life-after-RC

The Amorphous Beast

Sometimes it's just best to let those who really know explain things:

The reason why everything about LC/RC seems so confusing and vague, and ever-changing, is NOT an accident or a consequence of poor management, or weak strategy, or even clerical bureaucracy. On the contrary, when it comes to all things LC/RC, secrecy, mystery, and vagueness are such BY DESIGN. Again, this is not a personal insight, but what I learned directly from Nuestro Fraude and my superiors during the very foundational period of RC in Mexico.

The essence of Nuestro Fraude's strategy, was like the CIA's inasmuch as revealing as little information as needed, to as few people as needed, and always on a per-need-to-know basis. The LC/RC beast thrives and it's at its "best" (in their eyes, of course) when it's at its most amorphous, at its most vague, and at its most mysterious, precisely because it is then free to become "all things to all people." You, Peter, want it to be ultra-orthodox? You got it. You, Mike, want it to be cutting-edge contemporary, you got it. You, Holiness, want it to by faithful to the Holy See and for us to become missionaries in Quintana Roo? You got it. You, Mrs. Millionaire Widow want it to be meek and for us to build a nice chapel with your generous donation? You got it.

In the mind of Nuestro Fraude, RC became the focus and the raison d'etre of the Legion when he realized that, through an eternally vague "movement," non-accountable to the hierarchy, he could get away with anything and everything. Of course, the reason he said this was a good idea, was because this way we could circumvent all the bad, evil, anti-Pope, elements of the Church ("evil bishops," etc.), and we could advance the Kingdom much more effectively.

Like the virus that it is, the LC/RC apparatus is in constant adaptation, and mutation, morphing into whatever allows it to survive and to thrive. The mantra fed to us was: "Adaptación a tiempos y lugares" (adaptation to the times and places). However, in the long run, this very strategy is problematic for them, because it also directly contradicts another fundamental LC/RC principle: CENTRALIZATION (crucial to maintain absolute and eternal control and power). The struggle between these two opposing principles (ongoing adaptation and uber-centralization of power), is already self-destroying the beast. Anyone who works at, or is familiar with an LC/RC apostolate/school/project, where INTEGER has taken control, will see this struggle at play. On one hand, you have the rank-and-file faithfully trying to accomplish their mission and adapting it to their circumstances, and on the other is the Integer apparatus trying to bring everything into its system meant to make everything perfectly uniform as if apostolates were nothing more than replicable McDonald's franchises.

One can go crazy trying to figure out why things are the way they are with LC/RC. But the only logic is this: The LC/RC powers will continue playing their mystery/morph/control game for as long as they are allowed, and for as long as they find naive, well-intentioned, poorly informed Catholics open to be wowed and wooed by their good looks and their shiny and impressive house of cards.

Why this explanation is doubly valuable (I'm not sure if the author intended it) is that it gives ample and respectful room for the very good intentions of the members who are sincerely trying to build the Kingdom. Often at a certain time they become somewhat complicit in the mind-game (depending on how deeply they penetrate the system or take on responsibilities beyond the rank-and-file) but it explains why their very good intentions are harnessed and how they project those good intentions onto the system that gives them room to build. Thank you, mExRC.

Update on "Statutes"

[Since the initial thread was getting unweildy, I'm starting fresh]

UPDATE II: a couple of links -- here is the RC announcement for the 2004 approval of RC statutes by Cardinal Rode; here is the Zenit article. Something has to happen here -- if Cardinal Rode doesn't step in to preserve his "reputation" then more heads must roll. Did he read the statutes before approval? Did someone abuse his authority without knowledge? Did he acquiesce to the scam and lend his name knowingly? There is no acceptable answer since his office was used in the deception.

Additionally, I have scoured this site for an old post that I cannot find. I know I blew a gasket when the approvals were announced, because we were always told that the methodology had been already approved (as a means for keeping us in line, doing things the Legion Way). When they boldly said that the statutes were approved in 2004, that meant that all those years of assurances were lies -- but no one pointed it out. Perhaps I wrote it in a different forum, but it struck me as deeply perplexing at the time that they saw fit to celebrate something that had been asserted as a given decades previously.

Finally, consider this snippet from a post last year. It was a letter from a young man on the inside shortly after the initial announcement about the founder:

I was blessed to be in spiritual exercises this past week, and God had been very close to us.  I received several spiritual insights that I would like to share with you about Fr. Maciel. 

