Another set of details

[This just in. More explanation later but I wanted you to have it asap. Kindly pray for the intentions of the translator.]

Rome, 1990. ‘Look at the camera. Normita, take your hat off; take the guard’s hand’… Norma Hilda Rivas was four years old. The Spanish daughter of Marcial Maciel, the Founder of the Legionaries of Christ would hardly remember that scene with the Swiss Guard. With a little white dress, matching hat and knit socks, like any girl from a well-to-do family, Norma toured the Vatican accompanied by her father and one of her brothers, José, who was 9 years old when the picture was taken, and has kept it since then.

‘Do you want a picture with the Swiss Guard?’… They have just come out of one of the most exclusive areas in the Vatican. Offices and a big auditorium where the Pope holds the group audiences. Everybody there knew Maciel, but no one asked who were the children that he held by the hand. Even if Norma called him ‘Papa’… It’s fortunate that ‘Papa’ is the most used word in the Vatican…

Marcial Maciel was never apart from his children in his travels around the world. Just in case, he had someone –a man- watching over them. The tickets were bought by his assistants in the Legion, to the Canary Islands, Barranquilla, Medellin, Mexico, Madrid, Paris… Between his 9 and 10 years of age, José was in Rome three times. And on one of those visits to the Italian capital, Maciel’s middle child received First Communion from the hands of the Pope John Paul II (the same as Norma did) Sometimes all the siblings traveled with the mother of the three Mexican children and sometimes with Norma Hilda Baños, Normita’s mother, who was introduced to the rest of the kids as their ‘aunt.’ Maciel had the prudence of never bringing both women together. On other occasions, like that spring in Rome, Normita and José –who at the time studied in Dublin- travelled alone with their father.

‘Ready?...’ Behind the camera, Marcial Maciel himself.

Today this family photograph, to which Cronica has gotten the exclusive, is one of the numerous pieces of evidence that Maciel’s offspring keep jealously in a safety deposit box in a bank, with the hope of being officially recognized by the Legionaries of Christ.

After this supplement published an exclusive interview with Norma’s mother in Spain and revealed that Maciel did not leave one but up to six offspring scattered around the world, the Legion of Christ intoned a ‘Mea Culpa’ –first from the US and then from Spain- announcing that they will reconsider their founder’s status.

The ultra-Catholic congregation has admitted publicly that Maciel had a lover (Norma Baños) with whom he had a daughter, Norma Hilda. The girl, born in Acapulco, is 23 years old today and she ‘hides’ with her mother in Madrid, in a 327 mt. apartment in a luxury residential community with a pool, tennis court and soccer field, as Cronica previously revealed.

Now that the heads of the Legion declare that they need further evidence (documents) to be able to affirm that the rest of the boys are really their founder’s offspring, this supplement publishes some of the proofs that their lawyer, José Bonilla, has presented to the Legionaries in order to demonstrate Maciel’s paternity. Among them, the photograph that Maciel himself made of his children in the Vatican. ‘They have all the documentation’ Bonilla says, ‘The dossier includes a recording in which Fr Jesus Quirce, Rector of the Anahuac University (center of the Legion in Mexico) expressly manifests that they already knew of their existence'.

In fact, on one of the reunions that José González sustained with the Rector, Quirce gave him a "fideicomiso" [trust fund] in his and Norma’s name as the ones in charge of the inheritance that their father had left for them. The document consists of a contract between two parties, where the subject leaves it to a person who will transmit it to a third beneficiary, in this case, Maciel’s children.

‘THE LEGION WILL CONTACT YOU’

«When I die, you’ll be contacted from my work, from the Legion of Christ, so you’ll want for nothing. You’ll be contacted by a priest who is called Marcelino de Andrés», Marcial Maciel expalined. But they learned of their father’s death through the press (the three Mexican children) and one year after had not yet been contacted by anyone from the Legion.  José had to speak with Jesus Quirce so he’d give him his father’s inheritance. The trust fund is in an account in Cititrust Limited in the Bahamas . ‘We don’t know yet how much money is there’, Bonilla explains, ‘We have to travel to the Bahamas to know it, but this is not the priority of my clients’.

Given that the founder aspired to become a canonized saint and that he built a mausoleum for himself in Rome that was valued at 50 million euros, it would not be a surprise that the account that he opened with so much foresight in the financial paradise would amount to many millions.

Marcial Maciel registered the money under one of his 3 or 4 false identities. He had false identity documents and he even had credit cards under those names. After his death in January 31^st, 2008, this documents were kept by the Legion.

