Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    11,181

    Mexican Priest Accused of 50 Yrs of Sex Abuse

    http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_3844026
    Ontario, CA, 5/19/2006

    Priest accused of 50 years of sex abuse disiplined by Vatican
    Vatican disciplines Legionaries' founder after sex abuse investigation
    Associated Press


    VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI disciplined the founder of the conservative Legionaries of Christ, a favorite of Pope John Paul II who for decades has been dogged by sexual abuse allegations - effectively making the elderly prelate a priest in name only.

    In its announcement Friday the Vatican did not say whether it had determined if the accusations against the 86-year-old Mexican priest, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, were true. But canon law experts said the Vatican would not have imposed such a severe penalty unless it found at least some validity to the complaints.

    The Vatican said its Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had "invited the priest to a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing every public ministry," - meaning he cannot celebrate Mass or other sacraments in public.

    Maciel is the most prominent Catholic Church official to be disciplined by the Vatican for alleged involvement in child sexual abuse. In addition, it marks the first major abuse penalty approved by Benedict since he became pope last year, and shows he is not afraid pursuing prelates who enjoyed particular favor with Pope John Paul II.

    Since 1998, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Benedict headed before he became pope, has been investigating allegations by former seminarians that Maciel sexually abused them.

    Initially, nine former seminarians said Maciel had abused them when they were young boys or teenagers in Roman Catholic seminaries in Spain and Italy in the 1940s-1960s. Later, others came forward.

    Maciel and the Legionaries strongly denied the allegations. On Friday, the Legionaries said in a statement that Maciel, while declaring himself innocent, accepted the Vatican decision "with faith, complete serenity and tranquility of conscience." The prelate's whereabouts were unknown.

    Saul Barrales, 74, one of the original nine accusers, praised the Vatican's action.

    "Pope John Paul II supported him, but I think he was deceived or he wasn't totally informed of the truth. But the present pope is doing the right thing. ... He (Maciel) did so much damage to so many people," Barrales said from Mexico City.

    In a statement, the Vatican said it had investigated all the allegations against Maciel but had decided against proceeding with a full-fledged church trial, or "canonical process" against him, because of his age and ill health.

    The Rev. John Coughlin, professor of canon law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, said such a penalty was common for elderly clerical abusers. Although Maciel was not removed from the priesthood, Coughlin said the Vatican sanction was still a "very serious penalty."

    "The Vatican wouldn't have taken this action if they thought he was totally innocent," Coughlin said.

    The Legionaries of Christ, which Maciel founded in 1941 in Mexico City, is one of the fastest-growing religious orders in the Catholic Church with more than 600 priests and 2,500 seminarians in 20 countries in North and South America, Europe and Australia.

    It was well-regarded by John Paul in particular because of its conservative views, loyalty to church teaching and because it has been so successful in recruiting.

    ___

    Associated Press reporter Julie Watson contributed to this report from Mexico City.
    RIP Butterbean! We miss you and hope you are well in heaven.-- Your ALIPAC friends

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    12,855
    Took 50 years, eh? Well, guess they're speeding up now.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    mrmiata7's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Unoccupied Savannah, Georgia
    Posts
    438

    Who is in control?

    I have always contended the Church is one of the most corrupt institutions on earth. The Crusades, the Reformation, The Inquisition and turning a blind eye to the Holocaust and their support of illegal alien law breakers has demonstrated the height of hypocrasy for which the church is known.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    12,855
    Sadly, MIATA, as a Catholic, I have to agree with you.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    mrmiata7's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Unoccupied Savannah, Georgia
    Posts
    438

    Who is in control?

    Well 2nd.....I am Jewish so their conduct of the Inquisition and the Holocaust has special significance for me. I will never forgive them for that and their cavalier attitude towards lawbreakers only strengthens my conviction.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •