Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin Investigated for Sexual Abuse

Old picture of the revered and feared His Grace talking with the President of Ireland, Sean T. O' Kelly, and with Taoiseach, Sean Lemass;

Archbishop McQuaid was courted by Fr. Maciel to allow the Legion of Christ to open a house in Dublin in 1960; first he refused but then relented. See article following this news item. Notice discrepancy in LC posting regarding the year 1960/62

Group urges Ireland to study abuse claims against former Dublin prelate

Friday, December 9, 2011

By Catholic News S...

By Michael Kelly Catholic News Service

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ShareThis DUBLIN (CNS) -- An abuse victims' support group has urged the Irish government to set up a statutory inquiry to investigate whether there is any truth to allegations of sexual abuse against former Dublin Archbishop John McQuaid.


The support group One in Four made the request after The Irish Times said it had established that Archbishop McQuaid, who died in 1973, was the cleric referred to in a supplementary chapter of Judge Yvonne Murphy's report into abuse allegations in the Dublin Archdiocese.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the matter is the subject of a police investigation.


One in Four's executive director, Maeve Lewis, said an inquiry "is the only way to establish the truth of the matter. If (Archbishop) McQuaid is innocent of the allegations, then it will be an opportunity to restore his good name.


"If the allegations are true, then we must know the extent of the sexual abuse, who else was involved and, crucially, if the church or civil authorities of the time had knowledge of the abuse but failed to act. If records exist, they must be examined," she said.


Lewis noted that Archbishop McQuaid was the Dublin church leader for more than 30 years "and was, at that time, possibly the most powerful, influential and feared man in Ireland. If Archbishop McQuaid was, as is alleged, a sex offender himself, then it is no wonder that the secrecy and cover-ups which have characterized the church's handling of sexual abuse was so entrenched."
The Murphy Report, published in 2009, found that the reputation of the church and the avoidance of scandal had been placed ahead of the needs of children to be protected. It looked at the archdiocese's handling of more than 300 abuse claims lodged between 1975 and 2004. The report was critical of Archbishop McQuaid and three of his successors for failing to respond adequately to abuse allegations.
The supplementary chapter was published in July. It deals with two sex abuse complaints as well as a separate "concern" investigated by the Murphy Commission. One complaint alleges abuse of a 12-year-old boy by Archbishop McQuaid in 1961.


The prelate, who became archbishop of Dublin in 1940, is not identified by name in the supplementary report but is described as a cleric who "has been dead for many years."
The supplementary chapter reports that, in mid-2009, as the Murphy Report was being finalized, the investigating commission received information that "brought another cleric" within its remit. The complaint concerned an adult who, in 2003, alleged to social services that he had been abused by Archbishop McQuaid.


The 2003 complaint was not forwarded to Murphy due to what the commission described as "human error." It was only when Archbishop Martin discovered the allegation in May 2009 that the judge was informed.
The archdiocese then organized a further review of its files and found a letter "which showed that there was an awareness among a number of people in the archdiocese that there had been a concern expressed about this cleric in 1999." This is around the same time that journalist John Cooney published his book, "John Charles McQuaid: Ruler of Catholic Ireland," which first aired an allegation that Archbishop McQuaid had been accused of abuse. Historians at the time widely dismissed Cooney's claim.
Then in 2010, after the commission's report had been published, Archbishop Martin told it he had received another abuse complaint against Archbishop McQuaid. The 2010 complaint is the subject of a civil action against the archdiocese.


Copyright (c) 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

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The Legion of Christ has been present in Ireland since 1960, when it opened its first novitiate in Dublin.
	The novitiate in Ireland. In April of 1960, the Legion of Christ opened its first house in Bundoran, County Donegal, preparing the land for a new novitiate on Irish soil. On June 3rd of 1962, thanks to the support of the Holy See’s Nuncio in Ireland, Bishop Antonio Riberi, and the benevolence of the archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, the novitiate was inaugurated in Hazelbrook House, Malahide. The current Legionary novitiate has been located since 1968 on the Leopardstown road in the suburb of Foxrock, Dublín. In those days, Ireland’s Catholic tradition offered a very favorable environment for the formation of future priests and consecrated souls. For this reason, the first formation center for the consecrated women of the Regnum Christi Movement was opened in Dublin in the first months of 1970. In the 1970s, the first language academies of the Legion were founded: first came Dublin Oaks Academy for boys, followed by its sister school for girls, Woodlands Academy, which was located in the same city. Since then, the Legionaries in Ireland have worked in clubs for teenagers and with Regnum Christi teams for youth and adults. The project of founding a school for Irish children took a long time to materialize. The moment finally arrived in the year 2000 when they opened the Oakhill Junior School in the locality of Foxrock, Dublin. The school opened with great success, offering pre-school up to third grade. At this time, the Legionaries and Regnum Christi members working in Ireland have developed other apostolates like the “Dal Riada” Center for Integral Development of the Family, which offers tools for family development in all its dimensions. Recently, they have also launched the "K4J" (Kids for Jesus) magazine of NET. The purpose of this program is to form and build up children’s clubs in Christian and families. They have also created the “Clonlost” Activities Center in Dublin, where youth and teenagers can receive academic and spiritual guidance in a healthy atmosphere.

Cloyne Report into Clergy Abuse final chapter reveals

Final chapter of Cloyne Report unearths more damning evidence of cover up by Bishop and police

Chapter Nine published after High Court intervention

By

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 8:40 AM

Updated Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 1:54 PM

Shocking allegations of a cover-up into child sex abuse allegations against a Fr Ronat have come to light with the publication of the final chapter of the Cloyne Report – including claims that an investigating cleric tried to suggest a teenage victim was to blame.

The most troubling chapter of the Cloyne Report, Chapter Nine has finally been allowed into the public domain on the back of a ruling by Dublin’s High Court.

The Irish Examiner newspaper reports that the newly published chapter claims that the cleric asked to examine abuse allegations against Fr Ronat suggested the teenage girl was to blame.

The new section of the report also found that the bishop’s advisory committee tried to ensure the young woman’s complaints were not treated as child abuse while police buried an allegation of child abuse made by a young boy against the same priest.

---------------------

The paper reports that Archdeacon Chris Twohig, a cleric drafted in to investigate the priest identified only as Fr Ronat, offered a disturbing analysis of allegations of abuse made by a young woman when aged 15-19.

Archdeacon Twohig asked in his report if it could be deduced that the girl was harassing or ‘besetting Fr Ronat.

He wrote: “Might it not be possible that (the girl) is the Ophelia of Hamlet - sweet bells jangled.”
The Cloyne Report found the Archdeacon’s report lacked any evidence of a genuine investigation and was not impartial.

“It seems to the Commission to be largely concerned with providing reasons why this might not be classified as child sexual abuse. It also, notably, seeks to lay the blame for what occurred on the girl,” the inquiry found.

The Examiner also reports that Fr Ronat, who also served as a career guidance counsellor, is accused of giving teenagers wine, hypnotising them and abusing while hearing confessions in his bedroom.

The 19th cleric against whom allegations have been made in Cloyne, Fr Ronat also defied instructions to stop all standard priestly duties and was found to have been turned up at confirmations.

Chapter Nine also found that former bishop and Vatican aide John Magee and his right-hand man Monsignor Denis O’Callaghan, the vicar general in the Cork diocese of Cloyne, failed the victims of clerical abuse.

The inquiry states that the pair deliberately misled authorities and did not report allegations as recently as three years ago.

Dr Magee, who resigned last year before the Cloyne Report was published, claimed that Fr Ronat only abused the girl when she was 17 - an age that ruled out paedophilia – even though she reported that she was abused from the ages of 15 to 19.

In total, 10 girls and one boy have made formal complaints against Fr Ronat, a pseudonym for the priest concerned as criminal investigations are ongoing.

The boy’s mother initially reported the abuse in 1996 but Monsignor O’Callaghan failed to report the allegations to police until 2003. No charges were brought and the inquiry is critical of the police reaction.

“The statement seems to have been put in a drawer and forgotten about until raised by this investigation,” it said.

Fr Ronat, who has yet to be convicted in relation to a child abuse matter, threatened to sue people complaining about him, the girl’s parents and even threatened legal action against then Bishop Magee.

It is also alleged that he used hypnosis on his victims.

The Cloyne Report had previously stated that failures in the handling of complaints against Fr Ronat rested mainly on Magee and the Monsignor, while at least three priests of the diocese also ignored complaints.

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PITTSBURGH, Pa (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic priest was arrested on charges he viewed child pornography in the rectory of his Pittsburgh-area church, the diocese said on Sunday.

The Rev. Bartley Sorensen, 62, pastor of St. John Fisher Church in Churchill, Pennsylvania, was arraigned on charges of

possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony, according to the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

He was being held on Sunday in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond, jail officials said.

Sorensen was arrested after a church employee walked into the rectory on Friday and saw Sorensen viewing a computer

image of a young boy naked from the waist down, with the words "Hottie Boys" on the screen, police said. She alerted

diocesan officials, who immediately contacted police.

Allegheny County detectives found pornographic images of young boys on his computer, police said. During an interview,

Sorensen admitted to possessing at least 100 pornographic pictures of children, police said. He has not been charged with

abusing children.

Accusations of child abuse and sexual impropriety against Catholic clergy in the United States have rocked the Catholic

Church since 2002, and the church has paid out some $2 billion in settlements to abuse victims.

The pornography arrest also comes amid a series of separate scandals that have seen a steady march of men make abuse

accusations in recent weeks against coaches at Penn State University, Syracuse University and most recently against a top

official at the Amateur Athletic Union.

The Pittsburgh diocese said in a statement that Sorensen had been placed on administrative leave.

"The viewing of pornographic images involving children is a disturbing and criminal act," the statement said. "The Diocese

of Pittsburgh is cooperating to the fullest extent in the investigation of this incident."

A priest for 35 years, Sorensen had been a pastor at St. John Fisher only for several weeks, having been previously assigned

for nine months to St. Anne Church in Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania. His past includes an assignment as chaplain at West

Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh.

