Pope Benedict to Overhaul Legion of Christ
By STACY MEICHTRY And JOSÉ DE CÓRDOBA
VATICAN CITY—Pope Benedict XVI will overhaul the Legion of Christ, one of the most powerful orders in Roman Catholicism, in the wake of a Vatican investigation into decades of cover-ups inside the order that allowed its founder to sexually abuse seminarians and father at least one child.
In a statement Saturday, the
"The conduct of Father Marcial Maciel Degollado had consequences in the life and the structure of the Legion that are so serious as to require a journey of profound revision," the
Father Maciel, who died in 2008, had always denied the allegations of sexual abuse. The Legion, which defended the founder for years, repudiated Father Maciel last month and apologized to his victims. "The Legionaries thank the Holy Father and embrace his provisions with faith and obedience," the Legion said in a statement posted on its Web site Saturday.
In an email responding to an interview request, Luis Garza, the Legion's No. 2 official, said: "For the moment, we will have to wait a bit to have the context and full knowledge of everything."
The overhaul of the Legion comes as Benedict XVI is under intense pressure to show his willingness to crack down on sexual abuse in the highest ranks of Catholicism. Over the years, Benedict XVI has stripped many sexually abusive priests of their ministry and met with victims in the
Benedict XVI, who visited the Shroud of Turin Sunday, will meet with bishops from
Critics have faulted the pope for not taking swift action against bishops and other powerful figures within the Church hierarchy who for decades allowed the abuse to occur on their watch and, in many cases, failed to alert police and other civil authorities.
The decision to act against the order came one day after Benedict XVI met with top advisers inside
A person close to the Legion said the order was taken by surprise Saturday by how quickly the
Father Maciel, who founded the Legion in
Father Maciel also cultivated close ties with top Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who was then the
In its statement on Saturday, the
At the same time, Father Maciel's loyalists inside the Legion fostered a "mechanism of defense," the
The
The person close to the Legion noted the
The
In 1997, nine former Legion seminarians went public in an article in the Hartford Courant about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Father Maciel. A year later, the seminarians filed a formal complaint to the office of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Benedict XVI, who was then among a handful of top
Cardinal Ratzinger, tabled the former seminarians' 1998 complaint until quietly reviving it in December 2004, a few months before Pope John Paul II died.
One year after his election as pope in April 2005, Benedict XVI sanctioned Father Maciel, prohibiting him from celebrating Mass in public and ordering the priest to live a "private life" of prayer and penance.
Although the sanctions were regarded as unusually tough inside the
In 2009, Benedict launched an investigation into the Legion itself, naming five church investigators, called "visitators," to inspect the Legion's global network of seminaries, schools and centers for its lay movement.
The Legion has some 800 priests and 2,500 seminarians operating universities and schools in more than 20 countries from
Thoughts, views, opinions, ramblings, ruminations, caterwauling – well you get the point – on such divers topics (mainly politics) as I deem fit.
Monday, May 03, 2010
New Developments re the Legion of Christ
The Vatican moved to take control of the Legion of Christ over the weekend. Two interesting, related, aspects of this story:
(1) The Vatican issued it's announcement without notifying the Legion; and,
(2) It appears from reports that, despite the evidence, some (many?) of the Legion's leaders still don't get it. They still seem to think that this latest scandal involving Fr. Maciel will blow over and it'll soon be "business as usual".
Here's the story from the Wall Street Journal:
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