Secretive Catholic Order Founded by Accused Pedophile Under Fire

Number of posts: 441 Age: 21 Registration date: 2008-11-03 Points: 1084

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/secretive-catholic-order-founded-by-accused-pedophile-under-fire/19398262

Quote:

(March 14) -- As sex abuse scandals rock the Vatican, the results of an investigation into a rich, ultra-conservative and secretive Roman Catholic order founded by a priest accused of pedophilia and incest are due to be filed in Rome tomorrow.

The sordid story of the Legion of Christ, whose late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, was a close ally of Pope John Paul II before being forcibly retired by the Vatican in 2006, is a microcosm of the crisis currently enveloping the church.

At stake is whether Pope Benedict XVI will decide to take over the Legion and install new leaders from the outside or allow it to continue with its same hierarchy. Five bishops from five countries are expected to submit their reports about the Legion Monday.

The controversy over the Legion, which is now barred or severely restricted from operating in six U.S. dioceses, is especially awkward for Benedict because he wants to have John Paul, a staunch defender of the order, canonized.

"Maciel was a sexual criminal of epic proportions who gained the trust of John Paul II and created a movement that is as close to a cult as anything we've seen in the church," said author Jason Berry, one of two reporters who broke the Maciel story in 1997 and who directed a 2008 documentary about the priest called "Vows of Silence."

"But he got away with it for years and still in a sense he's getting away with it."

The Vatican ordered a worldwide investigation into the Legion, founded in Mexico in 1941, last year. But its response to decades of allegations involving Maciel has been as slow and often reluctant as its reaction to the long-festering sex abuse scandals now erupting in Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

In 1997, nine former high-ranking seminarians accused Maciel, who died in 2008, of sexually abusing them when they were boys training for the priesthood. Last year, it was discovered Maciel had an illegitimate daughter born in 1986 in Spain. Two Mexican men who say they are Maciel's sons claim he also sexually abused them as children.

With a leader said to be a manipulative monster who built a shadowy but powerful organization for elite, wealthy Catholics with schools in 22 countries – and a tradition of grooming handsome, clean-cut priests who all wear their hair parted on the left and black double-breasted suits -- the Legion of Christ sounds straight out of a Dan Brown novel.

But while Opus Dei, the other controversial conservative Catholic order, was made famous in Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," the Legion of Christ is virtually unknown to most Americans – at least on the surface.

Two of the most visible priests in America are Father Thomas Williams, a movie-star-handsome CBS News analyst, and Father Jonathan Morris, who is sometimes referred to as "Father Knows Best" on the Fox News Channel. They belong to the Legion of Christ but rarely identify themselves as such on camera.

"Dan Brown got the wrong group," said Genevieve Kineke, an orthodox Catholic who was a member of Regnum Christi, the legion's lay movement, from 1992 to 2000 and writes a blog about her experiences. "The Legion of Christ is the scary cult embedded in the bosom of the mother church. Not Opus Dei."

Though the Vatican knew of improprieties involving Maciel as far back as 1956, he was praised and protected by John Paul II, who became pope in 1978 and once called Maciel "an efficacious guide to youth."

Even when the former seminarians went public in 1997 about Maciel's sexual abuse and filed a formal complaint with the Vatican, the church at first did nothing while the Legion and other high-profile conservative Catholics called them liars.

A book, Vows of Silence, written by Hartford Courant reporter Gerald Renner and writer Jason Berry, was published in 2004 with what one reviewer called "horror stories... of brainwashing, manipulation, pederast seduction rituals, character assassination, bribes, drug abuse, gulag-type threats -- you name it."

Shortly after that, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would succeed John Paul, ordered an investigation that ended with Maciel being consigned to a life of "prayer and penitence" after John Paul's death in 2005. But the Legion itself was not condemned nor the victims acknowledged.

It wasn't until the discovery that Maciel had a daughter living in Spain that the Vatican ordered the worldwide investigation, reportedly to find out who in the Legion knew about Maciel's behavior and how it was covered up.

"Of course we're shocked and disappointed by all of this," said Jim Fair, the spokesman for the Legion of Christ in North America. "It's as if Father Maciel lived in two different universes, like some old science fiction movie. And now it's all blowing up."

Fair said the order has "toned down the veneration," such as often removing the photographs of Maciel that adorned Legion facilities. He added that the Legion welcomed the apostolic visitation, which is what the Vatican investigation is called.