Of course, the news was a bit of a shock when I learnt of it. It is so uncharacteristic of everything that he has been to us in his writings and exhortations. It caused confusion, doubts, anxieties, and even anger, as is natural. The fact that it could be a case of mental problem (possibly a case of multiple personality disorder, inherited or due to his brain injury) could explain it somewhat at first, but not totally. Only God who knows the interior of each person can be the just judge, and we will leave it in his hands whatever was in our founder’s life.

One thing we need to be assured is that Fr. Maciel, like each one of us, is only an instrument of God’s work. We are all imperfect, broken vessels called to be conveyor of God’s grace. It is like a pipe that could be rusty, but still carries crystalline water to its destination. We need to trust God that he knows what he is doing. What is said of the early church can equally be applied here, “If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord, but if it does in fact comes from God you will be unable to destroy them.”  (Acts 5: 38-39) 

We know that the Legion and the Regnum Christi movement are ultimately the work of God and not the product of a person, as guaranteed by the Church’s approval of the Constitutions and Statues... [bold added]

We need some help

Many weeks ago (maybe months now) I raised the question about considering legal action against the Legion for taking money for fraudulent purposes. While proving that in the abstract may be nearly impossible, could you think back to donations given for specific intentions that may not have been used for the promised purpose?

It would be very helpful to hear from those with this experience, and those who offer information more discreetly could email me at gisellestemarie [at] yahoo, etc. Most of your hard-earned money is beyond retrieval, but perhaps there is some that was earmarked in such a way that we could chase it down.

Specifically, were you told that there was already so much money raised for a project, and all they needed was a little more to make it happen? Obviously it would be very helpful to get a little "inside baseball" from exLC's who remember the procedures about such donations.

Slick Packaging

Excellent advice from one commenter --

They put all their energy into looking excellent. They don't care as much about being excellent... There are MANY new Catholic organizations bubbling up in your communities. Suspect everything as RC backed. The reason these entities look bigger than they really are is because it is ALL about the packaging. Substance later. Everything is about recruiting and always will be with the entrenched RC elite Catholics. They ARE the only path to Christ!

Remember that the Legion DOES have extensive funds, even if they're not offering it to the schools. With their new strategy, they are going deeper, using extraordinary subtlety and covert activity. The money is being poured into marketing, collaborating with other apostolates, and floating new front groups. Think about the existing US market in general. Everyone's struggling, cutting back, and scrambling for funds. Apostolates that are growing and looking slick must be suspect at this particular time, and one would do well to consider why?

For example, faithful Catholics are all familiar with TAN books. We all have one or more on our shelves -- they're staples. They've been doing poorly for years and just recently were saved from bankruptcy by Saint Benedict Press, who came out of nowhere with enough cash to buy them and put them in the black. SBP could be completely independent, but at this point there's a dearth of information which is disconcerting. Does anyone know who they are? Don't we usually know all seriously Catholic players who have rubbed shoulders with us in Church for decades? I'm just asking.

Maybe we can come up with our own twist on the Private Vow: "I will never knowingly take money from Legion sources and will report on anyone who does." Then apostolates can put a little sticker on their brochures like a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval -- This is an LC-Free Apostolate!

(You may laugh, but it would give many people a great deal of comfort.)

UPDATE: The comments are already bearing out the thesis. The Legion is infiltrating parishes (obvious through their letters and actions) and is going underground with their influence. I think this gives them an opportunity to lie low visibly (and not have to defend the methodology) while still working aggressively. This also makes sense in that the True Believers have proven impervious to their families' and friends' concerns (which is how cult members normally respond) and insist on being good soldiers no matter what.

[What this is setting up is Pete Vere's outcome concerning a schismatic sect, which I admit I thought was a long shot. We're still not there, and much depends on the outcome of the Visitation, but darn! if he may not be right. While may have shaken off because of the Legion's poor response to the revelations about MM, more will shake off if the Vatican goes negative on the congregation. But there just may be some "misunderstood" souls who will persevere in building the Kingdom no matter what Benedict says. Let's stay on task since this is beside the essential point: the Legion is a Chameleon.]

