According to El Sendero de Peje, Juan Vaca, a former Legionary who has supplied much of the details of Maciel’s abuse of boys, reports that the mother of the daughter whose existence the Legion admits was 15 years old when Maciel, then age 68, got her pregnant. Maciel always knew of the existence of his daughter.
The daughter is now 20 years old, and wants to sell her story. That has forced the Legion to make its vague public admissions – why they have been so vague is now clear. The current head of the Legion has known about this daughter for 5 years and confronted Maciel about the $10-15 thousand Maciel had taken on his trips.
If all this is true, and Vaca has been a reliable source, I see no alternative to the suppression of the Legion. The Piarists were suppressed in the 17th century for similar reasons; the Jesuits were suppressed for political reasons; various branches of the Franciscans were suppressed for nuttiness. The priests can go to dioceses and other orders; the schools and other apostolates can be run as separate foundations; but the Legion must cease to exist.
I disagree! Ordinaries, incardinating these brained washed clerics, would only be buying themselves “pigs in a poke.” and a strong probability of a whole lot of trouble and turmoil in their dioceses. Should these LC types be accepted as diocesan clergy, will have a wide-open field to spread their idiotic ideology among unsuspecting and the unwary Catholics! If an LC were assigned to my parish, I would have to leave. These guys are not normal! They start by grooming prospective proselytes and then gradually dump their whole wad of a distorted Christianity on those dumb enough to buy into their fantasy sanctity. Those who knew of Degollado ‘s hypocrisy must be identified and laicized. Those who show promise of rehabilitation must be deprogrammed by experts. Those who don’t, will just have to be cut loose. Those outside the LC, who think they can temporize with this sect, are deceiving themselves. O’Brien in Baltimore has a tiger by the tail! He thinks he has them on a short leash, but he is in for a rude awaking!
The actual article in Spanish cited above refers to “10 – 15 thousand dollars” not million. This is apparently the amount he routinely took with him on trips.
War Tactics Should Be Applied to Abusers and to Those Who Offered Protection
By Mike Ference
Every day brings new evidence that we no longer live in a civilized and principled society. The worst part, it usually concerns another case of sexual misconduct involving a Catholic priest, young children and a church hierarchy that helped to cover up the case.
The recently unveiled federal grand jury investigation into the Los Angeles Archdiocese and it’s leader, Cardinal Mahony clearly suggests that a regime change should have been made long ago.
To be sure, media pressure and public outrage and a billion dollars in pr fees, legal fees and settlements have inspired displays of contrition from Mahony But as more and more cases of abuse — and cover-up — come to light, one begins to wonder whether Mahony should be considered any more trustworthy than, say, Saddam Hussein.
So — what should be done if the grand jury finds Mahony to be just another member of the hierarchy more concerned with protecting dysfunctional sex freaks than innocent children? Given the level of wreckage and anguish caused in the lives of so many people, it seems appropriate to look to the war on terror for a model strategy.
A first prong of attack might involve a Special Forces unit made up of highly skilled and trained military personnel capable of tracking down and obtaining confessions from any current or former priests accused of acts of sexual abuse against children. If rights are violated, if military personnel sometimes go a little too far, so be it. The Catholic Church had ample opportunity to fess up and repent. Those incapable of civilized behavior shouldn’t expect the rights and privileges of civilization.
A deck of cards can be created to help identify hard-to-find priests as well as the disgraceful church leaders who permitted, and in essence, condoned the sexual abuse of young children. Photos of the most deviant and reprehensible church officials accompanied by a list of their offenses will encourage us all to do our patriotic duty in helping the authorities track down suspected priest-terrorists or at least be able to identify the culprits as they come and go freely because their sins where covered up and the time to criminally prosecute has expired.
Another option would be to divide the nation into territories. A color-code warning system would be established, alerting parents about abusive priests being transferred into their respective regions. Depending on the designated color for a particular region, parents would know whether their children should serve at Mass, go on field trips, or even attend Catholic school that day.
To aid this unique war on terror, a pool of money should be collected, not involuntarily from taxpayers, but voluntarily from those decent human beings who believe crimes committed against our children are sins that God takes very seriously. Some of the funds raised could then be turned into outrageously tempting reward sums for information leading to the capture of our targeted criminals. Once the rogue clerics have been imprisoned and forced to talk, I recommend that their confessions be given to someone like Steven Spielberg or George Romero. Hollywood writers and producers could create a blockbuster movie like Roots or Schindler’s List to serve as a bitter reminder that these crimes should never again be permitted to occur. Tom Savini could be hired to recreate the horror on the faces of child actors chosen to play parts.
Proceeds from the movie could go to victims of abuse and their families. And no matter how old the crime, compensation would be available. There should be no statute of limitations when the rights of children have been violated by those who lived much of their adult lives perched on a pedestal heightened by the trust of innocent and vulnerable believers. In fact, I would extend compensation to the second and perhaps even third generation of sufferers. It would certainly include siblings denied the experience of growing up with a brother or sister untraumatized by such abuse. And since crimes of abuse tend to echo, it would extend to the victims of the victims as well.
If all else fails, is it any less rational to declare war on the Catholic Church as part of a war on child abuse than it was to declare war on Iraq (which had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al-Qaeda and apparently had no weapons of mass destruction) as part of a war on terror? How many innocent children have been verifiably lost to this menace — and how many more will be lost if we don’t make a preemptive strike?
