ROME
Boston Globe
By John L. Allen Jr. | GLOBE STAFF FEBRUARY 06, 2014
A religious order that’s become a leading symbol of the sexual abuse scandals in Catholicism today expressed “deep sorrow” for abuse and sexual misconduct committed by its once-powerful founder, and also announced the election of new leadership intended to steer the order on a reform path.
The apology by the embattled Legionaries of Christ comes one day after the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a scathing report on the Vatican’s response to the abuse scandals, at one point expressing specific concern about the recruiting practices of the Legionaries.
Founded by the late Mexican Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado in 1941, the Legionaries of Christ and their lay arm, the Regnum Christi movement, became a powerful force in the Catholic Church during the Pope John Paul II years, enjoying the favor of the late pope and support from influential prelates around the world.
In 2006, however, Maciel was sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by Pope Benedict XVI following accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse, which included relationships with two women and fathering up to six children, as well as abuse of young members of the order and, allegedly, two of his own children.
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