UPDATE II: Another example of a stealth program. The Bentleys are a couple associated with Regnum Christi in Atlanta. The artist at the bottom of the page has nothing to do with RC, but may have been duped into an association by their love of her work. Yes, her work is extraordinary and should be known, but this is the insidiousness of latching onto the good works already in existence and packaging them in ways that benefit the Legion -- even if below the radar. (And with an event like this coming in later this month, fully expect Primavera to ingratiate itself into the scene and come home as having been consulted in some way.)

UPDATE III: Also, perusing old materials like this will red flag some names and groups that may go stealth in the future. The Goretti Group in San Diego give me concerns...  Remember the bravado of earlier years has gone into stealth mode, but the people are often the same.

Fraud? You decide

Concerning questions about the term "Integral Formation" which the Legion uses as thought it's their own, they have indeed been issued a registered trademark (as of February 2009) for "Educational services, namely, conducting programs in the fields of personal academics, human spirituality, and apostolic enhancement." It's been registered by the Connecticut corporation, National Consultants for Education, Inc, 590 Columbus Avenue, Thornwood, NY 10594 (which warehouses the curricula used by LC/RC schools).

 

The interesting part is that in the examination of the application, the Examining Attorney asked the applicant whether the term had any significance (because, under trademark law, generic terms cannot be registered as trademarks, and descriptive terms must be shown to be identified with the applicant for the services -- thus if the term were found to have significance in the field, it could not be registered as a trademark, at least without some showing that the public associated "Integral Formation" mainly with LC/RC as of the date of a statement to that effect during the application process). The question by the Examining Attorney (July 2007) was as follows:

"Applicant must specify whether the wording “INTEGRAL FORMATION” has any significance in the relevant trade or industry, or as applied to the services described in the application. "

The applicant's response (through its Texas attorney) was as follows:

"The wording "INTEGRAL FORMATION" does not have any significance in the relevant trade or industry, or as applied to the services described in the application, other than in association with Applicant as the provider of such services." (January 2008 letter from attorney)

In other words, LC/RC, through the National Consultants for Education, represented to the United States Patent and Trademark Office that they were the only ones to be associated with the term "Integral Formation." From previous discussions here, there is a clear understanding that "Integral Formation" is part of the patrimony of the Church (and most often associated with the Jesuits, who are obviously centuries older than the Legion) and thus it follows that the relevant public (that would be us) does not associate the term with LC/RC alone. Therefore the statement in the application was clearly false. This may very likely amount to fraud on the Patent and Trademark Office and thus would be grounds for cancellation of  the trademark.

 

Evidence of the Jesuit's long association with "integral formation" would be found here, here, here and here. The last one is a recent (1993), comprehensive document, "Characteristics of a Jesuit Education," which is based on ... you guessed it:

This means that Jesuit education must insist upon integral formation of its students through such means as required core curricula that include humanities, philosophy, theological perspectives, social questions and the like, as part of all specialized educational programs. In addition, infusion methods might well be employed within specializations to highlight the deeper human, ethical, and social implications of what is being studied.

When we consider "the good works of the Legion," this sort of action must be weighed in with the rest. I'm not sure whether the Jesuits know that an integral part of their charism has been trademarked by another group, but regardless -- the added stain on the integrity of the Legion (POST-MM) proves that the duplicity runs deep.

[As an aside, I've often commented on the Legion's practice of adding trademarks or personal "signatures" to universal acts of piety, but I never dreamed that they would actually do it. This should be of great significance to those who found a deeper faith through association with the Movement. Please note that the good in the Legion is that of which the Church is already custodian. Hijacking the channels of grace for private ends is reprehensible. Trademarking it on top of that reveals staggaring hubris.]

UPDATE: From a reader --

Lastly, with regard to "integral formation", just want to remind folks that MM wrote a book in the late '90s entitled Integral Formation of Catholic Priests published by Circle Press. Whether he was the actual author or not remains to be seen. However, I would run the other way if any priest offers to form my child who is from an order that has trademarked integral formation as defined by Maciel.

We. Will. Not. Play.

Friends, let's consider this comment and the positive response it received on this thread:

A concern is that the dioceses that ban or restrict LC and RC are seldom bastions of orthodoxy. Saint Paul-Minneapolis and Miami come to mind. Will this not play into the LC/RC claim that they are persecuted for their orthodoxy?

