(LifeSiteNews) – An Ontario priest’s lawsuit against Father Thomas Rosica and the religious order to which he belongs contains a startlingly inaccurate description of the Catholic faith.

The diocesan priest, who is not named in the suit but whose identity is known to LifeSiteNews, has alleged that Fr. Rosica sexually assaulted him in 2000, when the complainant was over 30 years old, and that the Congregation of St. Basil (or Basilian Fathers) are at least partly to blame.

RELATED: Father Rosica’s alleged victim was over 30 when abuse alleged to have occurred: court docs

LifeSiteNews has obtained the Statement of Complaint and the Statements of Defence for both Fr. Rosica and the Basilian Fathers.

Rosica and the Congregation of St. Basil have denied the diocesan priest’s allegations of abuse and misconduct. In a Statement of Defence, Rosica admits that that he “had infrequent ministerial contact with the Plaintiff between 1996 and 2002” but denies that he sexually abused him, sexually assaulted him, subjected him to unwanted touching, or engaged in improper conduct with him.

In the Statement of Claim, the plaintiff or his legal representatives make extraordinary claims about what the Basilian Fathers, as a teaching order and as priests, have taught both the Plaintiff “as well as other members of the Catholic Church.” They include the following:

• “that the Roman Catholic Church is … the representation (sic) of God’s true teachings on earth”
• “that the authority of the Roman Catholic Church is supreme”
• “that by following the rules, principles and ideologies of the Roman Catholic Church one will gain the right (sic) to go to Heaven and that by failing to follow same one will not go to Heaven and will go to Hell”
• “that parents must bring their children up in the ways (sic) of the Roman Catholic Church so that they can be educated with respect to the ways (sic) of the Church”
• “that you must go to church at least once a week and attend Roman Catholic schools where the rules, principles and ideologies (sic) of the Roman Catholic Church and religion are taught”
• “that the rule of God is supreme and that to disobey the rule of God is a mortal sin (sic) which will cause one to go to Hell”
• “that God’s representation on earth and the teachings of God are done through priests (sic)”
• “that priests are the chosen representatives on earth of God and have special powers”
• “the priests are to be viewed with special reverence, power (sic), respect, honour, and authority”

The Statement of Claim also alleges that the Basilians “employed Rosica to carry out the purposes and teachings referred to above in dealing with the Plaintiff.”

In addition, it claims the following:

The Plaintiff had been taught in seminary and otherwise by the Basilians and the Roman Catholic church that homosexuality was intrinsically disordered toward evil, and the abuse by Rosica towards him was the fault of the Plaintiff.

According to the lawsuit, the Plaintiff himself was a priest in his late 20s when he first met Rosica at a continuing education day held in his (the Plaintiff’s) diocese.

Meanwhile, Catholics do not believe that the Church is a “representation of God’s teachings” but an assembly (“Ecclesia”) of Christian believers. Catholics believe that only God’s authority is supreme. They do not believe that anyone has the “right” to go to heaven, and they do not refer to the doctrine of the Church as “rules, principles and ideologies.” The Catholic Church offers teachings, not “ways,” and Catholic children are not required to attend Catholic schools; their parents are merely asked to ensure that they receive Catholic catechetical instruction.

Catholics do not believe that violating God’s will in each and every respect is a one-way ticket to hell, and in the case of serious, that is, mortal sins, they hold out the remedy of repentance, confession, and absolution through the Sacrament of Penance.

Priests are considered the servants of God and are only His representatives insofar as when, in offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they stand “in persona Christi” in the person of Jesus Christ.

In its Statement of Defence, the Congregation of St. Basil deny that Rosica is its “employee.” Unsurprisingly, they also deny “that the Plaintiff has accurately described the tenets, teachings and operations of the Roman Catholic Church.”

In Rosica’s Statement of Defence, he also repudiates the inaccurate description of Catholic doctrine, saying “that to the extent the Statement of Claim contains observations of religious doctrine, tenets, ideologies, and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, such allegations are incorrect, misstated or misinterpreted.”

The claims about what the Basilians are alleged to have taught the Plaintiff, who did not indicate that he had ever attended a Basilian school, college or parish, were prefaced by statements that the priest was a “devoted member of the Roman Catholic Church” when the alleged events occurred, that he was “raised in a religious family in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church” and that “along with his family he was a member of” his parish church and “attended Catholic schools.”

Deacon Keith Fournier, a lawyer and the founder and chairman of Common Good Foundation and Common Good Alliance, told LifeSiteNews that the statements in the Plaintiff’s complaint “are not accurate explanations of Catholic teaching.”

“In fact, they are errant in many cases,” Fournier added.

The complaint was filed in March. LifeSiteNews has ascertained that the Plaintiff was relieved of his parish duties in 2023.

LifeSiteNews contacted the Basilians’ Superior General for comment last week.

“As you are aware, this matter is before the courts,” Father Kevin J. Storey replied by email.

“It would not be appropriate for us to provide comments or respond to allegations outside the court process.  The Basilian Fathers have faith in our legal system and the Canon Law system.”