Pope Benedict Announces Investigation of Corrupt Order

ReligionApril 2009 • Views: 1,621

This is good news about a very bad situation—a sign that the Catholic Church is starting to get serious about dealing with the corruption that has wreaked so much damage in so many lives: Vatican to investigate scandalized religious order.

NEW YORK – Pope Benedict XVI has taken the extraordinary step of ordering a Vatican investigation of the Legionaries of Christ, the influential, conservative religious order that has acknowledged that its founder fathered a child and molested seminarians.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the No. 2 man in the Vatican, said church leaders will visit and evaluate all seminaries, schools and other institutions run by the Legion worldwide.

Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, said in a statement made public Tuesday that the Vatican was stepping in “so that with truth and transparency, in a climate of fraternal and constructive dialogue, you will overcome the present difficulties.”

The Legion revealed in February that its founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel of Mexico, had fathered a daughter who is now in her 20s and lives in Spain. Maciel died in 2008 at age 87.

The disclosure caused turmoil inside the religious order and its lay affiliate, Regnum Christi. The groups teach that Maciel was a hero whose life should be studied and emulated.

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86 comments

Honorary Yooper Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:29:38pm

As far as I've seen, Benedict sees his job as cleaning out the Church. As much as people revere John Paul II, he let the Church go for many years. I pray that Benedict has time to finish his job.

shug Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:30:30pm

I wish them success in weeding out the few bad priests out there who tarnish the good works of the other 99.9% of Priests

Killgore Trout Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:30:32pm

Better late than never I suppose.

shug Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:31:25pm

When do they investigate Cardinal Bernard Law?

Randall Gross Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:31:55pm

Is this the group that marches in uniforms and has sympathies for exiles from Europe?

anchors_aweigh Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:32:42pm

Next up; University of Notre Dame

reine.de.tout Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:34:06pm

re: #6 anchors_aweigh

Next up; University of Notre Dame

We can hope.

albusteve Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:34:20pm

Benny
Benny
Benny
Benny and the jests

MandyManners Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:34:58pm

Emulate a man who violated his own vows?

Racer X Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:35:06pm

I'll wait for the Ron Howard movie about it.

hazzyday Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:35:51pm

Can't have these Child Molesters in charge of kids. Boy Scouts also need to do their due diligence here.

Kronocide Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:36:17pm

You got to prune the tree to keep it healthy. Read: bonsai.

hazzyday Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:37:13pm

OT: Sorry Villanova it's over

ConservatismNow! Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:37:38pm

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

Randall Gross Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:38:20pm

re: #5 Thanos

Is this the group that marches in uniforms and has sympathies for exiles from Europe?

Nope, not the ones I am thinking of.

Dark_Falcon Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:38:57pm

re: #4 shug

When do they investigate Cardinal Bernard Law?

Probably never. If they were to give full disclosure about Law, the resulting settlement would bankrupt the Church.

MandyManners Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:39:27pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

He made a promise to be celibate.

jaunte Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:39:28pm

This has taken a long time.

Fr. Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, is probably the most prominent priest to be disciplined by the Catholic Church for homosexual predation, that is, pederasty. Former Legionary Juan Vaca sent the first petition to the Holy See in 1976. He identified himself and 20 others as victims of Maciel's homosexual activity. It took 30 years for the case to be resolved.

[Link: www.newoxfordreview.org...]

albusteve Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:39:39pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

this isn't the middle ages...abstinence is supposed to be virtuous

hazzyday Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:41:38pm

wiki

Since the 1970s, Marcial Maciel has been accused twice of having repeatedly sexually abused other congregation members, including young children. Maciel's accusers include a priest, a guidance counselor, a professor, an engineer, a lawyer, and a former priest who became a university professor. The men, all of which were behind the accusations both times, seven Mexicans and two Spaniards, described themselves as former members of a favored group, known as the "apostolic schoolboys." The abuse allegedly occurred over three decades beginning in the 1940s in Spain and Italy, where boys and young men were taken for schooling. The abuse, they said, involved some 30 boys and young men and extended over at least three decades.