The Archbishop of Miami made it clear in his terse letter that the Legion had broken established rules. It broke rules -- which cannot be justified by orthodoxy. An ordinary has authority over his diocese by right of an unbroken line of succession from the apostles. Yes, there are liberal bishops, flakey bishops, inattentive bishops and down-right bad ones, but that doesn't justify deception by the Legion.

The same thing happened in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The archbishop left town, and came back unexpectedly to find the Legion rifling through files and accessing information to which it had no right. The archbishop went from being a supporter (who assisted at LC ordinations) to an enemy in the flash of the eye. That meant that the Legion did like-wise: undermining the archbishop's support among the faithful by pointing out the access that Dignity had to the archdiocese. Yes, they did. Yes, sometimes it's difficult to keep the darker elements out of the Church (to which they cling for legitimacy and a perverse pleasure of corrupting).

BUT: What is the difference between the tactics of Dignity and the tactics of the Legion??

The Archbishop Flynn called the Legion out for creating a "parallel church," and from then on, the Legion waged a constant whisper campaign with the intention of undermining his authority. I don't give a fig about "orthodoxy" if it's touted through a methodology that carries the same amount of fidelity and duplicity of irreverent homosexuals. We cannot play this game.

People saw the light when Archbishop O'Brien (with good "orthodox" credentials) noted that it wasn't the theology but the methodology. We maintain that charge -- and cannot fall into the slippery crevice of promoting orthodoxy through devious methods.

I am reading the horrific account of the North American martyrs, whereby the lives of heroic Jesuits were made even more awful by the neglect of the ordinary back home: Cardinal Richelieu. That Machiavellian old fox back in France was, ahem, distracted, and thereby the men were denied the safety they needed to further their mission. And so they furthered their mission through greater hardship, brutal tortures, savage treatment and exposure to the elements. NEVER once did they bad mouth the Cardinal or betray the integrity of their Jesuit formation by deceit or stretching the rules.

That the Legion mentions their mission in the same breath as such Jesuits is blasphemy. We will not become distracted by "orthodoxy" or the purported lack of integrity of various bishops. That's cheap, duplicitous, distracting and unworthy of real Catholics.

Spinning a "request for prayers"

So what has the Legion been up to since the Visitation began? Are they waiting in sackcloth and ashes for a decree about their perverse methodology that skated on the whims of a cunning paedophile who scammed the Church the highest levels? Not so much. They're on the offense, wheedling their way into parishes everywhere (or at least in the well-heeled zip codes) being of tremendous service to strapped pastors and zealous bishops who want to carry the flag of evangelisation forward. Good stuff? Maybe, maybe not.

A reader shares:

Consider: The fact that many remaining and "faithful" RC members believe they are more validated now than ever is due largly to the work of the territorial director Fr. Scott Reilly, who is putting out lots of communication from all around the US territory on how much the RC and LC are appreciated by the bishops. He is showing us letter upon letter of "support" from several excellent bishops around the country (actually, I believe he used the word "guidance" so this is a bit of a change in wording and tone from previous communications). Funny thing about those letters - every single one of them begins with the words "in response to your request for prayers . . . ". They are simply kind words promising prayers which were requested by Fr. Scott. A couple are a bit more effusive, perhaps, but the rest are merely the pastoral words of our good shepherds. They are the same words that I, or anyone, would have received had we requested prayers of our good bishops. AND - a few even told the LC to stay true to the will of God in this matter. Hardly a rallying cry of support and validation from what I can see. However, I'm sure that the "die hard" RC'ers are bubbling over those wonderful words, having viewed them as words of praise and support - and validation. IF this was Fr. Scott's intent, he would effectively be using the truth to deceive. Tricksy. Very tricksy.

The methodology never changes. It cannot, for it was nailed down by a master of deceit. Once again, the Kingdom of Christ is shackled to charlatans using word games and sleight of hand. Does the Church really need this? Is the Legion's help solid or based on the quicksand of ego and fraud?

The consecrated in my own diocese have offered themselves as a resource to our bishop in his "Catholic Come Home" evangelisation campaign -- and although they are sincere enough in their own way, this would only nail them to a "vocation" that was not founded on freedom and authentic discernment, keeps them from grieving the heart of their call which is inextricably linked to MM, and will end up scandalising many who realise that the pastor of souls cannot differentiate between legitimate charisms and snake-oil holiness in the building of the Kingdom. [Nota: I changed the wording above to reflect more clearly the situation, which -- thankfully -- was not initiated by the bishop.]

