BishopAccountability.org
	Sins of the Founder Catholic Online May 31, 2006 http://www.catholic.org/views/views_news.php?id=20036 Last month's action taken by the Vatican against Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, Mexican founder of the Legionaries of Christ, is both saddening and instructive. In a May 19 statement, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) "invited" the 86-year-old Father Maciel to spend the remainder of his life in "prayer and penance, refraining from all public ministry." The restrictions were approved by Pope Benedict XVI. The action comes after a long Vatican investigation into accusations of sexual abuse levied against Father Maciel by dozens of individuals, including several former Legionary seminarians, who charge the acts took place between 1943 and the early 1980s. Father Maciel and the Legionaries have consistently denied the charges. The Vatican has said there will be no canonical trial of Father Maciel due to his advanced age. Given the circumstances, however, canon lawyers and other observers speculate that the CDF invitation amounts to a finding that at least some of the charges against the founder were credible. It is significant that the investigation of Father Maciel was reopened by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who as pope has approved the present restrictions despite the many affirmations of Father Maciel's position by Pope John Paul II and other Vatican officials. Without a formal trial on the charges, however, Father Maciel's defenders can still claim his innocence and say that his reputation – and that of the Legionaries – has been maliciously besmirched. While the order does have its critics, the sins of the Father should not ipso facto be visited upon the heads of his children. The good done by an organization should not be sullied by the failings of its most prominent figures, any more than its reputation should ride too heavily on its founder's public merits and persona. As Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in announcing the statement: "Independently of the person of the founder, the well-deserving apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and of the association Regnum Christi is recognized with gratitude." That apostolate includes evangelization, catechesis, family ministry and Catholic journalism (the Legionaries publish the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine). Prudent though it may be, the CDF action leaves many questions unanswered. While the U.S. bishops have spoken of their commitment to "transparency" in sex-abuse cases, the charges and evidence against Father Maciel remain obscured, with journalists having to rely on the anonymous testimony of those cardinals and Vatican officials who have seen the case file. Indeed, one of the great flaws of the U.S. bishops' policies on handling child sex-abuse accusations against clergy is that they apply to dioceses but not necessarily to religious orders, whose leaders do not answer directly to the local bishop. The stalemate thus created fails to convict or to vindicate Father Maciel of the accusations. We pray for Father Maciel and his followers, but we must also pray for those who claim to be his victims. If they speak falsely, may God have mercy on them; if they speak the truth, then imagine their pain in enduring years of attacks and innuendo from many church leaders. God can make good bloom even in the darkest of times. The case of Father Maciel reminds us finally to pray that this terrible cross of scandal that our church is carrying will lead to great fruits of renewal and reform.
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