Of the nine men making the accusations, one subsequently retracted his story, claiming it had been a fabrication intended to damage the Legion. The other eight continue to maintain these allegations. Fr. Maciel and the organization deny the accusations. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who is now Pope Benedict XVI), examined the allegations. Shortly after some media reported the reopening of the investigation in late 2004, Fr. Maciel stepped down as leader of the Legion.

Scion9 Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:41:39pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

Pretty much for the same reason it is bad for a married man to knock up (or have) a mistress. It is in violation of a sacred vow.

alegrias Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:42:11pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

* * * *
Catholic priests and nuns take vows to be "chaste", and keep their sexuality under control--it's THEIR OWN rule.

reine.de.tout Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:42:44pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

BOTH reflect a violation of the celibacy vows.

But of course, any molestation would have much greater adverse effects and consequences on the people involved, than the fathering of the child necessarily would.

There is no mention made of the mother of the child; but if the mother was someone unduly influenced by the power and prestige of this priest's position, the impregnation could also fall under the "molestation" umbrella.

ted Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:43:17pm

Long overdue..........

Dark_Falcon Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:43:44pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

Because priests take a vow of celibacy. He clearly violated that vow.

ConservatismNow! Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:43:50pm

So what are the possible consequences for fathering the child? I'm not Catholic as you can see.

hazzyday Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:44:01pm

re: #14 ConservatismNow!

Is the fathering a child part really bad? Clearly the molesting is the worse of the two accusations. That's a given. Why is fathering a child as a priest so bad?

As I understand it, Catholic priests are devoted to God totally. Sexual activities are distracting. IMO true.

Dark_Falcon Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:47:16pm

re: #26 ConservatismNow!

So what are the possible consequences for fathering the child? I'm not Catholic as you can see.

He could have been defrocked. The other problem would be if he did not support said daughter. If he did not, then he is not worthy of positive recognition by the Curch, since that would make him a deadbeat dad.

alegrias Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:47:32pm

re: #26 ConservatismNow!

So what are the possible consequences for fathering the child? I'm not Catholic as you can see.

* * * *
I'm not Catholic, but I can imagine if the priest is a decent guy, he should BE a normal father to his child and leave the priesthood whose rules he violated.

Martin Luther the medieval monk, left Catholicism, married a nun who left Catholicism, and they had children and lived happily ever after starting Protestantism, where they could be both religious servants & married with children.

reine.de.tout Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:47:39pm

re: #27 hazzyday

As I understand it, Catholic priests are devoted to God totally. Sexual activities are distracting. IMO true.

It will probably surprise everybody here to hear that in my parish, we have a priest who is married.

A very unusual situation, but not totally unique.

He was an Episcopal priest, who with his family, converted to Catholicism.

He continued to feel the call to minister. And so he went through a period of training that, from what I understand, was MORE rigorous than what a "regular" priest would go through, and was ordained a Catholic priest. While still married. And is assigned to our parish.

If his wife were to die before he does, he would not be able to remarry.

SteveC Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:47:54pm

Clean this mess up ASAP; make it open and above reproach and discipline offenders. We all know that when someone tries to hold themselves to a higher standard they are scrutinized 24/7. And if they slip, there are those who will remind you of it all the days of their lives.

Racer X Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:49:21pm

"O" in no Einstein.

pat Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:49:22pm

Good. But I am afraid seminaries will always have gay scandals. It seems like they are magnets. And it surely not just the Catholic church, as recent events have shown us. The seminaries seem to get people off the norm.
I do think the Catholics should look at the Orthodox model where priest can marry, but have different vestments. After all that is what the Catholics did before the schism.

Racer X Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:49:47pm

And neither am I.