As horrific as sexual abuse by priests may be, the perpetrators might merit a more forgiving place if only their superiors had the courage to do the right thing. For a few, counseling and close supervision might have been enough to prevent future abuses. Others clearly required something more intensive — a mental hospital or a prison.
But repeated abuse, as well as willfully hiding the crimes and the criminals — as far as I can see, this brings us much closer to the realm of mortal sin. And the sinners include not just the church hierarchy, but also attorneys who ill-advised parents not to buck the system and take on the Catholic Church, or may even have provided inside information to thwart legitimate cases against the church, law enforcement officials who may have thought it best to warn church officials of pending investigations, and janitors, housekeepers, teachers, and employees of the Catholic Church who kept silent because of concerns about a paycheck, a 401K, a pension, or a fear of standing up to church authorities. God has a place for everyone — and if you abuse children or protect the abusers of children, we can only hope that your place is called hell.
I’ve been running this editorial since around 2004. I get tired of changing the names of the predator priests, bishops and cardinals. Just insert Marciel’s name for Mahony and continue to do the same until some one in the federal government has the courage to do the right thing and protect innocent children.
Respectfully,
Mike Ference
Leon,
Thanks for the imput here. Question for you when you have a minute please. I’m in Delaware and heading back towards Dullas. I’m with Al Chesley former Eagle NFL player. We were just in Maryland on the SB238 . If you don’t remember me I’m from San Diego Richard Sipe’s friend cell 619 677 7133 maybe a coffee if your in the area
Now the facts are out there and there is no way around them. Denying them, downplaying them or minimizing them in any way is impossible.
It matters not now whether of not Maciel was a favorite of Pope John Paul II or defended to the hilt by the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon or the recently deceased Father Richard John Neuhaus because those who were defamed by the Legionaries of Christ have been vindicated and thank God it has happened.
Pope John Paul II bears responsibility for not addressing the problems of Maciel as does Pope Benedict XVI. They both knew, had to know or should have know if one were even to consider that they did not know.
The buck stops somewhere and in this case it stops with both popes.
What’s next?
Pope Benedict XVI should realize that his 2006 decision to let Maciel retire to live a life of prayer and penance and let it go at that with the hope that Maciel would fade in memory after his death is no longer sufficient.
Maciel should be denounced for the totality of the harm and evil he has perpetrated and visited on others.
There should be no doubt that this group, the Legionaries of Christ, has operated for all of its existence as a religious cult and as such should be suppressed.
All LC assets should be seized by the Vatican and there should be an extensive investigation of those in administrative and leadership positions in the Legionaries.
In all liklihood some priests should be dismissed and lacized for their failure to act but the good men who are LC priests should be given the option to go elsewhere to religious orders or diocesan clergy.
Shout this story from the rooftops!
For years the Legionaires have covered-up stories of Maciel’s destructive abuse of young men. Whom did they fool? Not those on the outside of the Legionaires, but only those on the inside of the order and the Vatican.
Maybe the revelation of Maciel’s daughter will finally shed light on all of the lies perpetrated by Maciel and the Legionaires! Whatever she gets for her story, she deserves, but I hope that she will use at least part of the money to expose many of the other secrets of the Legionaires.
May God bless her and give her strength!
Does anyone think that anytime soon the LCs and RCs will admit to their founder being a liar, hypocrite, fornicator, pedophile sexual pervert, drug user, embezzler, petty despot, false prophet and in short, all -around BUM?
Better yet, does anyone think that anytime soon Pope Ratzinger will admit to the LC/RC founder being a liar, hypocrite, fornicator, pedophile sexual pervert, drug user, embezzler, petty despot, false prophet and in short, all -around BUM?
Chances are the New York Jets will win the Super Bowl before this ever happens!
I find it funny that a Catholic blog is taking information from a far, far left-wing socialist news service that hates the Church….
Papa Benedict said as much discreetly in the Communique of 2006, Amos. I doubt his next move will be as gentle. He knows all.
Why does the age of the woman change what must be done wrt the order? It means he was not only a philanderer, but a rapist, yes – but how does it change what the Holy See ought to do with the Legion & Regnum Christi?
(BTW, I’m not claiming to be Jesus – those are really my initials!)
Chances are the New York Jets will win the Super Bowl before this ever happens!
And how many of those are: liar, hypocrite, fornicator, pedophile sexual pervert, drug user, embezzler, petty despot, false prophet and in short, all -around BUM?
Upton Sinclair’s prophetic book, The Profits of Religion, described much of this nearly 100 years ago.
In Ludwig Pastor’s multi-volume History of the Popes, which covers from 1300 to 1600, let’s focus on the Borgia Pope Alexander VI. After providing the history of all the good and bad things he did, the author sums up: “His life of unrestrained sensuality was in direct contradiction with the precepts of Him whose representative on earth he was…. In the Church there have always been unworthy priests as well as bad Christians; and that no one might be scandalized by this, our Lord Himself has foretold it. He likens her to a field in which the tares grow up with the wheat; to a net in which are both good and bad fish; even amongst His disciples he endured a Judas” (vol. 6, p. 140).