Category: Legionaries of Christ

The pope’s envoy running the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order says the 1,000-plus rules governing the cult-like life of some of its members are invalid and will be whittled down to a core set of norms.

Pope Benedict XVI took over the Legion last year after the order admitted its Mexican founder sexually abused seminarians and fathered three children.

When Pope Benedict XVI took over the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order last year, expectations were high that heads would roll over one of the greatest scandals of the 20th century Roman Catholic Church.

But in the absence of radical change, the movement has seen a dramatic decline in membership since the scandal was revealed in 2009.

The papal official running the disgraced Legionaries of Christ has warned that the conservative order faces “certain shipwreck” unless its superiors and members work together to change course following revelations that their founder led a double life.

Pope Benedict XVI has ordered a probe into the ultra-conservative Legionaries of Christ after allegations that the order’s late founder Marcial Maciel secretly fathered a child.

The leadership recently admitted that Maciel, a cult figure among Legionaries, led a “double life” after the discovery of his liaison with the mother of his daughter.

The Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the charismatic founder of the religious order Legionaries of Christ, who was disgraced toward the end of his life by Vatican censure over sexual abuse accusations dating from the 1950s, is dead at the age of 87.

Gerald A. Renner, a religion reporter and editor who helped uncover a trail of sexual abuse accusations against the powerful founder of a Roman Catholic religious order, the Legionaries of Christ, died Wednesday in Norwalk, Conn. He was 75 and lived in Norwalk.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — As founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the Rev. Marcial Maciel is a central figure for the thousands of followers in the Roman Catholic order. Students study his life, portray him in skits to celebrate his birthday and follow his instructions on everything from table manners to how to wear their hair. But the controversial order likely will face dramatic changes with the conclusion of a Vatican investigation into allegations that Maciel sexually abused seminarians decades ago. Pope Benedict XVI requested Friday that Maciel no longer celebrate public Masses, and that he should live a