"is"

Dark_Falcon Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:49:56pm

re: #28 Dark_Falcon

He could have been defrocked. The other problem would be if he did not support said daughter. If he did not, then he is not worthy of positive recognition by the Church, since that would make him a deadbeat dad.

PIMF

Racer X Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:50:04pm

PIFW

abolitionist Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:54:05pm

re: #36 Racer X

PIFW

Preview is for wooses ?

HelloDare Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:54:25pm

re: #17 MandyManners

He made a promise to be celibate.

He's only adhering to the "don't marry" part of celibacy.

Kenneth Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:56:30pm

Nato struggles to name new head

Nato leaders have failed to agree on a new head for the alliance on the first day of their summit in Germany.

Big European powers had backed Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen as secretary general and Germany's Angela Merkel urged leaders to endorse him on Friday.

But Turkey has raised objections - notably over Mr Rasmussen's handling of controversial Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad published in 2005

Randall Gross Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:56:44pm

John Solecki, kidnaped in Pakistan by BLU/BLA has been freed:

QUETTA: The UNHCR’s abducted official John Solecki has been admitted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) here for medical treatment after his release late on Saturday night.

Captors released Solecki in Khado Chowk area located in Mastung tehsil here on Saturday night, following his release; he was shifted to house of District Coordination Officer (DCO).

Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani, on information Solecki’s release, arrived Mastung and inquired after his wellbeing.

Later, he was taken to CMH for examination of his health conditions. John Solecki, the local head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), had been snatched at gunpoint in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, on February 2. His driver was killed during the abduction.

Randall Gross Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:57:30pm

re: #39 Kenneth

Nato struggles to name new head

Actually Turkey withdrew their objection earlier today, Rasumussen is now head.

hazzyday Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:57:46pm

OT: UNC just looks like monsters this year. I bet they are atheists.

Sheepdogess Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:58:08pm

re: #30 reine.de.tout

Interesting story. I know of a man who had several children with his wife and became a priest in his 50's after she died of cancer.

TedStriker Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:58:22pm

re: #37 abolitionist

Preview is for ~~wooses~~ wusses?

FTFY ;-P

HelloDare Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:58:39pm

re: #4 shug

When do they investigate Cardinal Bernard Law?

And Cardinal Mahony.

On January 29, 2009, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that a federal investigation "will determine whether Cardinal Mahoney and possibly other church leaders committed honest services fraud against parishoners by failing to keep children safe from predatory priests".

hazzyday Sat, Apr 4, 2009 6:59:52pm

Catholic Church needs to publicly clean house in a big way. Maybe some Muslims will sit up and take notice.

ConservatismNow! Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:00:41pm

Alright I'm out, lizards.

reine.de.tout Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:01:18pm

re: #43 Sheepdogess

Interesting story. I know of a man who had several children with his wife and became a priest in his 50's after she died of cancer.

Yes, that is not uncommon.
We've had a few priests in that situation.

A Man for all Seasons Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:01:29pm

re: #42 hazzyday

OT: UNC just looks like monsters this year. I bet they are atheists.

They are monsters.. They are taking Nova to School..
Whoever doesn't draft Lawson as #1 should be fired..Period
Best point Guard in the Country

alegrias Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:02:18pm

re: #39 Kenneth

Nato struggles to name new head

* * ** *
If you've already discussed this outrageous demand by Turkey, I hope you all laughed at that cartoonish country of the Caliphate! It was their idiotic ideological compadre, Mullah Krakar who immigrated to Denmark, then incited the cartoonish wars.

Fogh Rasmussen is a brave Danish leader who came to the US' aid in Afghanistan and in the War on Terror, and is a great ally who DESERVES top leadership role in NATO.

TedStriker Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:02:40pm

re: #49 HoosierHoops

They are monsters.. They are taking Nova to School..
Whoever doesn't draft Lawson as #1 should be fired..Period
Best point Guard in the Country

With a name like HoosierHoops, it's gotta be good! ;-P

HelloDare Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:02:45pm

re: #46 hazzyday

Catholic Church needs to publicly clean house in a big way. Maybe some Muslims will sit up and take notice.

Here: /. I think you dropped it.

Emerald Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:04:56pm

This is excellent news. The old policy of covering up allegations of wrong doing, and in the case of molestations just moving the priests to other parishes, was horrible. The church is supposed to be a moral authority - it can't do that without addressing its own shortcomings. It was the height of hypocrisy otherwise; that whole beam-in-your-own-eye thing.

ladycatnip Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:05:53pm

Totally OT

Congressman Serrano has introduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment so The One can be president for life, just like Chavez.

Someone please tell me this is an April Fool's joke.

alegrias Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:09:12pm

re: #46 hazzyday

Catholic Church needs to publicly clean house in a big way. Maybe some Muslims will sit up and take notice.

* * *
Fatwa chance mullahs will clean house.

Kosh's Shadow Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:09:17pm

re: #4 shug

When do they investigate Cardinal Bernard Law?

As Jay Leno called him, Cardinal Bernard Above-the-Law

Sheepdogess Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:09:52pm

re: #48 reine.de.tout

I think this is a very good thing. I also think the Catholic clergy is a great second career for widowers and widows. The knowledge and wisdom with regards to marriage and child rearing that they bring to the table is invaluable.

Kosh's Shadow Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:09:55pm

re: #54 ladycatnip

Totally OT

Congressman Serrano has introduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment so The One can be president for life, just like Chavez.

Someone please tell me this is an April Fool's joke.

I said that would happen, but I thought it would take 4 years before they started.

TedStriker Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:10:58pm

re: #54 ladycatnip

Totally OT

Congressman Serrano has introduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment so The One can be president for life, just like Chavez.

Someone please tell me this is an April Fool's joke.

From the End22.com FAQs:

Who are you and why are you doing this?
END22 was founded by a group of ordinary Americans: Democrats, Republicans and Independents, who found common ground in their belief that the Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is unnecessarily restrictive and takes away a fundamental right from the American People. It is our belief that the American People are wise enough to choose our own leader and to decide how long that leader will serve. As President Obama said during the election: ""Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

Oh, f**king please! Dear Leader hasn't even hit 3 months in office, yet Serrano & Co. want to give him three (or more) terms? They really do think he's FDR reincarnated!

Quoting people much wiser than I, "F**k that!"

Dancing along the light of day Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:12:54pm

re: #45 HelloDare

And, Cardinal Mahoney, apparently knew of several priests who were abusers & moved them, to keep the scandals quiet.

HelloDare Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:13:21pm

re: #56 Kosh's Shadow

As Jay Leno called him, Cardinal Bernard Above-the-Law

I've heard Mahony called Cardinal Roger full-a-baloney Mahony
and
Cardinal Don Corleone Mahony

The Other Les Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:15:30pm

re: #54 ladycatnip

Totally OT

Congressman Serrano has introduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment so The One can be president for life, just like Chavez.

Someone please tell me this is an April Fool's joke.

I'm not surprised.

Power is Life to them. Any restraint on power is toxic to them.

This could put us another step closer to a Ceausescu Christmas here in the US.

2by2 Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:16:15pm

I wouldn't mind a priest violating his celibate and have a consensus sexual relation to an adult woman. That's inner church stuff, whether they prosecute him for violating the celibate etc.
What I can't take is a priest not violating the celibate but having a non consensus sexual relation to a minor of the same or opposite sex. That's just plain wrong and should be prosecuted and punished, not just by the church but by the law of the land.

HelloDare Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:16:18pm

re: #60 Floral Giraffe

And, Cardinal Mahoney, apparently knew of several priests who were abusers & moved them, to keep the scandals quiet.