I've stressed that we cannot lose heart about the ultimate victory of good over evil -- even if this scam remains in the Church, but I admit it's damned hard when common sense takes a back seat to money and numbers. God's will in all things, and one has to avert the eyes to keep from screaming. Time to just walk away and clean the basement

ONE LAST THOUGHT: Think about those rolodexes. They're stuffed to the gills with addresses of chanceries across the fruited plain, but have no room for the addresses of victims -- who still await contact. Apologies have been promised, the Legion insists that they're on the "to do" list, but the only ones who rate the stamps these days are those who can be used to promote the Legion. The letters to the victims have yet to be posted.

UPDATE: A commenter who was part of a webinar call this week says that the assortment of letters from bishops were splashed across a screen to indicate widespread support for the Legion and its apostolic mission. How many of those bishops realised that their sincere fraternal gift of prayers would be pulled out of context?

ADDENDUM: Clever analogy by a commenter deserves  to be highlighted:

Love for souls...why can't the Legionaries actually practice what they preach? Because charity is utilitarian. Like an app for your iphone -- tap it when you need money, access, influence or to hacer hacer. All for the sake of the Legion and NOT Christ. Idols indeed.

Easier or harder?

Friends in Christ -- I am still getting heart-felt letters from the walking wounded who offered themselves on the altar of Maciel years ago and are trying to heal and move forward. It is a privilege to work with them and to share information that may be of assistance, realising all the while that this is only the tip of the iceburg. I have been under the impression that it would be easier to cope with being the victim of a large and first-rate fraud than to have been the victim of a back street swindler. Those who were taken in (myself included) were taken in by a masterful pervert with international pull. It's as though someone aspired to succeed at Bear Sterns only to be derailed by Bernie Madoff (rather than Eugene O'Boyle's Magical Snake Oil, or some such).

A companion in the journey outlined the breadth this caper, beginning with MM's first plagiarised book:

Basically Luis Lucia Lucia wrote a book of poems called salterio de mis horas (psalter of my days) and Maciel pretended that he wrote it. It was published in 1958, but obviously was written before 1943 when [Lucia] died.

This link is about the Catholic Church in the Spanish Civil War, it quotes in english from Lucia's book:

Oh Cross, my inseparable companion through the sweet years of my suffering for God!

First, I suffered for you with patience.

Later, I bore it with pleasure.

Today, I already embrace you with love.

We always knew that Maciel had ghost writers, but this goes beyond the pale and really there is an obligation on part of the current superiors of the Legion to make amends for this wrong.

An apology for this theft and a clarification should be made about who the original author is and being a congregation of the catholic church, all financial losses should be offered to the publisher and to the family of the original author. Also any LC who has used Maciel's "version"/theft in their own books should acknolwedge the original author. (For example Who is my Neighbor? Personalism and the foundations of Human Rights by Thomas D Williams LC) This is not going to happen of course. Perhaps their publishers should be informed?

For me, nevertheless, the implications are much more severe - from the recent letters by the various territorial directors we understand that the Legion is trying to figure out how to seperate the good from the bad regarding Maciel and his legacy.

Here we have one more clear example of Maciel's spiritual fraud.

Well here is something that really doesn't need much consideration:

Maciel's spiritual legacy is empty.

He didn't write the 14+  volumes of spiritual letters.

He didn't write the constitutions.

He didn't write the salterio de mis dias.

If we need to question Maciel's spiritual legacy, it is this question: what on earth DID he write?

Another point of consideration:

Maciel's apostolic legacy is empty:

Whish apostolate of the Legion of Christ did he found?

Another point of consideration:

Maciel's moral legacy is empty:

He had fake passports and multiple identities.

He was addicted to prescription drugs and used illegal means to obtain them.

He sexually abused children, adolescents and young men for decades.

He had several "wives".

He had multiple children and lied to them about his identity.

He used great amounts of money - probably millions of dollars - intended for charity to live a life of luxury over decades.

What more does the Legion of Christ need to consider? Which good works exactly are they considering? !!

I have one final consideration:

Maciel's belief in God is empty:

He did not pray his breviary and offered excuses that he had an exemption to pray it in one go early in the morning.

He did not know how to say mass.

He was not seen to pray privately, even by those close around him.

The "reverence" which he used in benediction and consecration were acts designed to place focus on his "holiness", which he made every Legionary employ.

I ask has any exlc ever assisted him in private mass? Any sacristan set the altar for him to say private mass?

How can ANYONE believe anything of his to be of any good and how can ANYONE not see how his fraudulence was designed to take advantage of the good faith and practises of catholics?

The irony is that the letter which the territorial directors of USA wrote detailing there pondering which facets of Maciel's life to keep and which to reject was subsequently copied, translated and signed by different territorial directors/national directors who pretended that they in fact wrote the letter.

The fraud lives on, and their conscience doesn't even blink.

And remember, this con artist hoodwinked Church officials all the way up to the top. He didn't do it alone, and is there any wonder that he could take in those who were raised to respect the collar and the hierarchy? And those who were not inherently disposed to looking critically at every cover page for indications of authenticity? Please try to find a measure of peace at least in the enormity of the lie, which was so vast that it couldn't be distinguished by sincere souls of good will. At least not until now.

The "holy women" of Maciel

Post by post, comment by comment, we are progressing in our understanding of the Legion's methodology -- specifically in the way that the beautiful things of God were taken, twisted, and thrown back at us in a perverted form. Nothing was left untouched, unsullied: the language, the sacraments, the channels of love or the virtues. Consider this piece just posted by John Paul Lennon from the early years in Spain:

Around the early 1950s Marcial Maciel came to Salamanca, together with our dear Carlos de la Isla. My father helped Fr. Maciel buy the land to build the Novitiate of Salamanca.

Marcial Maciel was often in my parents' house. Carlos de la Isla often visited us in the evenings as he was alone, living in a pension [lodgings] that my parents found for him.

When Maciel came to Salamanca with Donia Flora Barragan de Garza, they used to stay at the now defunct Gran Hotel, near the Plaza Mayor. Maciel asked my parents for one of my sisters to accompany Donia Flora during the nights. My sister, Maria Antonia, about 16-17 at the time became Flora's maid in waiting.

For many months, I dont remember how many but it was a long time, my mother, my aunt and Fr. Fernando Vergez LC's mother, whom Maciel called "the holy women" would cook for the Legionaries until they hired proper staff. They did this as volunteers without pay.

Now the more important point of the post concerns the sexual improprieties that were already endemic to the group (and that cannot be ignored) but the smaller more insidious point I want to make is that the cunning Maciel had to "baptise" every little element with his abuse of the faith and application of biblical language. Even then he was 1. using the good will of others for his own perfidious ends, and 2. comparing himself to Jesus Christ.

Nothing is wasted, and the generosity of those dear women brought the commensurate spiritual rewards, but let us always be vigilant of the ability of the Legion to abuse the Gospel for private gain -- and to dupe good souls who cannot distinguish their vile methods.

Collateral Damage

The following can be found at Amazon. I think since the author is still the editor of the National Catholic Register, it deserves a statement at least, an apology at best, and ultimately -- an explanation. This is the largest Catholic newspaper in North America and thousands of families rely on it for information regarding the Church. Father Kearns holds in his own hands a sacred trust, for the credibility of the Legion and the men entrusted to that congregation depend on his professional decisions. As an editor, if he can malign and misrepresent this story with no consequences, then perhaps that decision should carry collateral damage of its own.  [The bold added is mine.]

This review is from: Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II (Hardcover)

by FATHER OWEN KEARNS, LC

The October 2001 edition of Deal Hudson's Crisis magazine features a cover story on "The Price of Priestly Pederasty." The article focuses mostly on the financial impact of lawsuits and settlements, but it notes that good priests "have been tarnished by the unearthing of a sexual underworld among men of the cloth."

And how.

To borrow a term from the war on terrorism, there is untold "collateral damage" in the priesthood because of these violations of sacred trust.

It is a cross all Catholics bear - be they victims of the abuse, Catholics in the pew who wonder how in God's name such a thing could ever happen, bishops who must deal with the lawsuits and sometimes unfair accusations of cover-up, or innocent priests whose reputations are smeared by the sins of their brothers.

So what happens when a priest - a very good priest - is falsely accused of sexual misconduct? He is often presumed guilty until proven innocent. Even clear proof of innocence is not enough for some. Let me tell you about a case very near to my own heart.