His Mexican children, born in the state of Morelos, were registered under the name Gonzalez, from his Jaime Alberto Gonzalez identity. ‘We are investigating why did he use that name…’ says the lawyer of his children. To Norma, Maciel was Raúl Rivas or ‘Don Raul’, as he liked to be called. ‘It was a name that he particularly liked’

It’s not known which identity did he use for his family in England or the one he left in France. His French daughter died some years ago in a traffic accident while –ironically- going to the airport to pick her father up. ‘This was an episode that affected him much', says Bonilla. He appreciated her much and when she died, he gave Jose’s mother a cross that had belonged to her’. Kevin, of 40 or 45 years of age, is the owner of a high-end clothing line in London; an enterprise that his father left him… ‘Or should I maybe say his grandfather?...’insinuates Bonilla ‘He could be his grandson, now that I come to think of it… Nothing from this man would surprise me anymore…’

STRICT FATHER

His three Mexican children –the oldest is 29, the middle one, Jose, is 27 and the younger one who is not over 15- have not yet been able to assimilate the multiple lives of their father. ‘He was very strict with them’ says Bonilla ‘He had many norms for them that should be followed strictly: no smoking, no drinking, no girlfriends until 20 or 21 years of age, and the most notable; no lying…' When they discovered that their relation with their father was based in lies, their world came crashing down. Their neighbors, the family’s friends, the two or three girlfriends that these boys have had, and José’s actual partner met Maciel. It’s very hard.’ They have been receiving therapy for several years.

The blow came to them in 1997. In June or July, José received a phone call from his father ‘A person carrying money will go to your house briefly. You take a taxi, go to all the news stands of the area and buy all the issues of a magazine where my picture is in the cover.’ Maciel wanted to retire from the market a news piece where the first accusations of pederasty against him were published. Sometime later, someone with several pieces of luggage came to his house and took the magazines away. That was how Jose discovered that his father was the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. He did not know how to process the information. He could not tell his mother and his brothers until one year later. It seems that he was not surprised by these abuse allegations. He and his brothers say that their testimony could give credit to these accusations. [This seems to imply that they can corroborate the accusations by means of their own experience!? G.]

Expecting to be prepared for public exposition, which will be done when their therapists advise, Maciel’s children have moved to Mexico City. For security reasons, they have left their houses in a southern state of the country, and their jobs -Jose works in the tourism industry- to take refuge in the anonymity of the big city. Now, the middle brother collaborates with his lawyer in the crusade for their public recognition as offspring of Maciel. ‘I’ll tell you of four Legion leaders that know the truth and don’t want to admit it: Evaristo Sada, Crsitóforo Fernández, Luis Garza and Alvaro Corcuera’

The Legionaries say that they don’t have proof, but they’ve admitted all the information that has been published lately to those inside. ‘They have confirmed all this to me. They have accepted it all, the whole cake’ affirms to Cronica, a member of the [3GF's], the segment of consecrated members of Regnum Christi (a similar category to the numeraries in the Opus Dei)

This explains that some members of the organization have opted to break the ties with it. If the Vatican decided to dissolve the congregation, the 600 Legionary priests would have to look for a place in the dioceses. Some of them are already doing it. In Getafe (near Madrid) for example, there are some 10 priests who came from the Legion. And in Toledo, another one has just ‘disembarked’… Is the end near for Maciel’s congregation?

[With information from Jose Manuel Vidal]

Comments

[nyota]

"he was not surprised by these abuse allegations. He and his brothers say that their testimony could give credit to these accusations."

Of course it would be unusual for a child molester to not molest whenever/wherever/whomever possible, but this is still stunning.

[Juana Inés]

In this case 'fideicomiso' means money left in a trust to be handed over to his descendants.

[THE_Br._Dan]

WOW. There is NO way the LC/RC should be allowed to continue, period. The multiple families, the women, and others are victims of a sick manipulative mind that misused the Church and Christ for his benefit regardless of the harm to others. As I had post a decade or so ago...MM was feeding people both good and evil, mixed together, leading them to their destruction. Those in the LC leadership that "thought" they were trying to be pastoral in their approach should fess up and resign immediately. WOW...just crazy crazy crazy.

I wish someone would have hired a private investigator to follow MM years ago to see what his secret dealings were???

[still sort of hopeful]

Does anyone know concrete names of L'C's that have left or are on a leave of absence from the past 8 months? Obviously Thomas Berg.... Fr. Morris in a parish in NY... etc..

[PaulM]

There is more and more information coming out of the Spanish media lately re: the LC/RC and this is a must-have. It has been mentioned and recommended before on these blogs but I just tried it out for the first time today.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

It translates Spanish webpages into English. Not perfect but very readable. For those who just can't wait for the human translation, you've got to try it!

[Mouse from Am Pap]

Wow--- the hits just keep on coming, don't they.

Makes you wonder what the LCs next reaction will be.....

I don't see how the order CAN survive at this point. Noone's going to take them seriously, and noone's going to want their son involved with them......

[THE_Br._Dan]

still sort of hopeful - Which Fr. Morris has left????? Fr. Jonathan Morris who was on Fox News a lot (I know the guy from the novitiate).

[giselle]

While it appears that Fr Jonathan Morris has left (he is working in Old Saint Patrick's parish in NYC) he insists that he hasn't left the Legion, and moreover, he told the consecrated in RI that he would never leave the Legion. Mixed signals at best.

[Guest]

Link to the original piece from the Spanish newspaper:

http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/cronica/2009/726/1252792802.html

Incredible...

