VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press
[the letter]
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press –
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Legion of Christ religious order, already discredited for having covered up the crimes of its pedophile founder, suffered another blow to its credibility after its superior admitted Tuesday that he knew in 2005 that his most prominent priest had broken his vows of celibacy and fathered a child, yet did nothing to prevent him from teaching and preaching about morality.
The admission by the Rev. Alvaro Corcuera is likely to enrage members of the Legion and its lay branch who have endured years of apologies, hypocrisy and explanations for the crimes of the order’s founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, who sexually abused his seminarians and fathered three children with two women.
The Rev. Thomas Williams, the public face of the Legion in America, admitted last week that he had fathered a child several years ago, going public with a statement after The Associated Press presented the Legion with the accusation. …
A U.S. victims’ group, Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests, called for Pope Benedict XVI to oust Corcuera, saying if the pope wants “a more holy and pure and safe church, he can’t keep ignoring or rewarding serious wrongdoing.”
Maciel, who founded the Legion in 1941 in Mexico, died in 2008.
The scandal surrounding the Legion is particularly grave given that Maciel was held up as a model for the faithful by Pope John Paul II, who was impressed by the orthodox order’s ability to attract money and young men to the priesthood.
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