Marcial Maciel

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Marcial Maciel Degollado
Marcial Maciel Degollado

Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado (born 10 March 1920) was born into a Roman Catholic family in Cotija de la Paz in the Mexican state of Michoacán. In 1941, with the support of the Bishop of Cuernavaca, Francisco González Arias, he founded the Legion of Christ. Father Maciel was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in Mexico City in 1944.

In 2006, after a long investigation of child sex abuse allegations, Pope Benedict XVI has taken disciplinary action against the Rev. Marcial Maciel.

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[edit] Overview

Called to accompany Pope John Paul II on his visits to Mexico in 1979, 1990, and 1993, Fr. Maciel was also appointed by the Pope to the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the formation of Candidates for the Priesthood in Actual Circumstances (1991). He has been a member of the Interdicasterial Commission for a Just Distribution of Clergy (1991), the IV General Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) (1992), the Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life and Their Mission in the Church and the World (1993), the Synod of Bishops´ Special Assembly for America (1997) and, since 1994, a permanent consultant to the Congregation for the Clergy. The golden anniversary of his priestly ordination was celebrated on 26 November 1994, with 57 Legionary priests ordained on the anniversary's eve. Presently, Fr. Marcial Maciel also serves as Chancellor of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, which is based in Rome. During the pontificate of Pope John Paul II he collaborated extensively with the Holy Father, either personally, or through members of his order, the Legion of Christ.

Fr Maciel, through ghost writers, has written extensively on the formation of priests and other matters pertaining to Church governance. In founding the religious order, his main purpose for the Legion of Christ was for them to form and motivate enterprising lay members of the Roman Catholic Church to take an active part in the Church's mission. In particular, this is focused on the members of the Church Movement Regnum Christi, for example, through spiritual direction. Regnum Christi was also founded by Fr. Maciel.

In January 2005 Fr. Maciel, at age 84, was succeeded by Fr. Alvaro Corcuera Martinez del Rio, LC as General Director of the Legion shortly after a reopening of a sex abuse investigation by the Vatican against Fr. Maciel.

[edit] Allegations of Sexual Abuse

Maciel was removed from his position by the Vatican in 1956 and reinstated in 1959 following allegations that he was addicted to a morphine drug known as dolantine.

Since the 1970s, Marcial Maciel has been accused of having repeatedly sexually abused other congregation members, including young children. Maciel's accusers include a priest, a guidance counselor, a professor, an engineer, a lawyer and a former priest who became a university professor. The men, seven Mexicans and two Spaniards, described themselves as former members of a favored group, known as the "apostolic schoolboys." The abuse allegedly occurred over three decades beginning in the 1940s in Spain and Italy, where boys and young men were taken for schooling. The abuse, they said, involved some 30 boys and young men and extended over at least three decades.

Of the nine men making the accusations, one subsequently retracted his story, claiming it had been a fabrication intended to damage the Legion. The other eight continue to maintain these allegations. Fr Maciel and the organization deny the accusations. According to the ReGain organization, as many as 24 men have come forward with accusations of sexual abuse against Fr. Maciel. Fr Maciel and the organization continue to deny the accusations. The liable Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), lead by-then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, examined the allegations. Shortly after some media reported the reopening of the investigation in late 2004, Fr. Maciel stepped down as leader of the Legion. [1]

On May 19, 2006 the Vatican published a communique for press, inviting Fr. Maciel to retire to a life of "prayer and penitence". [2] The statement said Maciel had been "invited" to withdraw to "a reserved life of prayer and penitence and not carry out his ministry in public". The statement said that the investigation was dropped because of his "advanced age [and] frail health.[1]

In Mexico, the Legionaries said in a statement that he had "accepted the instruction with faith, total calm, with a clear conscience knowing that it is a new cross which God, merciful father, has allowed him to suffer". It said that Fr. Maciel declared his innocence "and, following the example of Jesus Christ, decided not to defend himself in any way." [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b J. McKinley Jr., "Pope-to-Be Reopened Mexican Sex Abuse Inquiry"., New York Times (April 23, 2005)
  2. ^ Vatican Communiqué, "Father Marcial Maciel Invited to Renounce All Public Ministry"., Zenit News Agency (May 19, 2006)
  3. ^ P. Pullella, "Vatican disciplines Mexican priest after abuse case"., Reuters (May 19, 2006)

[edit] External Links

Video de la presentación del libro titulado "Marcial Maciel. Los Legionarios de Cristo: Testimonios y Documentos Inéditos - Padre Maciel Pederasta Programa Mesa Monitor

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