Dear John:

I published your message, John, editing out libelous comments and other comments that were too much out-of-line, for four reasons:

1) You did not give me your email address in order to respond privately;

2) To allow one final airing of frustration that you and your brothers have over the comments of Greg;

3) As an object lesson of how not to file a protest; and

4) to make one final appeal to Kappa Sigma to cooperate in resolving the controversy.

John, the other members of Kappa Sigma, while disagreeing with Greg's statements and my response to those statements, wrote to me with great cordiality and charity. Other than the fact that I received so many letters from Kappa Sigma members that I had to ask them to spread the word to stop, their demeanor in their letters was restrained and professional for the most part.

I think you need to rethink the way you are expressing yourself as it does not appear to me to be consistent with the style of your brothers in Kappa Sigma. The approach you have taken with comments that are actually libelous and other comments that are unnecessarily uncharitable to say the least does your fraternity a disservice and damages the reputation of Kappa Sigma far more than anything Greg said.

To the general public Greg can be seen as spewing sour-grapes perhaps. You, however, while perhaps understandably offended by Greg's remarks, are representing Kappa Sigma in your defense of the fraternity and thus need to do so with some decorum.

As I have mentioned in response to the many letters I have received from Kappa Sigma members, this controversy can be EASILY resolved and we can know for sure if Greg is correct or incorrect in his comments.

That easy resolution is to allow me, in a private and confidential way, to review your "secret" ceremonies. I will not reveal their content to anyone, but reviewing them can once-and-for-all resolve the controversy one way or another.

So far the members of Kappa Sigma who have contacted me have refused to allow this.

There is only one legitimate reason to hold these rites secret and that is to not spoil the meaning and impact of the rite on new initiates. Since I am not going to EVER be a candidate for membership in Kappa Sigma, there is no reason hide the material from me -- it is not going to spoil the initiation rites that I will never attend anyway -- as long as I agree to not reveal the content of the rites publicly which could ruin the experience for others.

It is this sort of motivation and attitude that is appropriately taken by the Knights of Columbus. From what I understand with them, it is not so much about secrecy, but about not spoiling the meaning and impact of the ceremony for new initiates. I might also add, that the "secret" ceremonies in the Knights of Columbus are never held secret to the bishop or the Church or other appropriate authorities, or to courts of law should a court demand the information.

Since there is a controversy going on, it would be prudent to have someone is knowledgeable about the issues to review the Kappa Sigma secret rites as long as the secrets themselves remain confidential. Unless the reason for the "secrets" are improper, there is no reason to refuse this solution. In fact, for Sigma Kappa to refuse this would suggest that there is something to hide. As Woodrew Wilson remarked, "Corruption flourishes in secret places".

Since in my own research I have found circumstantial evidence of a potentially problematic nature, and since Kappa Sigma refuses to offer any evidence to clear-up the situation, I have no choice but to offer an opinion of caution to people who may be considering joining Kappa Sigma (or any other similar fraternity).

Until such time as Kappa Sigma is cooperative to provide the evidence needed to resolve this controversy, this subject is now and forever banned from these Q&A's.

God bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary