Irish Reporter interviews Lennon, Vaca, and Kineke

The blogger, author of Our Father Maciel who art in bed, with his parents in Rome, September 1969

"Legion of Crisis",
an article by Niall Stanage, US correspondent for The Sunday Business Post quotes former LC/RC members Lennon, Vaca,  and Gineke, mentioning the memoir "Our Father, who art in bed

Why Ratzinger/Benedict went after Maciel/Legion?

Maciel giving Holy Communion to Paul Lennon in the '80s

Hello, dear reader.
an interesting article came accross my desk today which continues to shed light on Ratzinger/Benedict's action re Marcial Maciel and the Legion of Christ; it is an interview with Monsignor Scicluna, the Vatican "Attorney General" who personally carried out the 2005 investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Fr. Maciel, founder and superior general of the Legion of Christ order.
In the interverview Scicluna suggests that during his time at the Defense of the Faith Congreation/Department then Cardinal Ratzinger had to review the cases of clerical pedophilia and became increasining distressed. Ratzinger/Benedict followed through when he became pope and "nailed" several powerful clerics who had gotten off scot free "during the previous adminstration"
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While Pope Benedict XVI has been accused of mishandling abuse cases, as an Archbishop in Germany, and also as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, Scicluna rejected those charges.


The Maltese Vatican official, said those who worked with the future Pope in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were full of admiration for him and his “courage and determination” in dealing with the crisis.
“I am a direct witness to the compassion, the frustration and the anger that these cases instilled in Cardinal Ratzinger, the man, Joseph Ratzinger,” Scicluna said.

While Scicluna seems determined to avoid using the term “crisis,” he insists on calling sin by its name, and crime as well.
“People call this a crisis,” he said. “It is certainly a challenge to the Church, but it is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to call sin sin in its face, and do something about it. It is an opportunity for the church to show itself determined in its fight against sin, against crime.”

While the sexual abuse of minors clearly does not take place only in church circles, Fox asked Scicluna if he thought the Catholic Church should be held to a higher standard.

“I think so,” Scicluna responded. “Because we do stand for a very clear message which should be a light to the world. So we do complain about the headlines sometimes, but the headlines are a reflection that the world takes what we say very seriously, and is scandalized when what we do does not correspond to what we say.”

Scicluna, whose official title is the Promoter of Justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said a priest who abuses makes a “mockery” of his vocation.

“There is a sacred trust which has been violated,” he said. “The priest has been ordained to be an icon, a living image of Jesus Christ. He is another Christ at the altar, when he preaches. Now when he abuses, he shatters that icon.”

He said the Church has to face up to the truth, even if it’s not very nice: “There’s no other way out of this situation, except facing the truth of the matter.”