"He was obviously a very flawed man," said Fair. "It's hard to reconcile the guy we now know with the man who built hundreds of seminaries. But we will go on. The work of the church is bigger than humans. It's a little as if we found out Abraham Lincoln was a serial pedophile after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation."

Interviews with former members of the Legion and Regnum Christi paint a chilling picture of Maciel as a sociopathic master salesman who knew how to charm the upper echelon at the Vatican as well as enlist the wealthy and elite to his fast-growing order, all while using cult-like techniques.

"He created a structure that allowed sexual abuse, financial fraud and spiritual improprieties to go completely unchecked," said Kineke. "Believe me, the best and the brightest got sucked into this scam. I was one. I was an elite bully for Christ."

Kineke said part of Maciel's allure was that he represented an old-school alternative in a modern, post-Vatican II world.

"But these recent incest claims have rattled even the sturdiest of cages," she said.

Paul Lennon, 66, was a member of the order from 1961 to 1984 and directs ReGAIN, an organization founded by ex-Legionaries.

"It was nothing short of mind control," said Lennon, who wrote a 2008 book about Maciel called Our Father Who Art in Bed. "He conned everybody."

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, 70, who was named the world's richest man by Forbes last week, has long been a supporter of the Legion. His children attended Legion schools in Mexico.

Harvard professor and former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Mary Anne Glendon has also been a staunch supporter of the Legion.

But the man whom all Legionaries venerated as a near-saint and called "Nuestro Padre" (Our Father) allegedly led a double life as a pedophile and had at least two mistresses and three children.

"He destroyed my life," said Juan Vaca, 73, a former superior of the Legion of Christ who said he was molested by Maciel for ten years beginning when he was 12. "I dreamt of being a good priest. He killed all my dreams."

Vaca, like many interviewed by AOL News, doubts that the Vatican will make any lasting changes to the Legion of Christ, despite the investigation.

"The Vatican may distance itself a bit but the Legion is too powerful to shut down," Vaca said.

Vaca who left the order in 1978, is an adjunct professor of psychology and sociology at Mercy College. He remembers the first night he was summoned to Maciel's room. He said he found the man who was "a holy man, my mother and my father, everything to me," masturbating in front of him.

"I turned into a block of ice," said Vaca, who had left his family behind in Mexico to move to the order in Spain. "I was petrified."

Vaca said 28 other young seminarians were sexually abused by Maciel at the same time he was, and adds that some of them "went on to abuse others as they grew up."

That misuse of sex and power was an undercurrent that helped fuel the growth of the order, according to several former members of the Legion and Regnum Christi.

"Maciel always told me to recruit the most handsome boys from the best families," said Vaca. "They were trained to approach rich women. I'm not saying they had sexual relationships with these women but they did know how to charm them."

Kineke and others also said Legion priests are notoriously successful in winning over women to the church.

"They are spiritual seducers," said another former Regnum Christi member. "They are the only priests I've seen who have swept people off their feet. These men woo women because they want access to our children and our husbands' wallets."

In an interview not long before his death in 2007, "Vows of Silence" author Gerald Renner said Maciel was not the only priest in the Legion who led a double life. Renner referred to one priest who he said was known as "the horndog of Rome" for his many affairs with women.

"The Legion by its very nature spawns people who lead double lives," said Lennon. "Maciel was certainly not the only hypocrite in the Legion but he was definitely the worst one."

As for this, I had no clue of the Legion of Christ even existing. I am glad to hear of this news and hopefully, the founder of this cult and the pedo-problems plagueing Catholicism will cease with the removal of the cult. I am just upset that they claim this cult is to big within Catholicism to completely wipe out.

The removal of the falsehood that makes Catholicism look bad will certainly be a step towards a greater Church and removal of my anti-Christianity.

It's not a cult, its an order.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

Number of posts: 935 Age: 18 Registration date: 2009-08-18 Points: 1486

you cannot use hypocrites as an image for christianity because these men are obviously not men of god, what makes a man a man of god is their fruits, this is what makes true christian people have a perfect image, your either living in sin and are not a man of god, or you are a man of god and are a christian.

_________________

*senses imminent flaming*

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Admin wrote:

Get your own thread you kangaroo lover.

Metal Blessing wrote:

LastFirstborn wrote:

Shut up, hatters.

