Legion of Christ finds 33 priests, 71 seminarian sex
abusers
Dec 22, 2019
VATICAN CITY — The Legion of Christ religious order,
which was discredited by its pedophile founder and the
cult-like practices he imposed, says an internal
investigation has identified 33 priests and 71
seminarians who sexually abused minors over the past
eight decades.
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A third of the priestly abusers were themselves
victims of the Legion's late founder, the Rev. Marcial
Maciel, while others were victims of his victims — a
multi-generational chain of abuse that confirms
Maciel's toxic influence spread throughout the order.
The Legion counted 175 victims of the priests, but
didn't provide a number for the victims of the
seminarians, most of whom were never ordained and left
the congregation.
The Legion released the statistics on Saturday, Dec.
21, the same day Pope Francis accepted the resignation
of the Legion's biggest defender at the Vatican,
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, as dean of the College of
Cardinals.
Sodano, who was secretary of state under St. John Paul
II, had for years blocked the Vatican from
investigating sex abuse allegations against Maciel,
even though the Vatican had documented evidence dating
from the 1940s that he was a drug addict and
pedophile. Under John Paul, however, Maciel was adored
at the Vatican for his supposed orthodoxy and ability
to produce donations and vocations.
The Vatican in 2010 took over the Mexico-based Legion
and imposed a process of reform after an investigation
showed that Maciel had sexually abused seminarians and
fathered at least three children with two women. The
Vatican found he had created a system of power built
on silence, deceit and obedience that enabled him lead
a double life "devoid of any scruples and authentic
sense of religion."
Two-thirds of the Legion's priestly victims — 60 —
were Maciel's victims, the report found. Most were
boys between age 11 and 16.
The 33 priestly abusers represented 2.44% of the 1,353
Legion priests ordained since 1941, the report found.
That percentage is far lower than national averages of
credibly accused priests over a similar period in the
U.S. or Australia, where the percentages are 5.8 and
seven, respectively.
CNS-Maciel cc.jpg
Pope John Paul II blesses Fr. Marcial Maciel
Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, at
the Vatican in 2004. (CNS/Reuters/Tony Gentile)
The Legion acknowledged that more victims may come
forward with other accusations, and attributed the
comparatively low percentage to the fact that 60 of
the seminarians who abused weren't ordained as
priests.
The Legion only published the names of four U.S.-based
priests who were among the 33 abusers, saying ethical
and legal considerations prevented identifying the
others. U.S. religious orders and dioceses have been
publishing names of credibly accused priests following
the re-eruption of the scandal there.
A former Legion priest, the Rev. Christian Borgogno,
said the report debunks the Legion's effort to blame
all its problems on Maciel alone and showed that abuse
festered far beyond his inner circle.
In a series of tweets, Borgogno questioned the
seemingly low number of abusers, noted some had been
ordained even after allegations against them were
known, and complained that the report said nothing
about the web of cover-up that allowed Maciel and
others to continue abusing.
The report acknowledged that it was limited in scope,
didn't address issues of abuse of power or conscience,
or matters of cover-up and negligence, but said that
was an "important pending task."
It said it was publishing the report to as a first
step on a "path of reconciliation" with victims, by
recognizing the history of abuse in the order.
The Legion leadership is due to consider the report at
a general meeting next month.
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