Special correspondent

St. Bernardino- The May 5th hearing in the case of Seryani v. Holy See and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was delayed till June 6th in order to obtain all documents needed before the judge can decide on the jurisdiction of the court.

Judge Donald Alvarez of the superior court of the county of St. Bernardino rebuffed attempts by the Defendants’ lawyers to limit the documentation that the court could receive to evaluate the issue of jurisdiction.

At the hearing, counsel for Seryani provided the Court with a large box of documents that represented all the filings by all of the Parties on the Jurisdiction motion. The motion to Quash Jurisdiction has come before the Court on three separate occasions because the defendants have attempted repeatedly to prevent Seryani from obtaining documents and information regarding the financial relationship between California and the Latin Patriarchate.

Strenuous efforts were made by the defendants’ lawyers from Clark & Trevithick law firm to prevent the disclosure of important documents and information relating to the issue of Jurisdiction.

Seryani’s lawyer, Robert J. Spitz, was forced to bring motions to compel several depositions because these defendants resisted every attempt to ask any questions of these officials. Eventually, the Court ruled in favor of Seryani and compelled the defendants to testify about these matters. The depositions were finally taken of the Western Lieutenancy for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, and the Financial Director for the Latin Patriarchate.

Judge Alverez declined the demands of the Defendants and agreed to accept all the evidence and exhibits of Seryani for his consideration. Once all documentation is approved and submitted, the Court will take the Motion to Quash under its full consideration and issue a ruling.

In addition to the massive amount of evidence and documentation that was compiled and presented by Seryani in support of Jurisdiction, Judge Alvarez asked counsel for Seryani to add two insignificant documents that were inadvertently omitted from Seryani’s scrupulous compilation of documents, before approving the submission as complete.

Serynai’s lawyer contends that the massive amount of evidence and documentation that was compiled along with the direct admissions of His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal point to the fact that there is overwhelming evidence for jurisdiction. The documents and testimony that refer to nearly one million dollars every year from California to LPJ for its work in the Holy Land clearly prove the jurisdiction of the California court, the lawyer argued. He told the court that the American University of Madaba, owned by LPJ, that Seryani provided his critical skill and expertise to establish as a pre-eminent University for the Archdiocese in the Middle East. He contended that Seryani has provided several million dollars in financial support for the University, while hopelessly waiting for the Vatican to fulfill its promise of funding.

In a history-making event, the former Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal personally answered questions posed regarding the financial backing of LPJ by the Grand Magisterium. His Beatitude admitted to the fact that LPJ “receives substantially all of its funds” from members of the Equestrian Order around the world, including the California Lieutenancy.

Legal experts following the California cases note that as a result of these depositions and the admissions that were made under penalty of perjury by Twal and the Equestrian Order, “all of the information necessary to establish Jurisdiction in the State of California for Seryani’s claim has been provided.” This includes the evidence provided by citizens of California regarding financial support in the amount of nearly one million dollars, each and every year that is sent directly to LPJ through the Grand Magisterium in Rome.

Judge in Seryani v. Holy See  wants more documents before deciding on jurisdiction

Special correspondent

St. Bernardino- The May 4th hearing in the case of Seryani v. Holy See and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was delayed till June 6th so in order to obtain all documents needed before the judge can decide on the jurisdiction of the court.

Judge Donald Alvarez of the superior court of the county of St. Bernardino rebuffed attempts by the Defendants to limit the documentation that the Court could receive to evaluate the issue of Jurisdiction.

At the hearing, counsel for Seryani, Robert J. Spitz provided the Court with a large box of documents that represented all the filings by all of the Parties on the Jurisdiction motion. The motion to Quash Jurisdiction has come before the Court on three separate occasions because the defendants have attempted repeatedly to prevent Seryani from obtaining documents and information regarding the financial relationship between California and the Latin Patriarchate.

Strenuous efforts were made by the defendants’ lawyers from Clark & Trevithick law firm to prevent the disclosure of important documents and information relating to the issue of Jurisdiction.

Seryani’s lawyer Robert J. Spitz was forced to bring motions to compel several depositions because these defendants resisted every attempt to ask any questions of these officials. Eventually, the Court ruled in favor of Seryani and compelled the defendants to testify about these matters. The depositions were finally taken of the Western Lieutenancy for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, and the Financial Director for the Latin Patriarchate.

Judge Alverez declined the demands of the Defendants and agreed to accept all the evidence and exhibits of Seryani for his consideration. Once all documentation is approved and submitted, the Court will take the Motion to Quash under its full consideration and issue a ruling.

In addition to the massive amount of evidence and documentation that was compiled and presented by Seryani in support of Jurisdiction, Judge Alvarez asked counsel for Seryani to add two insignificant documents that were inadvertently omitted from Seryani’s scrupulous compilation of documents, before approving the submission as complete.

Serynai’s lawyer contends that the massive amount of evidence and documentation that was compiled along with the direct admissions of His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal point to the fact that there is overwhelming evidence for jurisdiction. The documents and testimony that refer to nearly one million dollars every year from California to LPJ for its work in the Holy Land clearly prove the jurisdiction of the California court, the lawyer argued. He told the court that the American University of Madaba, owned by LPJ, that Seryani provided his critical skill and expertise to establish as a pre-eminent University for the Archdiocese in the Middle East. He contended that Seryani has provided several million dollars in financial support for the University, while hopelessly waiting for the Vatican to fulfill its promise of funding.

In a history-making event, the former Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal personally answered questions posed regarding the financial backing of LPJ by the Grand Magisterium. His Beatitude admitted to the fact that LPJ “receives substantially all of its funds” from members of the Equestrian Order around the world, including the California Lieutenancy.

Legal experts following the California cases note that as a result of these depositions and the admissions that were made under penalty of perjury by Twal and the Equestrian Order, “all of the information necessary to establish Jurisdiction in the State of California for Seryani’s claim has been provided.” This includes the evidence provided by citizens of California regarding financial support in the amount of nearly one million dollars, each and every year that is sent directly to LPJ through the Grand Magisterium in Rome.

Formore read

Financial troubles faced by American University in Madaba