Vatican Launches Investigation Into Legionaries of Christ

In an interesting development, the Vatican is commencing an investigation into the misdeeds of the Legionaries of Christ and its late founder, Maciel Degollado. For years a number of Popes - including the less than saintly John Paul II - protected the Degollado and the Legionaries of Christ despite many allegations of Degolladro's corruption and sexual abuse of seminarians, not to mention fathering of an illegitimate daughter. One cannot help but wonder how thoroughly the Vatican wants to investigate and how open it will be about the likely dirty linen that is likely to be found. While the Legionaries are a religious order as opposed to a diocese, the corruption and cover up of sexual abuse is a stroy all too common within the Catholic Church world wide. Personally, I am not holding my breath and expecting a sincere investigation by the Vatican - especially because John Paul II was conspicuous in his support of Degollado and willingly closed his eyes to wickedness. On the other hand, the Vatican may fear that a failure to investigate will leave it open to even more charges of hypocrisy. Here are some story highlights via RawStory:

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The Vatican has launched an investigation into the Legionaries of Christ, a religious order whose secretive founder stands accused of sexually abusing numerous children over decades.

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And the investigation may have to grapple with an uncomfortable question: If the entire religious order was based on lies and deception, should it be disbanded? In an article at GlobalPost, reporter Jason Berry states: The issue facing Benedict has no precedent in modern church history: whether to dismantle a movement with a $650 million budget yet only about 700 priests and 2,500 seminarians, or to keep the brand name and try to reform an organization still run as a cult of personality to its founder. Excessive materialism and psychological coercion tactics continue Maciel’s legacy.

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In the 1990s, as sex abuse scandals linked to the Catholic church came to light, victims of Degollado's sexual abuse began to come forward. Though the Vatican first recognized the claims in 1998, it wasn't until 2004 that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Pope John Paul II's right-hand man, launched the first inquiry into Degollado's actions. Starting in 2004, at least 30 witnesses testified to Msgr. Charles Scicluna, the C.D.F. investigator, that Maciel abused them as youths. But the 2006 Vatican order punishing Maciel failed to specify what exactly he had done, nor did it acknowledge the victims.

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In Maciel's case, it took 30 years – until 2006, after John Paul's death – for the new pope, Benedict XVI, finally to issue a public rebuke, and then it was simply an order that he should see out his days in private prayer rather than face a court. The long delay is evidence, some have suggested, that the Vatican still does not take the issue of paedophile priests sufficiently seriously.
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Numerous conservative Catholics are hell bent to have John Paul II name a saint, but his continued refusal to act against or lift a finger to protect against sexual abuse is hardly the conduct of a saint. I can only assume that John Paul II did not want to turn off the money spigot that the Legionaries came to represent. Having been a Knight of Columbus - a Catholic fraternal organization with billions of dollars of assets - nothing talks like money within the Church hierarchy.