Marcial Maciel | |
|---|---|
| 1st General Director of the Legion of Christ | |
 | |
| Church | Latin Church |
| Installed | January 3, 1941 |
| Term ended | January 20, 2005 |
| Successor | Álvaro Corcuera |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | November 26, 1944 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marcial Maciel Degollado 10 March 1920 Cotija, Michoacán, Mexico |
| Died | 30 January 2008 (aged 87) Jacksonville, Florida, US |
| Buried | Michoacan |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Marcial Maciel Degollado LC (March 10, 1920 – January 30, 2008) was a Mexican Catholic priest who founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was general director of the Legion from 1941 to 2005. Throughout most of his career, he was respected within the church as "the greatest fundraiser of the modern Roman Catholic church" and as a prolific recruiter of new seminarians.[1] Late in his life, Maciel was revealed to have been a longtime drug addict who sexually abused many boys and young men in his care. After his death, it came to light that he had also maintained sexual relationships with at least four women, one of whom was a minor at the time. He fathered as many as six children, two of whom he is alleged to have sexually abused.[2][3]
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI removed Maciel from active ministry, based on the results of an investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in April 2005. Maciel was ordered "to conduct a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing every public ministry".[2][4][5] He died in 2008. On March 25, 2010, a communiqué on the Legion's website acknowledged as factual the "reprehensible actions" by Maciel, including sexual abuse of minor seminarians.[6] In May 2010, the Vatican denounced Maciel's actions and appointed a Papal Delegate to oversee the order and its governance.
- ^ Berry, Jason (April 6, 2010). "Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican". ncronline.org. National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ a b Godoy, Emilio (May 3, 2010). "Pope Rewrites Epitaph for Legion of Christ Founder". IPS News. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ Mexico City, Mexico, March 4, 2010 / 06:56 pm (CNA/EWTN News). The Legionaries of Christ released two statements today responding to the dramatic revelations by a woman and her three sons who claim to be the wife and children of Fr. Marcial Maciel.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
telegraph.co.ukwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Catholic order to be overhauled after founder's abuse". BBC News. 2010-05-01. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "COMMUNIQUÉ On the current circumstances of the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi Movement". legonariesofchrist.org. Legionaries of Christ. 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2010.