I never have been much of a hat person really

Number of posts: 441 Age: 21 Registration date: 2008-11-03 Points: 1084

wizardovmetal wrote:

you cannot use hypocrites as an image for christianity because these men are obviously not men of god, what makes a man a man of god is their fruits, this is what makes true christian people have a perfect image, your either living in sin and are not a man of god, or you are a man of god and are a christian.

More evidence as you claimed.

I'm not saying Legion of Christ is Christian. I'm finally exposing a hidden evil that lurked within Catholicism which led to much of my anti-Catholicism with the Pedo Priests. I'm finding it interesting though, that very recently all the news are speaking out again on Mass Pedophilia, but an order I didn't even know exist which covers much of Catholicism is behind it all, not the Catholic church itself, although I do wonder with John Paul. I'm with Benedict and the Vatican on this one and this isn't something you would be used to me saying.

I find it interesting that Dan Brown used this in His book according to the article, but he grabbed the wrong name.

That was a disturbing article. So this guy's dead?
Rest in Hell.

Secretive orders don't usually have websites that can be easily googled:

http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/eng/index.phtml?height=768&width=1024&sw=1&sw2=

Very Happy

But seriously, it was disturbing to read that article. There are hundreds of orders of differing sizes in the Catholic church, however, and unfortunately pedophilia is not confined to certain orders

I am so f*cking tired of this sites anti-catholicism.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

How is this anti-catholic? The Catholic church is investigating this...the pope consigned the priest in question to a life of 'prayer and penitence'". This is a terrible thing, but how is talking about it anti-catholic? Pope Benedict seems to be handling it properly.

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Yeah, I don't see it in this thread, either. The use of "cult" over "order" is an honest mistake of ignorance, but even that pertains to an order founded by someone who abused their authority within that order. It's a very specific issue; not a general attack against Catholicism.

olias wrote:

I am so f*cking tired of this sites anti-catholicism.

Sorry?! Maybe I chose some words poorly -I meant that the problem of pedophilia in the church is one that needs investigation, as numerous cases worldwide show. This is an order (not a cult, and not a 'secretive order' either), where certain individuals have acted in an appalling way. It would be remiss to blame an entire order (or indeed, an entire denomination) for the actions of a very few.

Number of posts: 441 Age: 21 Registration date: 2008-11-03 Points: 1084

To begin, yes, the word cult instead of order was an honest mistake. I had very little knowledge of what was spoken, but the way it was portrayed made me think, cult, when it was really order. Olias soon jumped ship and fixed it for me as did Sutekh.

Anti-Catholicism it is not! It is anti-pedophilia. I straight up said that I'm in support of the Catholic Church and Benedict for investigating this.

Sutekh is correct and that is something I still have a personal problem with to sort through. I have only this for knowledge on Legion of Christ. I should go and read the article Sutekh posted for what it really is, corrupt founder or not.

As disturbing of a read this is, the Truth of the matter is, keeping the mouth shut is how the atrocity is able to get away with what it does and draws people more and more away from God. As disturbing as is, I feel we need to know so that way, we can combat it, not just let it slip by us until it becomes what it is today.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Sutekh is a Catholic. I know Mark is, but I don't know of any other Catholics are here as well. I for sure know this doesn't apply to the church or either of them so this can't be an anti-Catholic thread.

Yes, very recently both news came from Aol, so who knows what's up with them, but the 2 articles caught my attention and I felt I needed to post them. 1st for a correction, but this one is moreso with what is happening to help strengthen the Truth and to help remove the plague of Pedophilia within this Earth.

Truth bearers are supposed to combat sin, no matter how sick the sin is. At least let us be informed so we know what is going on and what we could possibly do to stop the pedo, because I'm honestly sick and tired of hearing it as well.

Death over Life wrote:

Anti-Catholicism it is not! It is anti-pedophilia. I straight up said that I'm in support of the Catholic Church and Benedict for investigating this.

The pardon me. I live in the south and I take a lot of crap here for my faith. I am not trying to make myself a martyr. I think that sort of thing is lame...I can just be testy and sometimes jump to conclusions based on my experiences.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

Number of posts: 441 Age: 21 Registration date: 2008-11-03 Points: 1084

olias wrote:

Death over Life wrote:

Anti-Catholicism it is not! It is anti-pedophilia. I straight up said that I'm in support of the Catholic Church and Benedict for investigating this.

The pardon me. I live in the south and I take a lot of crap here for my faith. I am not trying to make myself a martyr. I think that sort of thing is lame...I can just be testy and sometimes jump to conclusions based on my experiences.