The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, diocese spokesman, said the diocese had provided Sorensen with the names of several possible

attorneys after his arrest but it was unclear who he had retained for the criminal case.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Cynthia Johnston)

Stronger Sanctions for Maciel and Paterno

Marci Hamilton, a prominent lawyer who specializes in child abuse wrote recently apropos the Sandusky scandal that Child Abuse deterrents need to be stronger

Understanding Sandusky and Maciel, the Grandiose Narcissist

Magnificent talk by priest on the phenomenon of the Pedophile Grandiose Narcissist

The parallels between recent sex abuse cases are disturbing

SNAP: The parallels between recent sex abuse cases are disturbing
  Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPdorris@gmail.com, 314-503-0003) 

The parallels that can be drawn between the scandal at the Citadel and the situation at Penn State are disturbing.

At both institutions, a man in a position of authority and influence used his status to approach, groom, and ultimately molest young boys. At both institutions, reports were made to the predator's superiors that something wrong was happening. And at both institutions, these superiors failed to act. Through their efforts to protect the name and reputations of their respective institutions, officials at PSU and the Citadel allowed more children to be victimized.

What is most disturbing about these scandals, however, is that they are not new or unheard of. Rather, these are a recent reiteration of the same type of cover-up that has plagued other organizations that held their reputations above the safety of children; institutions like the Boy Scouts of America, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and to a much greater extent, the Catholic Church.

What is different about PSU and the Citadel, however, is that the outside reaction - from parents, alumni, community members, and the media - has been visceral. These people have rightly been outraged, and heads have rolled because of their public outcry.

Yet we see no such outcry with the church. On the contrary, people have jumped to defend the priests that have been accused of molesting young boys and girls, and moved quickly to attempt to discredit those who came forward, citing misnomers as "this abuse occurred so long ago, get over it," "you're in it for the money, "and "if you were actually abused, what took you so long to come forward?"

The issue with this type of reaction is not only that it is mean-spirited, but it deters others who may have seen or suspected clergy abuse from coming forward, and it deters the type of public outrage that have shamed PSU and the Citadel, and therefore, the repercussions that come with it.

So we applaud the reaction from community members and share in their outrage at the officials at the Citadel. Through their inaction, they allowed this predator to change hunting grounds - moving from the university to a local high school - and avoid responsibility, in the same way that the Catholic church has done for so long. We hope that a full investigation is launched in order to determine who knew what, and when exactly they knew it, and we urge that this investigation be undertaken by outside authorities. We also call on Citadel President John Rosa to do real outreach, and do everything within his power to beg others who may have been victimized or seen these crimes occur to come forward, get help, start healing, and tell their story.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. Founded in 1988, we now have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) 

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)

Former Israel President convicted of Rape and Sentenced to Jail

Why did Maciel get away Scott free?

Israel continues to be very gender separated and women are still fighting for their rights in a macho dominated society; that is why humanists have hailed this verdict as an important victory

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the rape conviction of former President Moshe Katsav and ordered him to begin serving a seven-year prison term next month, a landmark decision that culminated a sordid five-year saga.

The rape conviction for the former head of state was hailed as a victory for women's rights and equality under the law, particularly at a sensitive time when Israel's liberal democracy has come under assault from extreme nationalists and the burgeoning ultra-religious minority.

"From this day on, let nobody dare claim that these are women who tried to conspire against the president. Rather they are brave women who must empower all harassed women who are afraid to complain," said Tzipi Livni, Israel's opposition leader and the nation's most prominent female politician.

It also completed the tragic ending for a man whose rag-to-riches story had served as a symbol of success for Mizrahi Jews, those of Middle Eastern descent who for decades were an underclass in Israel. Ordered to report to prison on Dec. 7, Katsav becomes the highest-ranking Israeli official to serve time.

The Iranian-born Katsav, 65, was convicted last December of raping a former employee when he was a Cabinet minister and of sexually harassing two other women during his term as president from 2000 to 2007. He received a seven-year prison sentence in March, but remained free pending his appeal.

Katsav has vociferously professed his innocence since the accusations against him first emerged five years ago, claiming he was the victim of a political witchhunt. And the case against him depended entirely on testimony, fueling a debate in Israel on the difficulties of prosecuting sex crimes.

But in a decisive ruling Thursday, the judges said his testimony had not been credible and accused him of exploiting his status as a high public official.

The former president "fell from the loftiest heights to the deepest depths," Judge Salim Joubran told the hushed court. "Such a senior official should be a role model to his subordinates. Every woman has a right to her own body. A right to dignity. A right to freedom. No one has the liberty to take any of those from her."

Katsav sat stone-faced throughout the session, briefly smiling wryly as it became clear his appeal was being rejected.

Katsav's attorney, Avigdor Feldman, faulted the judges for believing the rape victim despite serious holes in her testimony. "They would have believed her if she said the rape occurred on Venus," Feldman said.

Noya Rimalt, an expert on criminal law and feminist legal theory at Haifa University, said the prosecution prevailed in because of strong witness testimony. "Different women who didn't know each other told similar stories about the way he treated female subordinates. That is what the conviction was based on," she said.

Israel's presidency is a largely ceremonial office, typically filled by a respected elder statesman expected to rise above politics and serve as a moral compass.

The case against Katsav, which broke in 2006 after he told police one of his accusers was trying to extort money from him, shocked Israelis by portraying a man widely seen as a bland functionary as a predatory boss who repeatedly used authority to force sexual favors.