There's no doubt about it. He should be in jail.

reine.de.tout Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:18:53pm

re: #57 Sheepdogess

I think this is a very good thing. I also think the Catholic clergy is a great second career for widowers and widows. The knowledge and wisdom with regards to marriage and child rearing that they bring to the table is invaluable.

I agree with you 100%

Bob Dillon Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:24:04pm

re: #54 ladycatnip

Totally OT

Congressman Serrano has introduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment so The One can be president for life, just like Chavez.

Someone please tell me this is an April Fool's joke.

[Link: littlegreenfootballs.com...]

Lawmakers Concerned That Illegal Immigrants Counted in Census Will Shape Congressional Districts
cnsnews.com (27)
Congressional Republicans who spoke with CNSNews.com on Thursday expressed concern that illegal immigrants who will be counted in the 2010 census could distort the apportionment of congressional districts.

alegrias Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:31:06pm

re: #63 2by2

I wouldn't mind%

SteveC Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:35:14pm

The "legislation" to repeal the 22nd amendment is a joint resolution. Resolutions, IIRC, go into the record but have no force of law. You get resolutions every day, mostly things like "Resolved, The United States House of Representatives recognizes John Q. Public on the occasion of his 102nd Birthday."

Serrano has had a lot of practice. He's introduced the same resolution in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009.

Opencongress.org says the resolution says it was introduced January 6 and assigned to the House Committee on the Judiciary. They kicked it to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on February 9. Members of opencongress.org can express their opinion on proposed legislation, right now the supporters have 25 votes, while 1334 vote NO!

It's worth keeping an eye on just in case, but this looks like canned foolishness.

SteveC Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:35:50pm

re: #66 Bobibutu

[Link: littlegreenfootballs.com...]

Lawmakers Concerned That Illegal Immigrants Counted in Census Will Shape Congressional Districts
cnsnews.com (27)
Congressional Republicans who spoke with CNSNews.com on Thursday expressed concern that illegal immigrants who will be counted in the 2010 census could distort the apportionment of congressional districts.

Now THIS I worry about!

dak Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:37:10pm

Yaaaargh! A good ol' inquisition to root out the heretics and those that made "errors" in their faith.

The Pope used to run the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (the old Inquisition under another name). That is what it's supposed to be for, not witch hunts.

Call in a "Standards" organization, you know, the company guys that audit the company.... Internal affairs... SIU...

ladycatnip Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:38:42pm

I always wondered whenever the O would talk about "10 years from now" in his campaign speeches...was he thinking he'd still be around as POTUS? Changing an amendment is no easy thing, thankfully.

#66 Bobibutu

Lawmakers Concerned That Illegal Immigrants Counted in Census Will Shape Congressional Districts
cnsnews.com (27)
Congressional Republicans who spoke with CNSNews.com on Thursday expressed concern that illegal immigrants who will be counted in the 2010 census could distort the apportionment of congressional districts.

And the O wants ACORN in charge of the census. Sheesh, this is the stuff screen writers dream about. The GOP had better grow some giant heuvos to stop this nonsense.

FurryOldGuyJeans Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:42:51pm

re: #1 Honorary Yooper

As far as I've seen, Benedict sees his job as cleaning out the Church. As much as people revere John Paul II, he let the Church go for many years. I pray that Benedict has time to finish his job.

Benedict is doing the work left undone at the death of JPI.

I used to think Benedict was going too slow with any needed reforms and wished he would speed up, but now realize that if he were to have gone quickly he would found too many enemies arrayed against him in the entrenched bureaucracy that is the Church and Vatican.

FurryOldGuyJeans Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:45:08pm

re: #46 hazzyday

Catholic Church needs to publicly clean house in a big way. Maybe some Muslims will sit up and take notice.

JPI was dedicated to cleaning house in a very swift manner, and there are still rumors of conspiracies regarding his untimely death.

Dave the..... Sat, Apr 4, 2009 7:48:35pm

re: #4 shug
When do they investigate Cardinal Bernard Law?

