Legionaries of Christ bishops ask forgiveness for founder's behaviour

DOUBLE LIFE: ANOTHER TIDAL wave in the ongoing tsunami of clerical sex abuse allegations sweeping over the Catholic Church hit…

DOUBLE LIFE:ANOTHER TIDAL wave in the ongoing tsunami of clerical sex abuse allegations sweeping over the Catholic Church hit the Holy See yesterday when top officials of the Legionaries of Christ order asked forgiveness for the behaviour of their founder, the late Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado.

Expressing their “consternation”, Legionary bishops confirmed that allegations against Fr Maciel, claiming that he had led a sexually dissolute life, had been substantiated. For some years, media reports have suggested that Fr Maciel, rather than being the founder of an ultra-orthodox, ascetical, devout and vibrant religious congregation, had in fact lived a second life which involved a whole series of sexual affairs with men, women and boys in many different parts of the world.

In May 2006, after investigating allegations that Fr Maciel had sexually abused young seminarians, Pope Benedict ordered him to stop practising his ministry and sentenced him to a “retired life of prayer and penitence”. Two years later, he ordered an Apostolic visitation to the Legionaries following Fr Maciel’s death in January 2008.

The visitation, comprising five bishops from Mexico, the US, Chile, Italy and Spain, began in July of last year and was concluded early this month, although the Holy See has not yet issued its findings.

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Yesterday’s Legionary statement goes on: “[The 2006 Vatican visitation] reached sufficient moral certainty to impose serious canonical sanctions related to the accusations made against Fr Maciel, which included the sexual abuse of minor seminarians.

“Therefore, though it causes us consternation, we have to say that these acts did take place.” Asking forgiveness from “those whom we did not believe or were incapable of giving a hearing to, since at the time we could not imagine that such behaviour took place”, the Legionary bishops add: “If it turns out that anyone culpably co-operated in his misdeeds, we will act according to the principles of Christian justice and charity, holding these people responsible for their actions.”

The future of the order now clearly rests in the hands of Pope Benedict.