Fr Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, revered as a saint by his followers even before his recent death, had as many as six children, it is now being claimed.
Thomas Peters, author of the excellent American Papist blog, has the details of this ever-darkening scandal:
Multiple stories from Mexico report that three additional individuals claiming to be children of Fr. Maciel are suing the Legion of Christ for inheritance rights. It appears the original daughter of Maciel, and her mother, were supported by Legion money (i.e. money contributed by Catholic faithful for supporting Fr. Maciel's work).
The mother claims she was a minor when her relationship with Fr. Maciel began. And it appears that "highly placed officials" in the Legion knew of this situation and where complicit in it. Details beyond this are sketchy, but it appears probable now that there are even more children than the ones mentioned (the most frequent number I hear is six total).
If you are interested in the details, two ex-LC blogs provide them: Life-after-RC and Ex LC Blog.
These new allegations suggest several conclusions:
- Fr. Maciel was an extraordinary, calculating fraud and he ought to be acknowledged as such by the leaders of the Legion and Regnum Christi alike
- The breadth of Fr. Maciel's crimes makes it nearly impossible that other members of the Legion did not know of them, and they ought to be brought to justice
- The serious financial infraction of misusing lay resources (money, property, etc) for the upkeep of Fr. Maciel's mistress and his other escapades demands restitution
- The ongoing revelations about Fr. Maciel and his enablers requires an intense examination, person-by-person, of those still charged with the movement's leadership.
That all makes sense. The Vatican is currently carrying out a canonical investigation of the Legion. One dreads to think what it will discover about this priestly order and its lay arm - the stench of a major cover-up is unmistakable - but surely the conclusion is a relatively straightforward one. Close these organisations down.