Katsav reluctantly resigned two weeks before his seven-year term was to expire in 2007 under a plea bargain that would have allowed him to escape jail time.

He was replaced by Nobel peace laureate and former prime minister Shimon Peres, whom he had bested in the 2000 presidential race, decided by parliament. But he then rejected the plea bargain, vowing to prove his innocence in court.

The lurid details of the case riveted Israelis. In one memorable moment, Katsav held a news conference in which he accused prosecutors and the media of plotting his demise because he didn't belong to the European-descended elite.

The Iranian-born Katsav moved to Israel as a child, spent time in an immigrant tent camp and grew up in the impoverished southern development town of Kiryat Malachi. Katsav became mayor of the town at the age of 24, and continues to live there.

Prosecutors and women's rights groups proclaimed the verdict a victory in a decades-long struggle to chip away at the nation's macho culture, which once permitted political and military leaders great liberties.

Yet observers noted the country — torn between a generally liberal judiciary, conservative religious currents and lingering gaps between men and women in the workplace — still has a long way to go.

Particularly in Jerusalem, Jewish ultra-Orthodox have tried to impose their social mores on the city. Posters depicting women are a rarity, and advertisers freely admit that they expect billboards with women's faces to be defaced or destroyed by religious vandals. Some buses and health clinics have been gender-separated, and recently, women were shunted onto separate sidewalks in one neighborhood.

In the military, traditionally an important melting pot, officials have considered reassigning some female combat soldiers because religious men don't want to serve with them.

Naomi Chazan, a leading women's rights advocate, called the Katsav ruling a "great victory," but said the issue of gender equality is an "ongoing struggle."

Chazan, president of the New Israel Fund, which supports progressive causes in Israel, pointed to "the ultrareligious extremists who are bent on imposing a very gender-segregated approach" on the public.

"That's the duality of Israeli society: a very liberal strain and a very retrogressive strain," she said.

A Brave Young Man reviews this Testimony

                                      (The author at 13, four years before being recruited in Dublin by a  Legionary seminarian masquerading as an ordained priest -the first of many lies)


I am very indebted to Denver Dave for reading my memoir and taking the time and energy to write a very personal review. I salute him and the other brave men and women who dared to read something "not officially sanctioned" by Legion/Regnum Christi leaders and "spiritual directors", and who had the courage to step outside the compound to get an objective view of these cult-like organizations. In the process they help others see the light and walk through the dark tunnel of mind-control towards freedom, the freedom of the Children of God, in which they can now seek and find their Lord in truth and joy.
====

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL TESTIMONY!, August 13, 2010

By 

D. SADLER "Denver Dave" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Our Father" Maciel, who art in bed: A Naive and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of Christ (Paperback)

This book contains a very powerful testimony of an amazing man on an amazing journey: before, during and after the Legion of Christ. As someone who has also had similar experiences with the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi movement, which is currently under review and reform, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to gain knowledge or understanding of these orders inside Catholicism. This insight comes from man who has experienced so much, learned and taught so much and helped so many who have left or tried to leave these orders--as well as their families. He has also sought to bring justice and healing to the masses - despite even being sued by the Legion at one time. I deeply honor and respect the work and testimony of this man who has helped many of us that have suffered though this crisis in many ways. More importantly, I respect his candor, sincerity and openness to discuss these issues even when he knew he would receive a great deal of turmoil, grief and criticism from even high ranked church officials. This man's honor, bravery and sense of decency are only few of the many qualities that I aspire to and hope to one day achieve. With the emancipation and solace I received from this book and the healing ministry of Mr. Lennon - I am that much closer!

Maciel compared to recent Founders to be Canonized

Father Maciel with lover and daughter




Healing of US man key to Italian priest's canonization

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Thanks to the healing of a young man from the United States, who was severely injured in a rollerblading accident, Italian Blessed Louis Guanella will be among three new saints proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI in late October.

William Glisson, now 30 and married, was 21 years old when he and a friend were rollerblading down the Baltimore Pike in Springfield, Pa., near Philadelphia. Glisson was skating backward, without a helmet, hit a hole and fell, hitting his head.

The young man was in a coma for nine days and underwent skull surgery twice, but the doctors' prognosis was still grave.

A family friend, Dr. Noreen M. Yoder, gave Glisson's mother two relics of Blessed Louis Guanella. Dr. Yoder worked at a rehabilitation center in Springfield run by the Opera Don Guanella.

According to the website of the Opera Don Guanella, Glisson was released from the hospital less than a month after the accident and returned to work just seven months later.

Glisson's healing was accepted by the Vatican as the miracle needed for Blessed Guanella's canonization, which is scheduled for Oct. 23.

The Italian priest lived 1842-1915 and founded the Servants of Charity, the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence, and the Confraternity of St. Joseph, whose members pledge to pray for the sick and dying.

Also set for canonization Oct. 23 are: Italian Blessed Guido Maria Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries, who lived 1865-1931; and Spanish Blessed Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro, 1837-1905, founder of the Servants of St. Joseph, a congregation originally dedicated to educating poor women.