And Cardinal Mahony.

On January 29, 2009, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that a federal investigation "will determine whether Cardinal Mahoney and possibly other church leaders committed honest services fraud against parishoners by failing to keep children safe from predatory priests".

As an outsider, I have to say that the Catholic church is finally dealing with this problem. Yes, they start 40 years too late, but the culture of gay priests preditors (I know it's not PC to say, but they weren't pedophiles) is being taken care of. The church seemed to drift pretty far to the left during the cold war (if the western nations would have listened to Catholic priests, we would have lost the cold war). The current and most recent Popes have done much to realign things.

BLBfootballs Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:00:32pm

Damn, this is disturbing.

The disclosure caused turmoil inside the religious order and its lay affiliate, Regnum Christi. The groups teach that Maciel was a hero whose life should be studied and emulated.

Quite bluntly this seems to be a recurring theme with closeted religious groups that mirrors the patterns found in bona fide cults.

Sharmuta Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:02:53pm

For me, there has been something about this Pope that just seems to me as though he gets it. Not everything has been perfect, but overall I think he's made good moves- I'm glad to see this.

shaker Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:14:31pm

This is what happens when you promote celibacy. It's unnatural.

AndyMacOP Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:28:52pm

re: #75 BLBfootballs

Damn, this is disturbing.

Quite bluntly this seems to be a recurring theme with closeted religious groups that mirrors the patterns found in bona fide cults.

The all had to take an additional vow that forbade them from speaking ill of the founder. The current pope removed that requirement from their constitutions. That one was way too cultish for sure.

wiffersnapper Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:34:10pm

Damn the Catholic Church keeps cleaning up its act and acting responsible, where's the media attention again? Oh right, on the extreme minority of priests that molested children and the pro-obama catholics. Le Sigh...

Kudos to PB16

AndyMacOP Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:34:20pm

re: #16 Dark_Falcon

Probably never. If they were to give full disclosure about Law, the resulting settlement would bankrupt the Church.

Pretty much did in Boston. Now look to the mess in LA.

AndyMacOP Sat, Apr 4, 2009 8:47:03pm

re: #26 ConservatismNow!

So what are the possible consequences for fathering the child? I'm not Catholic as you can see.

Leaving in order to support your child. Having the order support the child. Or do what he did and continue the charade of holiness and funnel funds to the hidden mother and child...and then sexually abuse the odd seminarian now and then.

The LC's need a serious housecleaning and the Regnum Christi group needs to be suppressed ASAP. Do not be surprised if they are. Whatever the outcome, things will look very different for them very soon.

Sharmuta Sat, Apr 4, 2009 9:54:40pm

AndyMacOP- I haven't forgotten my saintly research project. Just haven't gotten my hands on the family history write up. Just wanted to update you.

sffilk Sun, Apr 5, 2009 6:59:57am

It's a nice gesture, but I think it's a case of too little, too late. I could be wrong.

celtic templar Sun, Apr 5, 2009 8:32:17am

Don't know if this thread is dead, but IMO, the Catholic Church under Benedict is asserting itself in many positive ways. Benedict realizes that he needs to make the Church relevant, but also master of its own affairs. I applaud his efforts. So far here is the list off the top of my head:

1. Charlies et al. should appreciate the Roman Catholic Church's stance on science and evolution.
2. Benedict is actively reforming the nonsense spewed about the purpose and results of the Crusades. Islam was spreading like fire through out the Middle East heading toward the gates of vienna. Someone had to fight them.
3. Same with the purpose and results of the Inquisition - most people don't realize that the Church's role was to bring about order in punishing heretics, in a time when heretics were burned at the stake.
4. Speaking out against bad actors who are of the Islamic faith.
5. Pope Benedict openly questioning the politically correct nonsense of "Interfaith" dialogue. His role is to be the ultimate proselyzer of Catholicism, not to make it conform to today's opinions and fads.
6. Actively going after bad priests as this post shows.

