Catholic Priest Abused Over 60 Boys As Head Of Ultra-Conservative Religious Order

Marcial Maciel, Catholic priest and founder of the Legionaries of Christ (LC) religious order, had abused at least 60 boys during his career, an internal investigation published by the organization revealed.

Maciel was forced to retire from the order in 2006 due to sexual abuse allegations, and died two years later at 87. He had denied allegations that he had sexually assaulted minors in 2002, calling such behavior “repulsive.”

Multiple men have said that Maciel molested them while they were at seminary between the 1940's and 1960's. The Vatican chose to not charge Maciel with crimes before he died, due to his frail age.

The report suggests that sexual abuse of minors was widespread in the organization, with 175 minors abused by 33 priests between 1941 and 2019. The majority of the boys abused were between 11 and 16 years old, but there are possibly more cases of abuse than were found in the report.

“The Congregation has begun a path towards healing and reconciliation with 45 of the victims. There is still a great need to continue opening this path up for others,” the report said.

Six out of the 33 priests have died without being tried in court, with one convicted and one currently awaiting trial. The priest awaiting trial has been removed from the clergy. 18 of the 33 priests are still with Legionaries of Christ, but are no longer allowed to interact with children.

The report also says that 14 of the 33 priests were once sexual abuse victims themselves, which suggests a cycle at the order where “a victim of a Legionnaire, over time, becomes in turn an aggressor.”

Maciel started the Legionaries of Christ in Mexico in 1941 and came from a distinguished Catholic family. Maciel had a difficult youth and decided to start the Legion after being expelled from two seminaries. In 2010, the Vatican denounced Maciel, with Catholic leaders deciding to reform the Legion, in order to prevent more abuse.

Pope Francis last week introduced sweeping changes to how the Roman Catholic Church deals with sexual abuse, making pontifical secrecy “no longer an excuse” to avoid sharing information in abuse cases. Pontifical secrecy is a form of confidentiality at the church.