END

Ridding Catholicism of the stench of this Legionary of Christ By Hugh O’Shaughnessy

Ridding Catholicism of the stench of this Legionary of Christ By Hugh O’Shaughnessy

Posted on September 22, 2011 by dialogueireland

Ridding Catholicism of the stench of this Legionary of Christ

The Guardian (UK), September 21, 2011

By Hugh O’Shaughnessy

The late Marcial Maciel Degollado did enormous damage, but finally the Vatican is cleaning up his scandalous mess

At last, the Vatican begins to move in earnest to clean up the scandalous mess of the egregiously wealthy rightwing Legionaries of Christ. Their members are known to some as the “millionaires of Christ” and their stench has been in the nostrils of Catholics for too many decades.

A start was made on 15 July to repair the enormous damage to the church done by the late Marcial Maciel Degollado, who founded the Legion of Christ in 1940. The pushy Mexican priest was the bisexual pederast, drug-addicted lover of several women and father of three who hoodwinked a succession of popes from Pius XII and who was eventually run to ground and disgraced by Benedict XVI in 2006.

At the start of 2011 Richard Gill, for 29 years a US priest of the Legionaries of Christ but who had left the Legion last year, wrote: “It is no exaggeration to say that Marcial Maciel was by far the most despicable character in the twentieth century Catholic Church, inflicting more damage on her reputation and evangelizing mission than any other single Church leader.”

Cardinal Velasio de Paolis, the canon lawyer and head of the Holy See’s economic affairs to whom the pope has given full powers over the organisation, has pushed its vicar-general out of his comfortable office in Rome. Father Luis Garza, a member of one of the fabulously rich Mexican families from the northern Mexican city of Monterrey who as a close colleague of Maciel Degollado helped to run the Legion and its assets of $25bn, has just been bundled off to New York to head its activities in the US and Canada.

The cardinal was appointed papal commissioner more than a year ago and moved so cautiously that those who inherited the Legion and its assets sat back and relaxed, assured, they thought, that the crimes of Maciel Degollado, 87, who died in opprobrium in 2008, would be swept under the carpet. According to authoritative Chiesa website, Garza even gave a press interview on 27 June announcing that he would stay on as vicar of the Legion until 2013 or 2015.

Now he has gone, leaving the startlingly handsome Álvaro Corcuera, the Mexican priest who was the closest collaborator of Maciel Degollado, as the senior cleric to take orders from Cardinal de Paolis. And the cardinal has hinted strongly that other heads will roll and stories bubble up about the man who used to be called blasphemously “Our Father” by his followers. One of these tales concerned the time when Maciel Degollado was found taking a break in a retreat house in Mexico with a lady and her daughter – before it was established that they were one of his wives and one of his children.

Corcuera and Garza, far from being left alone, are having to face a cataclysmic situation that Maciel Degollado brought about. The numbers seeking to enter the Legion and its lay section Regnum Christi have tumbled markedly, while rich and powerful allies have split off from the organisation – notably the Oriol family, a rich dynasty which had served to established Maciel Degollado in high society in Spain, helped him to collect money from the rich and had aided him to become acquainted with the dictator Francisco Franco.

Maciel Degollado left a series of dirty marks wherever he passed.

Gill, for instance, wonders why the Vatican department that deals with religious orders gave its approval in 1983 to a new constitution for the Legion, which has proved to be irregular and defective. Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, who headed that department and was one of the few senior Argentine clerics to have come out of his country’s dirty war with credit, clearly committed an error in approving an unsatisfactory constitution. Paradoxically he also happened to be one of the few leaders of the church in Argentina who stood up to the sort of raging conservatives who were attracted to the Legion. Because of this, Pironio received death threats from rightwing extremists in his homeland and had to flee to Rome. Worse, his reputation was gravely damaged.

How did Maciel Degollado fool such a succession of popes?

The literal meaning of his mother’s surname – which in Spanish fashion is inserted after his father’s surname Maciel is fascinating. The literal meaning of “degollado” is “a man whose throat has been ripped out”. How weird!

Sales Up!

Thanks to readers and researchers for buying the 3 versions of my [same!] memoir:

Our Father Maciel who art in bed, hard copy and Kindle [$3.99]
Our Father who art in bed, hard copy

Exiting members continue to remark that the book helps them understand the Legion/Regnum, their experience in it, many readers have "Aha" moments, a freeing up inside, and continued healing.

Parents can also gain insight into their children's plight and how to treat them inside and outside the Legion/Regnum.

Pastors, Psychologists and Pastoral Counselors can understand what the Legion is all about -from the inside- and perhaps understand how it gets such a strong grip on young. idealistic minds.

Sex Abuse Victims of Fr Maciel's Sex Abuse Victims

Dear readers, out of respect for the survivors of Fr.Maciel's sexual abuse of his seminarians, I have written little and with great prudence regarding the possibility that some of Maciel's victims could in turn become abusers (the % of victim/abusers is the subject of study, practically unknown, and believed to be low). The phenomenon is called "identification with the perpetrator" and the Legion has not been free of it.

A senior Legionary priest, recently transferred 'out of harms way' to Rome, who may in the past have been mentioned on www.regainnetwork.org, is one such perpetrator. Another of his victims, an American in his forties, has recently come to the blogger's attention.

