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Confidant cardinal tells new tales about Pope John Paul's role in scandal In a new book, John Paul II’s longtime secretary claims that the former pope is not to blame for his support and praise of a disgraced power broker accused of pedophilia and bribery, according to a Catholic News Service report. The book, written in Italian by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and titled Ho Vissuto con un Santo (I Lived with a Saint), has apparently changed certain memories of factual inconvenience — creating a sort of performance piece that sings truths people never knew. Pope Francis has ordered the canonization...

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) Documents detailing the dubious fundraising practices of a disgraced Roman Catholic religious order called the Legion of Christ were released to the public Friday, showing how the organization took control of an elderly woman's finances and persuaded her to bequeath it $60 million.

A prominent Catholic priest, praised by Pope John Paul II as "an efficacious guide to youth," Father Marcial Maciel, sexually abused not only young seminarians under his control but also abused his own children, according to a lawsuit filed today in Connecticut by a man who claims to be Maciel's son. In an interview to be broadcast Monday evening on ABC News Nightline, the priest's son, Raul Gonzalez, 30, says he thought his father worked for the CIA or an international oil company, until he saw the priest's picture in a 1997 magazine article detailing allegations of sexual abuse. "My...

In May 2006, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) made public its decision to “invite” Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the religious order the Legion of Christ and the lay movement Regnum Christi, to “a reserved life of penitence and prayer, relinquishing any form of public ministry.” The CDF decision was approved by Pope Benedict XVI. From that date forward, both before and after Fr. Maciel’s death in 2008, senior officials of the Holy See have insisted that this action was intended to “save the Legion and Regnum Christi,” as one such official put it to me.Assuming,...

My father, canon lawyer Edward Peters, speaks about the Maciel meltdown and the future of the Legion. I'm excerpting some of the most important points. You can read the rest of his blog entry here. The Legion should (if it can, and I'm not sure it has the self-possession to do this) identify every official who knew of Maciel's canonical crimes or who suspected them, but did nothing (let alone cooperated with them!) and expel them under 1983 CIC 696. Canonical crimes by a number of persons might well have been committed here (see e.g. 1983 CIC 1389); these...

Someone is lying ... but is it the 100 alleged abuse victims or Fr. Maciel? Brian Mershon Brian Mershon August 7, 2006 From the August 10 edition of The Wanderer Since the official May 19 statement from the Holy See suspending Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, from all public ministry, more information has become available to shed light on the case from additional sources. The following letter and interview, a new charge of sexual abuse against Fr. Maciel, is an exclusive to The Wanderer. Francisco Gonzalez-Parga, a former priest and seminarian with the Legionaries of Christ...

The New Curia of Benedict XVI Looks toward Asia The new prefect of “Propaganda Fide” comes from India. And the new secretary of the congregation for the liturgy is from Sri Lanka. His first public address was the presentation of a book. And it was revealing by Sandro Magister ROMA, May 26, 2006 – On his first anniversary as pope, Benedict XVI asked God “to grant that I may be a gentle and firm Pastor.” He is already gentle and firm, to judge by his recent actions. It’s enough to consider how on May 19 he imposed retirement from public...

The Legionaries of Christ: Fr. Maciel's Trial Draws Nearer The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has begun a preliminary investigation and has interviewed dozens of new witnesses – who have filled pages with new accusations by Sandro Magister ROMA, May 20, 2005 – Last April 2, just as John Paul II was dying in Rome, in New York the promoter of justice for the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Charles J. Scicluna, from Malta, was interviewing Paul Lennon, the former headmaster of a "School of Faith" run by the Legionaries of Christ. Mr. Lennon, who...

Editor’s Note: The author wishes it to be known that while he did not have direct contact with the Legion regarding the Maciel case, he was employed in a capacity in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s that brought him in intimate contact with members of the Legion of Christ’s lay movement, Regnum Christi, and has been familiar with the accusations detailed below for some time—both as matters reported in the press, and as matters discussed among members of Regnum Christi and responded to by the Legion itself. The elevation of Cardinal Ratzinger to the Pontificate of the Roman Catholic...

Hi. I know many FReepers are often better informed about these matters than the general public, so I was hoping some of you could give me some insight into whether or not there is any substance to the charges that Fr. Maciel, founder of the Legionnaries of Christ, has abused seminarians in the past. Thanks!

Vatican Revisits Abuse Charges Accused Priest Is Close To The Pope January 3, 2005 By GERALD RENNER The Vatican has reopened an investigation into charges first reported nearly eight years ago that a powerful Mexican priest close to the pope sexually abused seminarians. The allegations focus on the actions of the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, now 84 and based in Rome. He leads a religious order known as the Legionaries of Christ, which claims 600 priests in 18 countries. Its U.S. headquarters is in Orange and it has a seminary in Cheshire. The allegations surfaced in a Courant report in...