[still sort of hopeful]

Not trying to start a rumor .. I should have clarified that Fr. Morris is in NY at a parish and IS still a LC although I got wind that he needed a little extra breathing room.

[THE_Br._Dan]

Just looked up the Fr. Jonathan Morris stuff online. "Temporary assignment".

Don't be a wimp my old "friend" Br. Jonathan, you know what the truth is by now. Do the right thing. I also know that you had a lot of insider information based on your past positions and privileges (going all the way back to Cheshire). You know that minor deceptions that took place now when major ones come, don't let people be subjected to additional harm please.

[Concerned Mother]

Please tell me how old Fr MM was when he had his last child about 72???????
My BIGGEST PROBLEM with all this is that all R/C people here will not even say ANYTHING ABOUT MM MOLESTING ALL THOSE boys
FOR YEARS it went on.
Oh no way will anyone talk about that.
IT SEEMS THAT IT IS MORE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE to admit that he had a child
"he was SEDUCED"
Some one said to me Priests make mistakes and are tempted too by beautiful women.
BUT NOT LITTLE BOYS.
This whole thing GIVES ME THE CREEPS.

Everyone out there KEEP UP the word MOLESTED young boys for years and how many?????This really is SALT in the wounds of all R/C.
I see now that they will say "he had a child"
Just mention the BOYS and they will SPIT at you.
The Thornbirds is cake compared to all this.It makes me sick.

[Anonymous]

Unofficially gone-
Fr. Roderick Ermatinger
Fr. Cliff Ermatinger
Fr. Richard Gill
Fr. Jonathon Morris

Officially gone-
Fr. Thomas Berg
and hundreds and hundreds of unnamed Brothers and LC Priests for the past 5 decades!

Note to LC's left in the Legion. STOP DRINKING THE KOOLAID. YOUR MIND WILL CLEAR IN A FEW DAYS!

[Daniel]

Of course, he made his son part his hair to the left, just like Daddy, just like Daddy's army of zombie-clone priests. I am so glad to be out of that disgrace of an institution. The best day of my life was when I left the Legion of Christ and came back to the "world." It will also be the best day of every current Legionary's life when they each leave and enter the real world once again.

Reminds me of the lyrics to Hotel California by the Eagles. "'Relax' said the nightman, 'we are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.'"

You can leave, though, which is where the song differs from LC reality.

[rc cynic]

Fr. Robert Weighner is gone

[Anonymous]

To the translator:

A decade of the rosary for your intentions tonight. I much appreciate your time and effort. It's been frustrating not being able to read (the online translators leave much to be desired!) so much of what is happening in the Spanish-speaking world.

Thank you!

[mExRC]

Giselle wrote:

"It seems that he was not surprised by these abuse allegations. He and his brothers say that their testimony could give credit to these accusations. [This seems to imply that they can corroborate the accusations by means of their own experience!? G.]"

I just read another source (http://marietasyadelitas.blogspot.com/2009/09/legionarios-de-cristo-un-reino-de-fe.html) that carried a very similar piece. On it, Bonilla is specifically asked whether, to his knowledge, Maciel sexually abused any of his three sons. Bonilla answered that neither of the three sons have mentioned anything in that regard to him.

[Oh]

The link above does not seem to work.

[burt]

so what is the actual count of children that Maciel sired? I lost track. And when will the Vatican give its conclusions from the investigation?

[giselle]

Could you try again? It worked for me.

[mExRC]

Oh: Thanks for noting the disfunctional link. Here's the correct link...

http://marietasyadelitas.blogspot.com/2009/09/legionarios-de-cristo-un-reino-de-fe.html

Burt: To date, the number of MM's known children rises to six:

1. Norma Hilda Rivas (age 23)
2. José González (27)
3. José González's older brother, age 29 (Lawyer Bonilla denies his name is Raúl)
4. José González's younger brother (15 or younger; Bonilla denies his name is Cristian)
5. Kevin (lives in London,in between 40 and 45 years old)
6. A deceased daughter that lived in France and passed away on her way to the airport to pick up Papa Maciel.

[gregorbo]

6 children. 1 in spain (norma hilda); 3 in Mexico (2 boys and a girl); 1 in France (a girl; deceased) and 1 (male), I think, in England or Ireland.

It's the last one I'm not sure about, however.

[anon]

"And when will the Vatican give its conclusions from the investigation?"

Remember that this stuff, horrendous as it is, isn't even the main focus of the Visitation. Rome is investigating the LEGION.

As for when they will be finished, I've heard a target date of mid-October for a preliminary report, but it could take many months beyond that for final action.

The Maciel Pedophilia investigation began in Fall 2004 and concluded with the announcement of Maciel's disgrace in May 2006. A year and a half.

[anon]

Fr. Robert Weighner is gone.

Yep. And he was the liaison to Archbishop O'Brien in Baltimore.

[giselle]

BUT, dear ones, the spell has been broken. Yes, we want the Vatican to do its part and drop the proverbial anvil, but UNTIL then, we are free and the chinese water torture of truth will drip on the existing members until there's so little effectiveness left on the spiritual front that they'll pack up their ball and bat and go home.