I ask all readers to play for this man in recovery; and I ask the Vatican overseers, specifically Cardinal De Paolis, to look into this Sexual Abuse phenmenon in the Legion, not only by Maciel but by some of his victims who in turn became perpetrators.

Archbishop Chaput's response to this man's complaint was, to say the least, lookwarm.

Legionary Sex Abuse in Dublin Novitiate Ends?

At the Entrance to the Legion Salamanca Novitiate it say: Christus Vita Vestra, "Let Christ by your Life"
In Dublin 'Your Life is Hell' was true for some novicies
The legion has just announced the closing of the Dublin Noviciate.
Here is what a man sexually abused there thinks about the reasons given by the legion and the sex abuse therin:

Regarding Dublin - there hasnt been an irish vocation since candidacy 1994. The house is very big - four floors. It has been financially viable for most of the time because of the two Oak schools (one for boys one for girls) which house foreign teenagers (11 - 16 perhaps) to learn english for a semester or a year or a summer program.


These exclusive english academies charge a fortune and in turn provide the up keep of the novitiate - so unless these schools have been hit, there isnt a particularly financial reason (Except of course that the LC would have to pay for the flights for all the foreign LC novices to move to Dublin.).



Originally the boys Oak school was in the same building as the novitiate - so when the boys needed to buy oil for the heating, there was no need for the LCs to buy it too (one single heating system) and when the boys larders were full of food and they were having their dinners and lunches cooked by hired kitchen staff, it was impractical to have a secondary LC kitchen staff and larder. So much of the novitiate expeneses were absorbed by Oak.



Regarding foreign novices in dublin - the majority were always from USA/Mexico. Europe has had a steady decline in vocations since the mid 90s, way before the crisis. I would wager that there is a real european crisis and there are simply not enough foreigners to go around the european novitiates: Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain - and im not sure about france?



I am left empty about this news, I thought I would be pleased. I would be perhaps more affected by the demolition of that building... But it is good that no more novices can be hurt in Ireland.



Maciel abused novices there, Guillermo Izquierdo also, Eoghan Devlin, and one more rector has been accused in recent years.



That is to say there has been abuse in that house in the so called noughties, the 90s, the 80s, the 70s and the 60s - since it was built.



This is an end, I hope, and not a transferral, to a horrible history.

Maciel and Legion Superiors "Masters of Deceit"?

                   Fr. Maciel piously kneels at the feet of the man he has led up the garden path...

            Fr. Maciel warmly embraces his closely cultivated protege, Alvaro Corcuera at the latter's ordination


Dear friends,

some thoughts from an old man..

http://www.johnlecarre.com/news/2011/07/10/john-le-carre-discusses-mi6-trust-nostalgia-and-the-new-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-film


Excerpt from an interview with one of my favorite writers, John Le Carre; i was very impressed by the most autobiographical of his novels, The Perfect Spy, which is how having a father like his prepared him to be a spy. I have always thought of Maciel as "The Master of Deceit"

Many reflections could stem from this reading; i will share just one:
"Did living with Maciel prepare the superiors to also be 'masters of deceit'?

End to Sexual Abuse in Legion of Christ's Dublin Novitiate?

The Legion announced the closing of the Dublin Novitiate this week and gave its reasons for doing so.
The Novitiate in Salamanca's entrance is adorned with the words from St. Paul [Fr. Maciel loved to quote him] "Christus Vita Vestra" "(Let) Christ be your life!" Some who were not so lucky might say "Let Hell be your life"

Here is what a victim of sexual assault in the Dublin Novitiate writes:

Regarding Dublin - there hasn't been an Irish vocation since candidacy 1994. The house is very big - four floors. It has been financially viable for most of the time because of the two Oak schools (one for boys one for girls) which house foreign teenagers (11 - 16 perhaps) to learn English for a semester or a year or a summer program.


These exclusive English academies charge a fortune and in turn provide the up keep of the novitiate - so unless these schools have been hit, there isnt a particularly financial reason (Except of course that the LC would have to pay for the flights for all the foreign LC novices to move to Dublin.).

Originally the boys Oak school was in the same building as the novitiate - so when the boys needed to buy oil for the heating, there was no need for the LCs to buy it too (one single heating system) and when the boys larders were full of food and they were having their dinners and lunches cooked by hired kitchen staff, it was impractical to have a secondary LC kitchen staff and larder. So much of the novitiate expenses were absorbed by Oak.

Regarding foreign novices in Dublin - the majority were always from USA/Mexico. Europe has had a steady decline in vocations since the mid 90s, way before the crisis. I would wager that there is a real european crisis and there are simply not enough foreigners to go around the European novitiates: Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain - and I'm not sure about France?

I am left empty about this news, I thought I would be pleased. I would be perhaps more affected by the demolition of that building... But it is good that no more novices can be hurt in Ireland.

Maciel abused novices there, Guillermo Izquierdo also, Eoghan Devlin too, and one more rector has been accused in recent years.

That is to say there has been abuse in that house in the so called noughties, the 90s, the 80s, the 70s and the 60s - since it was built.

This is an end, I hope, and not a transferral, to a horrible history.

Those annoying victims of sexual assault will not go away and leave De Paolis and Alvaro alone!

