It would seem he never had an equal-to-equal relationship in his life. Each older victim believed he was the only object of Maciel’s attention… As Maciel “matured” he sexually abused boys who were not his seminarians, later seducing younger, vulnerable females. In some cases, if he found them especially attractive he would continue the relationship into the victims’ twenties. Maciel’s sexual preference was pubertal males. Remember that Maciel founded the Legion in 1941, when he was a 21-year old untrained seminarian, and began sexually abusing the 10 and 11-year-olds under his “pastoral care.” By this time Maciel was 85 and the victims in their sixties. He was not one of the original group of accusers but came forward in 2005 when Vatican prosecutor, then Monsignor, Charles Scicluna carried out the first thorough Vatican investigation into Maciel’s sexual abuse of his seminarians in Mexico City. Francisco was one of Maciel’s sexual abuse victims an enslavement which began in puberty and lasted into his twenties. Lennon, you have made some very rich people very angry!”įrancisco González-Parga, known in the Legion as Padre Parga, passed away this year in Guadalajara, Mexico, mourned by his wife, Esther. He was sued for his troubles by the Legion of Christ in the City of Alexandria, VA, USA in August 2007. Left Legion in 1984 -before he every heard of abuse- and since then has been a critic of Maciel’s foundation. Maciel’s priestly ordination, 26th November 1969. Joined the Legion of Christ in Dublin, Ireland, at the age of seventeen, considered Irish co-founder by Maciel, ordained to the priesthood in Rome, together with eleven others (among which Bishop Brian Farrell and Cardinal Fernando Vérgez), on the 25th anniversary of Fr. (John) Paul Lennon, believer, friend and supporter of Maciel’s victims like Domínguez not a victim of sexual abuse. Their decades-long saga, after meeting with denial, stone-walling and minimization, finally bore fruit in 2006 when Vatican and Pope Benedict accepted their accusations, made no apology to them, gave Maciel a slap on the wrist and ordered him to a life of Penance and Prayer to which unrepentant Maciel paid no attention, continuing to live with his paramour and daughter and traveling wherever he wanted by private plane. He of the prodigious memory, spear-headed the accusers cause, aided by Jurado. José Barba-Martín, PhD Harvard in Philology, professor emeritus, ITAM, Mexico City where he held the chair of Political and Social Institutions. He spent years paying his way to Rome with José to request Vatican intervention regarding Maciel’s sexual abuse of his seminarians and many other irregularities. On discovering that he has much in common with José Barba, he joined forces with José Barba. He left the Legion in the 1960s after being held in seclusion and silenced by Maciel for years, and made a good living for himself as Spanish language teacher and interpreter in California. But the Great Catholic Houdini would always find a way out of any tight spot and come out smelling like a rose.Īrturo Jurado, early legionary, victim and witness, was one of those unfortunate seminarians who was manipulated by Maciel into finding drugs for his father beyond reproach in Spain and Rome. From that moment on, someone in the Legion knew about his evil inclinations. Maciel, as on many other occasions, found a way to deny, placate and slip away from trouble. The father traveled to Mexico City from the heartland to confront the founder. It is a fact that one of Carlos’ brothers was sexually abused by Maciel. Carlos and his two brothers joined the Legion as children. González-Parga and Lennon were ordained priests in the Legion the others left disillusioned in the 1960s as seminarians.Ĭarlos de la Isla, from Mexico, one of the first junior seminarians, apostólicos, recruited by Maciel and who began his studies in Mexico City in the 1940s. These are some of the men, a few of whom victims, who fought for decades against Vatican and Legion of Christ Silence regarding the Founder’s disreputable life. I am aware that the below is an extremely poor testimony to the victims, who spent their lives and money seeking truth and justice -and received very little in return! Some of us got together several years ago in Mexico. Those “bad” victims will not be rewarded for their “stubbornness” – or would that be “the strength of their convictions”? And only to the victims who will accept compensation on their terms. They have left it to the last moment to attempt outreach and compensation to the victims. Would seem to be the Legion of Christ’s motto and method The Best Kind of Witnesses are Dead Witnesses
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