The Legion is still not speaking officially about the "revelations," but there was this comment from Fr. Paolo Scarafoni, spokesperson of the Legion in Rome:
"We cannot deny the existence of these facts but we cannot go into detail as we respect the privacy of those involved... We have learnt recently of certain aspects of his life that are very hard to understand, aspects of his life that are not appropriate to the life of a priest"
This is, again, an indication of their intransigence over the decades of duplicity. They say they only "recently" discovered these truths. Victims have been saying as much for a very, very long time. It shows that the cult around the man inhibited them from hearing what others were saying or -- in many cases -- believing their own eyes.
Unless they knew all along and chose to work around it for other reasons...
Linky no worky, text below of the sort-of statement from Reuters:
Asked if the reports were true, Father Paolo Scarafoni, a spokesman at the order's headquarters in Rome, told Reuters: "We cannot deny the existence of these facts but we can't go into detail because we have to respect the privacy of people involved."
He added: "Recently, we have come to know some aspects of his life that are very difficult to understand, aspects of his life that were not appropriate to the life of a priest."
Posted by: p | February 04, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Has anyone indicated in any way why these facts are coming to light now when the accusations have been made for so long? Why are they now admitting the truth? Did someone threaten to reveal it for them?
Posted by: CW | February 04, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Exactly what Jim Fair said. And the blog comments are looking like they're lifted from a page too: "But he did so much good", the casting stones one, the one bad apple-type comment.
Posted by: Jeannette | February 04, 2009 at 02:15 PM
If linky did work, it'd take you to the Spanish-language version of the Reuters article.
Well, he saying the same thing that Jim Fair said yesterday. The verbiage is nearly identical. This is the LC line right now. Jim wasn't caught off guard yesterday.
Posted by: CM | February 04, 2009 at 02:25 PM
Scarafoni spoke with CNS. Article was posted this afternoon.
Posted by: Clayton | February 04, 2009 at 06:19 PM
The CNS story is now up over at the National Catholic Register:
http://www.ncregister.com/daily/father_maciel_scandal/
Posted by: Clayton | February 04, 2009 at 07:36 PM
our family has been discussing these issues at length for years and have all stepped back from RC except for a sister who is an RC consecrate.
Something in the recent news struck us as very odd. There is no clear statement of where the information of having fathered a daughter is coming from. After 50 years of accusations of abuse to young seminarians and various problems, all of a sudden this news of a mistress and daughter pop up out of the blue. In a strange way this is almost convenient for the Legionaries.
They must have realized that they had no choice but to distance themselves from their founder. It is significantly easier to say "he was human and had a mistress", than to say "he abused boys and had drug problems". It is easier for many reasons.
Having a mistress is immoral according to the catholic church but it is not illegal. It also falls into the more "normal" (statistically speaking) and socially acceptable behaviors of men. Finally it implies consent, there is no victim.
Abusing boys on the other hand, is immoral AND illegal. There's an abuse of power and trust and there is an incredibly damaged victim. This is incomparably worse than having a mistress. Pedophilia is an indication of being emotionally, morally and spiritually bankrupt, whereas fathering a daughter can be attributed to being unable to resist to a "natural order". One cannot speak of inheriting a charism from a pedophile!
Here is a man that has surrounded himself with men throughout his life. There is significant evidence to years of sexual abuse against young men (see the book "Vows of Silence"). The creation of the women's branch came years later. This "breaking news" of a double life with a woman just seems odd. Is this a decoy or another sordid chapter to a terrible story?
The (unofficial) statements coming from the LC camp, up to know have been extremely ambiguous regarding what was inappropriate. They say "scandal" or "facts" without specifying what they are referring to. Whether the daughter story is true or not, I hope the LC doesn't get away with making their founder "disappear" from their order without ever addressing the question of sexual abuse. Without dissolving and refounding as many have suggested and discarding the twisted legacy of Maciel. Without finally looking at this problem with common sense and humility and work to make things better instead of maintaining a facade.
Posted by: anonymous | February 05, 2009 at 08:35 AM