Bishop John McGee and Vatican Assailed by Irish Government

Former Bishop John Magee


At the heart of the Bishop of Cloyne affair is a dark reality that is truly shocking.

Bishop John Magee was carrying out Vatican orders when he delegated the responsibility for the pedophile priests in his diocese to an underling and allowed him to overlook the worst abusers.

One wonders what pressing tasks the Bishop had that were so urgent that he could turnover such a critical and vital task to an underling.

Now we know why -so the Vatican fingerprints would not be on it.
The Vatican has long refused to sign off on the strict code of conduct put together by the Irish church after the sordid revelations about the past emerged. The key one was to report all suspected pedophiles to police.

As a Vatican man, through and through, Magee was following Vatican orders.

The Cloyne cover-up began into events that happened after the worst of the previous excesses were in the public domain and the Irish church had issued new firm guidelines which included giving any information to police.

__________________

Papal nuncio 'very distressed' over Ireland's Cloynes report

Bishop of Cloyne apologizes from American hideaway

Irish Priests face five years in jail if they fail to report child abuse
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Magee is a Vatican creation, however, secretary to three popes and a man on his way to the top of the irish church until some internal scandal derailed him and sent him to Cloyne instead. He was still taking their orders however.

We can guess what his own scandal was after he attempted to kiss a 17-year old seminary student and said he dreamed about him, a fact included in the Murphy report

But he clearly never forgot his Vatican roots. It is a place where the current Pope has much to answer for on this issue, where Cardinal Law of Boston, a notorious enabler of pedophiles was promoted, where Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, the most courageous cleric standing in the face of this pedophile scandal, has been ignored and belittled.

The Irish government called in the Papal Nuncio in Ireland yesterday and demanded a Vatican response saying it was 'absolutely unacceptable' that the Vatican had intervened in Ireland and discouraged priests from reporting crimes against innocent children.

Foreign Minister Gilmore said what happened in Ireland was 'a totally inappropriate, unjustified, unacceptable intervention'.

'This is modern Ireland and this was a recent occasion of abuse of children and this was a recent intervention by Vatican authorities,' he said.

Once Irish governments would have quaked at the very presence of the Papal Nuncio, but no more.

Now the chairman of the Fine Gael party Charlie Flanagan, son of the most devout Catholic legislator in Irish history, Oliver Flanagan, called for the Papal Nuncio to be expelled

The nuncio's response was a polite buzz off, regretting the scandal but promising little.

Like the House of Bourbon the Vatican has learned nothing and remembered nothing.

Magee, now happily vacationing somewhere in America knows he has served his true lord and masters and to hell with the little children.

It is beyond cynicism and belief

Irish Bishop Continued to Cover Up Clergy Sex Abuse

The same old sordid story; Monsignor Mc Gee was personal secretary to Pope Paul VI, among others; on the death of the pope he was assigned to a diocese in his native Ireland, despite rumors that he himself was an abuser; he has been accused of inappropriate actions with young men. It is possible that the late great Fr. Maciel would have known about Mons Mc Gee's proclivities and used this info to his advantage.. As a "friend of the Legion" Maciel could curry favors from him...Mc Gee was not the right man for the post and screwed up as a supervisor of his clergy. With skeletons in his own closet..
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July 13, 2011


LATEST REPORT ON IRISH CATHOLIC CHURCH'S MANAGEMENT OF SEX ABUSE BY CLERGY.

The Cloyne Report has found that former Bishop John Magee falsely told the Government and the HSE that the Catholic Diocese was reporting all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse to the civil authorities.

It also found that the Bishop deliberately misled another inquiry and his own advisors by creating two different accounts of a meeting with a priest-suspect, one for the Vatican and the other for diocesan files.

Bishop Magee, whose resignation was accepted by the Vatican last March, is criticised for his handling of allegations.

The report was initially submitted to Government last December, but legal complexities meant it was not approved for publication by Cabinet until today.

Running to 400 pages and detailing findings on 19 priests who faced abuse allegations over a 13-year period, the report deals with how the Cloyne Diocese handled abuse allegations as recently as 2009.

The report criticised Bishop Magee for showing little or no interest in the management of clerical child sexual abuse until just three years ago.

In the opening pages, the report claims that the Bishop had 'detached himself' from the management of child sexual abuse cases. It declares that his response was 'totally inadequate'.

The Commission states that the greatest failure by the diocese was its failure to report all cases to gardaí.

In one case, the Cloyne second-in-command, Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, withheld the identity of a perpetrator from the authorities and attempted to have a particular garda officer investigate it. The Garda Superintendent was found to have correctly disregarded the request.

Between 1996 - when the Irish bishops introduced guidelines for mandatory reporting - and 2005, the diocese failed to report nine out of 15 complaints against priests, which 'very clearly should have been reported'.

The report notes 'the most serious lapse was the failure to report two cases in which the alleged victims were minors at the time of the complaint'.

The Commission of Inquiry has also raised concern that there is no evidence of a garda investigation into two allegations of abuse against one priest.

The report draws attention to one case where despite garda assurances, the Commission can find no evidence of garda investigations into allegations by two women against a single priest.

