Chief Exorcist of New York in 1992, by Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor. On June 25, 1995 Father LeBar was one of the guests on the Geraldo Rivera television program exploring satanic ritual abuse. When asked during an interview if he ever witnessed levitation during an exorcism he said, "I myself, have never seen a major levitation in the course of an exorcism. However, in one case in the preliminary

investigation, I had a person who rose up above the pews of the church and was suspended there for a few minutes." He told the periodical Spirit Daily at the time of the 25th anniversary release of the film, The Exorcist that it, "is about the most accurate portrayal of what can happen at an exorcism that I have ever seen." Actress Winona Ryder spoke with Father LeBar about exorcisms in 1999 in order to prepare for her film role in the movie Lost Souls in which LeBar was one of the consultants. He even allowed her to view some videotapes of exorcisms he had performed. In July 2002 Father LeBar addressed a conference of Roman Catholic exorcists in Rome. Father LeBar was buried from Regina Coeli Parish in Hyde Park, New York (roughly two hours north of Manhattan) where he was in residence for nearly the last 25 years. His body lay in-state at the church, where visitation were held on Sunday, February 24 in the afternoon and evening; the Mass of Christian Burial was concelebrated with one of the auxiliary bishops of New York on Monday, February 25, at 10:00. According to a colleague of Father LeBar: "For those of us who knew and worked with him, were served or mentored by him, we are trying with Gods grace to come to terms with this loss, both personally and for the Church in America. I have often remarked about Fathers disarmingly dry sense of humora hallmark of the same man who at times directly addressed and expelled demonic forces. A friend asked yesterday, I wonder what Fr. LeBar will say when he sees God the Father? I have no doubt that his sincere but usually witty response, along with his slight Bronx accent, will be something like, Well you do look better in person..." Thank you, Lord, for the life and work of James Joseph LeBar. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Left to Right in November, 1991: Doris Quelet, Most Reverend Albert Ottenweller, John Flaherty and Fr. James LeBar.