I wish he would start excommunicating pro-abortion politicians and make a big deal about it. But as far as my religion goes, I am very proud to be a Catholic.

Fabio P.Barbieri Mon, Apr 6, 2009 9:58:43am

re: #84 celtic templar

Celtic Templar, I think that a lot of nonsense has been spoken about John Paul II. To go through your points:
1) JPII supported science, and specifically evolution, much more vigorously and publicly than BXVI. Of course, BXVI does not have to - he has his predecessor (who was also his close friend) to look to. But look up JPII's great speech of 1996 to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, in which he not only showed that he supported evolution, but that he had a real and sound understanding of the scientific issues.
2 and 3) If you read the documents actually released in JPII's time about the Crusades, about Galileo, and about the Inquisition, you will find that there is nothing whatever apologetic about it. They are calm, scholarly analyses of the evidence. If it makes a better story for the average philosophically illiterate media person to claim that "the Church apologizes" for this or that, that should not bother people who, like you or I, can actually read.
4) Hunh?
5) I grant you this. I never could see the point of Assisi, and the idea of a kind of world trades union of anything that can call itself a religion always seemed to me spectacularly unphilosophical, especially for a Pope who had PhD in philosophy.
6) This is the one that did the most damage. But you have to consider two things. First, JPII - in spite of his undeserved image as an arch-reactionary - was a great believer in balancing the Church, not allowing anything like a party to take control. In practice he tended to nominate one "progressive" for every "conservative". Sometimes he regretted this. (One of the most revealing stories - about both men - is that on occasions when they were together, JPII would sometimes stare at Mahoney and mutter: "Hollywood". What is revealing about Mahoney is that Mahoney himself tells this story, and tells it as if he thought it reflected well on himself.) And he was, most unfortunately, prejudiced against accusations of homosexuality in the priesthood. Both the Nazis, under whose occupation he had taken his first steps as a priest, and the Soviets, regularly used false accusations of "perversion" to remove or blacken the name of inconvenient priests; by the time Karol Woytyla was made Pope, his whole life experience was that accusations of homosexual behaviour were normally instruments of underhanded party attack. In the early years of his papacy, this set up a disastrous pattern where any prelate accused of paedophilia or homosexuality would be looked upon favourably, as the victim of a particularly nasty kind of sneer. It took a while for the Pope to realize that, in America, the matter was true and serious; at which point, he did speak out on the issue and encourage the American Church to clear itself up.

We should beware of using BXVI as a stick to beat JPII with. Remember, he was his right-hand man from 1981 to his death, a collaboration underlain by intense personal friendship. The two men may have been different in character and in the emphases of their views, but they were working together, and if there was and is a project, it is a common one.

Fabio P.Barbieri Mon, Apr 6, 2009 10:07:12am

On the general matter of this post, this is really not a surprising piece of news at all. The Pope had long since shown what he thought of fr.Maciel by ordering him to step down from his post and to spend the rest of his days in "prayer and repentance". To us Catholics, that sent the unmistakeable message that he regarded him guilty. The Pope is a shepherd as well as a judge, and in the case of this man, he showed that he thought that any juridical process would only encourage him to make excuses for his guilt, where what he needed, on the edge of his grave and of eternity, was to "pray and repent". What the Pope said by his act, both to Maciel himself and to the rest of us, was: "I can see that you are guilty, and it would be better for your thin chances of salvation to stop defending yourself against public recognition and start praying for your immortal soul". To the Pope, eternity is more important than time, but the fact that this was a public statement also meant that he wanted the rest of us to understand.

The trouble is simply this: that the Legion exists - with hundreds of priests, schools, a Pontifical University in Rome, seminaries, lay brothers, and the whole Regnum Christi thing. It is all very well to say that it should be dissolved, but what is to be done with all its members and properties? This, mainly, is what this inspection is about.

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