VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The female branch of the scandal-plagued Legionaries of Christ religious order was in turmoil Tuesday following the resignation of its leader and the decision of some 30 members to split from the movement.

Malen Oriol announced in a letter Sunday that she had asked to resign as the assistant to the general director of the Legion, which Pope Benedict XVI took over in 2010 after the order revealed its late founder had sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children.

In her role, Oriol had headed the Legion’s branch of consecrated women, some 600 women who live like nuns working in Legion schools, recruiting and fundraising.

Oriol also revealed that a group of consecrated women had decided to leave the movement and live out their vocations under the authority of local bishops — a blow to…