You sound just like me to be honest. I pardon you. Still cool! \m/

Where in the south do you live? I ask because if we live in similar areas, it could be why I see Christianity so negatively, albeit my ventings are loosening before my research.

Tennessee. It's not so horrible, its more personal experiences then me-against-society type things.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

Yeah...I understand. I live in Utah and I am not Mormon. I wouldn't want to live in Baptist country, either...I am not Roman Catholic, but I would still be branded a baby-baptizer....not fun.

_________________

BryneVampyr wrote:

Yeah...I understand. I live in Utah and I am not Mormon. I wouldn't want to live in Baptist country, either...I am not Roman Catholic, but I would still be branded a baby-baptizer....not fun.

There are a lot of weird preconceived notions about catholics down here. The other day one of my managers claimed that catholics believed that we believe schizophrenics are possessed by the devil.

I mentally lolled inside....oh so bitterly.

People need to be informed by sources other then movies.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

I think everyone used to believe that...before we knew that schizophrenia was a mental illness that had a physical cause.

_________________

Number of posts: 935 Age: 18 Registration date: 2009-08-18 Points: 1486

olias wrote:

I am so f*cking tired of this sites anti-catholicism.

im not anti catholic, im anti-hypocrite.

Quote:

I think everyone used to believe that...before we knew that schizophrenia was a mental illness that had a physical cause.

schizophrenia CAN be caused by possesion along with alot of other mental illnesses particularly multiple personality disorder, i know this because i worked with someone who dealt with it and i could see it was possesion, she got it after messing with a ouija board, i helped her get rid of them. hasnt bothered her since. but yes, it can also be caused by physical problems. some kid who was a wiccan ended up with it as well, he talked to some demon all of the time and constantly claimed lucifer wanted him to kill himself so he could go to this "land". he frequently had out of body experiences, also helped the kid and he is fine now. i also know that my biological father, which i have not seen in 8 years, got into some VERY MESSED UP witchcraft and got in with this lady who channeled spirits, he ended up with schizophrenia, he also attempted to drive my mom insane as well with some sort of this stuff, my mom used to have multiple personality disorders, he some how found a way to control the different alter personalities, it was extremly scary and this all happened when i was the age of three and four, after god specifically told my mom to flee within five years through no one but gods help alone, completly got rid of the multiple personalities.

_________________

wizardovmetal wrote:

olias wrote:

I am so f*cking tired of this sites anti-catholicism.

im not anti catholic, im anti-hypocrite.

Quote:

I think everyone used to believe that...before we knew that schizophrenia was a mental illness that had a physical cause.

No. You are a textbook example of an anti-catholic if there ever was one. As can be very easily proven by numerous quotes of yours.

You aren't intellectually curious, you are just filled with hatred and vent it out on the Catholics with stupid statements.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

wizardovmetal wrote:

schizophrenia CAN be caused by possesion along with alot of other mental illnesses particularly multiple personality disorder, i know this because i worked with someone who dealt with it and i could see it was possesion, she got it after messing with a ouija board, i helped her get rid of them. hasnt bothered her since. but yes, it can also be caused by physical problems. some kid who was a wiccan ended up with it as well, he talked to some demon all of the time and constantly claimed lucifer wanted him to kill himself so he could go to this "land". he frequently had out of body experiences, also helped the kid and he is fine now. i also know that my biological father, which i have not seen in 8 years, got into some VERY MESSED UP witchcraft and got in with this lady who channeled spirits, he ended up with schizophrenia, he also attempted to drive my mom insane as well with some sort of this stuff, my mom used to have multiple personality disorders, he some how found a way to control the different alter personalities, it was extremly scary and this all happened when i was the age of three and four, after god specifically told my mom to flee within five years through no one but gods help alone, completly got rid of the multiple personalities.

You are the kind of guy who freaks out when you order combo no. 4 medium sized when go to Arby's.

Do it. You will know what I am talking about then.

_________________

like a fine wine, i must age over time
-Jim

Hguols wrote:

squirrels >>>>>>>>>>>> pudding

Death over Life wrote:

olias wrote:

I am mexican. Therefore I will throw "o"'s at the end of all words, even when I am not speaking speaking spanish Razz

tl;dr

Who cares?

Death over Life wrote:

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Sutekh is a Catholic.

.

No correction needed. Thanks for the input. olias, sorry to hear you get a hard time about your faith.