VATICAN CITY
Rappler
BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
POSTED ON 12/07/2013
VATICAN CITY – The Legion of Christ, a Catholic congregation, said on Friday, December 6, it had found 9 of its priests guilty of sexual abuse of minors including its disgraced founder and one who assaulted a novice in the United States.
The Legion’s reputation was already clouded by earlier revelations about Marcial Maciel, who set up the group in Mexico in 1941 and was accused of abusing 8 young seminarians as well as fathering a child.
Father Sylvester Heereman, the group’s acting general director, said the investigations had shown up a “painful and horrifying reality” and emphasized his commitment to tackling abuse in the conservative group.
It said two of the priests had been defrocked and 7 had “sanctions imposed on their life and ministry.”
Legion officials were unable to say whether any of these cases were being investigated by civil authorities, although some date back decades and the crimes may have expired under statutes of limitations.
A total of 35 priests were accused in the investigation, which was conducted under Canon Law.
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