By Rachel Zoll
The Durango Herald
May 1, 2010
http://durangoherald.com/sections/Features/Religion/2010/05/01/Abusers_Catholic_order_awaits_judgment/
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| The late Pope John Paul II blesses the late father Marcial Maciel, founder of Christ’s Legionaries, on Nov. 30, 2004 during an audience the pontiff granted to participants of the Regnum Christi movement at the Vatican. Photo by Plinio Lepri/AP |
One of the next tests for Pope Benedict XVI in the burgeoning clergy abuse crisis is deciding the fate of a once-prominent, strict religious order that now admits its late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, fathered at least one child and molested underage seminarians.
Results of a Vatican investigation that Benedict ordered last year into the Legionaries of Christ are expected to be released soon, at a time when the Roman Catholic Church is under intense pressure to aggressively confront abuse.
The case is far more complex for Benedict and his aides than uncovering what Maciel did. Although Legion officials insist they have only just learned of Maciel's misdeeds, many critics suspect the clergymen knew that the founder hurt children and led a double life, but did nothing about it. Maciel, who died in 2008 at age 87, had groomed many of the top leaders for their posts. The current general director, the Rev. Alvaro Corcuera, was at Maciel's deathbed.
“If the pope is genuinely intent on dealing with the crisis, at a minimum, he would have to remove that entire high command," said Jason Berry, co-author of the book and documentary Vows of Silence, about victims' attempt to persuade the Vatican to discipline Maciel. “This is a salvage operation. It's mopping up a lot of muck. My question is whether the pope and the men around him truly understand what this organization is."
Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, one of the investigators the Vatican appointed to evaluate the Legion, declined to comment. Germain Grisez, a prominent theologian at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland, said the Legion must “identify those who knew about Maciel's wrongdoing, get rid of them, and begin afresh," with new leaders and a new constitution.
The Legion was founded in Mexico in 1941, and its culture was built around Maciel. His photo adorned every Legion building, his biography and writings were studied, and his birthday was celebrated as a feast day. Until recently, Legion members took a vow not to criticize their superiors, including Maciel.
Edward Peters, a canon lawyer who teaches at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, has said he wonders whether the disgraced priest created the order “to assure himself of ample access to sexual targets and unaccountable funds."
The Legion now claims a membership of more than 800 priests and 2,500 seminarians in 22 countries, along with 70,000 members in its lay arm, Regnum Christi. The movement's global network includes charities, Catholic news outlets, seminaries for young boys, K-12 schools, and universities in Mexico, Italy and elsewhere. Among its U.S. operations is the University of Sacramento in California, a seminary in Cheshire, Conn., and schools in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Georgia and Texas.
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