News: Scandal-plagued Legionaries accept papal takeover

The scandal-plagued Legionaries of Christ says it has accepted the pope’s decision to appoint a personal delegate to lead and reform the order following revelations that its founder sexually abused seminarians and fathered at least one child.

In a statement posted on its website late Saturday, the Legionaries said its members “embrace his provisions with faith and obedience.”

The statement was issued after the Vatican announced a crackdown on the conservative order once championed by Rome, saying a papal envoy would take over and reform it and that a special commission would study its founding constitutions.

The decisions were made after five Vatican investigators reported back to Pope Benedict XVI about their eight-month global inquiry into the order after its late founder was so thoroughly discredited by revelations of his double life.

In announcing the papal takeover, the Vatican excoriated the Rev. Marcial Maciel for creating a “system of power” built on silence, deceit and obedience that enabled him to lead a double life “devoid of any scruples and authentic sense of religion” and allowed him to abuse young boys unchecked.

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photo by: AP

article: nicole winfield

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