A New Jersey hospital operator with a saintly name underfunded its pensions to the tune of $70 million by improperly claiming entitlement to ERISA’s “church plan” exemption, a federal judge says.

U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp held Monday that St. Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, which employs 2,800 people at 478-bed St. Peter’s University Hospital, is not entitled to the exemption under the statute because it was not established by a church or association of churches.