ROME
National Catholic Reporter
John L. Allen Jr. | Jan. 22, 2014 NCR Today
ROME As the Legionaries of Christ ponder new leadership and a new constitution amid what is arguably among the deepest crises any Catholic religious order has ever faced, priests taking part in a keenly anticipated general chapter meeting in Rome have a two-pronged message for those skeptical that change is possible.
First, they say, there are no guarantees; and second, give us a chance.
As if one were needed, participants in the general chapter got a reminder Wednesday of just how hard it may be to regain trust after more than a decade of denying charges of sexual abuse and misconduct against their founder, the late Mexican Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, only to have to acknowledge them in 2009.
In a piece published Wednesday by the National Catholic Reporter, Juan Vaca, one of Maciel’s original accusers who says his abuse began at age 12, dismissed the general chapter as “a damage control operation.”
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