You know when after a Vatican investigation of the head of a major catholic order it is decided to:
invite the father to a reserved life of penitence and prayer, relinquishing any form of public ministry. The Holy Father approved these decisions.
That suggested there was some there there. Well it took a year after the old man’s death but this stuff is finally coming out publicly:
The Legionaries of Christ, an influential Roman Catholic religious order, have been shaken by new revelations that their founder, who died a year ago, had an affair with a woman and fathered a daughter just as he and his thriving conservative order were winning the acclaim of Pope John Paul II.
Before his death, the founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, had been forced to leave public ministry by Pope Benedict XVI because of accusations from more than a dozen men who said he had sexually abused them when they were students.
Lots of commentary, starting with the American Papist who is all over this:
the Legionaries of Christ have some hard decisions to make with regards to how they respond to this crisis concerning the founder. The eyes of the world are on them, and the prayers of the universal Church are with them. It is somewhat encouraging to see that the current head of the LC’s personally saw to it that a thorough investigation took place. Now let’s hope they follow through on their discoveries.
And he has plenty more on the subject: (more…)