The Commission states it is concerned and it does not accept there was a proper investigation into the complaints against the priest named as 'Fr Corin'.

The report also details how an allegation against Bishop Magee himself in 2008 was dealt with.

The Bishop allegedly embraced the 17-year-old youth and kissed him on the forehead. The behaviour was deemed inappropriate but not reportable.

New offence to withhold information from gardaí

This afternoon, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter published the heads of a Bill to make it a criminal offence for anyone not to pass information on to gardaí about the possible sexual abuse of a child.

Mr Shatter said the Cloyne diocese did not record information on complaints of sexual abuse and it was truly scandalous that people who presented a public face of concern continued with private concealment.

Speaking at a Government press conference, Mr Shatter said the Garda Commissioner had appointed an officer to examine the report and see if further action be taken against abusers in the report.

Now on Kindle!

Hoping it can be helpful to exiting Legionaries, members of the Regnum Christi, their friends and relatives.

See Fr. Van Hove's review at Amazon books/paperbacks


At Amazon on Kindle, Our Father Maciel who art in bed

at 3.99

KINDLE cheapo edition soon available

Betsheba and Fr. Maciel in one of his holier moments

the author of this bestseller has been working hard with Amazon to convert it to -Christiany, oops, no!- to Kindle

It will soon be available at $3.99 a shot

Vatican Punishes Bishop who Abused Nephew

Vatican sanctions Belgian bishop who abused nephew


By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Nicole Winfield, Associated Press

37 mins ago

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has sanctioned a Belgian bishop who resigned last year after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew, saying he can no longer act as a priest in public and may risk further church sanctions.

The Vatican on Tuesday clarified the punishment against the former Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe after Belgian bishops reported over the weekend that he had merely been sent outside Belgium for spiritual and psychological counseling, a seemingly cushy punishment given the seriousness of the crime.

The decision was the first known application of the Vatican's new sex abuse norms approved last year giving the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith jurisdiction to investigate and punish bishops — not just priests — who abuse minors. The ultimate possible penalty: defrocking, or laicization in church-speak.

Previously, when bishops committed canonical crimes the pope dealt with them by delegating the cases to various Vatican offices or the Roman Rota, a Vatican court.

The Vatican has long been accused by sex abuse victims of having let off the hook those bishops who themselves molested minors or helped cover up the crimes of priests who did. The change in the norms was designed at least in theory to let the Congregation more easily go after abusive bishops and cardinals.

The pope, however, has the final say on Vangheluwe's punishment.

In a statement, the Vatican's press office said Pope Benedict XVI would eventually decide on a sentence based on Vangheluwe's diagnosis and prognosis from the psychological treatment he is receiving in exile, and also take into account "the suffering of the victims and the need for justice."

It said that while Vangheluwe is being treated, he isn't allowed to work publicly as a priest or bishop.

Vangheluwe, 74, resigned a year ago this month as Belgium's longest-serving bishop after admitting he had abused a boy for years as a priest and even after becoming a bishop in 1984. It later was established that the victim, who is now in his early 40s, was his nephew.

Revelations of Vangheluwe's abuse came amid the 2010 global eruption of the sex abuse scandal, when thousands of people came forward in Europe and beyond with reports of priests who had abused them, bishops who covered up for the prelates and Vatican officials who ignored the crimes for decades.

The crisis was particularly acute in Belgium, where in the weeks following Vangheluwe's resignation a church-appointed commission reported that hundreds of people had come forward with tales of abuse that had led to at least 13 suicides.

The revelations prompted Belgian police to raid the home and offices of Belgium's former top churchmen, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, and open the tombs of two archbishops north of Brussels in a search for hidden documents — moves that drew the stern condemnation of the Vatican.

The decision by the Congregation to go after Vangheluwe and prosecute bishops for canonical abuse crimes comes as prosecutors in criminal courts are for the first time targeting bishops and high-ranking churchmen for sex-abuse related crimes and cover-ups.

Philadelphia has been rocked by the indictment of a high-ranking church official on child-endangerment charges for having moved known abusers around. Monsignor William Lynn, the former secretary for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese, faces up to 28 years in prison if convicted. His defense lawyers have said Lynn didn't have any children under his care and never thought any children were being put at risk.

And next month, a federal court in Ottawa is due to put Bishop Raymond Lahey on trial on child pornography charges. Lahey resigned as bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 2009, after authorities conducting a random search of his laptop computer at Ottawa's airport said they found child pornography.

Vatican officials said the Congregation is awaiting the results of the Ottawa trial before proceeding with its own case against Lahey. Under the same May 2010 revision of the Vatican's sex abuse norms, acquiring, possessing and distributing pornography of children under age 14 years is considered to be an equally serious canonical crime that is dealt with by the Congregation.

There are several other bishops in the United States and Europe who have resigned in recent years after they were accused of abuse, including Norwegian Bishop Georg Mueller, whose 2009 resignation was made public during the height of last year's scandal.

Beyond Lahey, Vatican officials declined to say which other bishops might come before the Congregation for abuse-related canonical punishments.

One of the highest-ranking churchmen to resign because he himself was an abuser was the late Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer. He was forced to resign as archbishop of Vienna in 1995 over claims he had molested youths at a monastery in the 1970s.