In the fall of 1996, my congregation, the Legion of Christ, received word from a reporter that he was going to publish the story of 12 former Legionaries alleging that our founder, Father Marcial Maciel, had sexually abused them decades earlier. We were stunned, uncertain how to handle such outrageous - though, to those unaware of the facts, plausible - lies, but we hoped and prayed that, if we could share the truth in good faith with this reporter and his colleagues, all would be well.

Why would these elderly men attack Father Maciel? Who would conspire to allege sexual misconduct against an aging priest who started a fast-growing priestly congregation, the ecclesial movement Regnum Christi, hundreds of schools, 10 universities, and a host of other institutions and apostolates serving the Church?

A Time of Trial

This case goes back to the 1950s, when these accusers were young adult religious - Legionary seminarians. It was in this time period that all the abuse is alleged to have occurred. In 1956, Father Maciel faced an entirely different set of accusations suited to that day and age. Men who sought greater influence within the Legion accused him, among other things, of drug abuse, financial mismanagement and rebellion against the Holy See.

The charges were brought to the Vatican, which responded by conducting a thorough investigation of Father Maciel and the Legion. From 1956-58 Father Maciel was deprived of his functions as general director of the Legion and not allowed to enter the diocese of Rome. Vatican-appointed investigators lived with the Legionaries and interviewed each member personally. The investigators all reached the same conclusions: The allegations were trumped-up and baseless, and the Legion showed the potential to be of great service to the Church.

Decades later, a group of now elderly former Legionaries, Mexicans and Spaniards, sent their new accusations to the Vatican, which did not dignify them with a reply. So they took their story to an American newspaper. We asked the reporter, Gerald Renner of the Hartford Courant, to share with us the testimony of the 12 accusers. He and the Courant refused to show us the documents, but they did on occasion summarize details.

My order was faced with the difficulty of proving a negative. How do you prove that something, described in lurid detail, never happened? You would wish that the accusers would make some allegation that could be definitively disproved with documented scientific evidence. Then their utter lack of standing and credibility would be there, plain for the world to see.

Fortunately for the truth, they did just that. Twice.

First, some claimed that a former Legionary dictated a "death-bed confession" accusing Father Maciel of sexual abuse. Records show that, due to a stroke, he was unable to speak (there was no dictation) and died suddenly and unexpectedly from choking on his food (there was no deathbed).

Second, they all repeated the claim from the 1950s that Father Maciel was addicted to drugs. Precisely in order to prove or disprove such claims, a cardinal had at the time ordered blood tests on Father Maciel and separate examinations by three eminent physicians. They provided conclusive medical evidence eliminating any possibility of drug abuse.

There was more. One of the Vatican investigators went on to become bishop of Illapel, Chile. When in '96 he learned of these sex-abuse charges, Bishop Polidoro van Vlierberghe wrote to us explaining that he found them lacking all credibility, especially because during the one-on-one interviews in the '50s he "gave them every opportunity to level any accusation they had, but not once was this type of offense mentioned."

With Father Maciel under suspicion at the time the abuse had allegedly just happened, not one single person, not even those who brought other false charges against him, accused him of sexual abuse.

Besides this, we were able to catch some of the accusers in their lies. One claimed to hold a position that never existed, and spoke of a seminary that never existed.

One of the accusers actually recanted and signed sworn testimony that he had been recruited to join in lies about Father Maciel in order "to show him up." Four other men also testified they were recruited to join in the lies, but had refused to do so.

Adding Victims

The writers, Gerald Renner and Jason Berry, knew these facts at the time they published their story. So did their editors at the Hartford Courant. They knew that the accusers were caught in their lies, that some had a decades-old animus against the man they were attacking, that five men (one of whom was an accuser who recanted) had testified that the accusations were a conspiracy of lies and that medical evidence proved that none of the accusers had any credibility.

How did they handle this information?

They simply edited out numerous accusations, changed others and dropped two of the accusers - all without letting their readers know - and went ahead and published the "story."

Why?

The story alleging abuse by Father Maciel was not a stand-alone piece. It was quickly followed by one attacking Pope John Paul II and the Church as a whole for allegedly covering-up sexual abuse and turning a blind eye to the sexual realities of the day. Since then, the lies about Father Maciel get rehashed time and again with no acknowledgement of the numerous documented lies of the accusers, simply pinning the story on the latest "news hook" or using it to attack another member of the hierarchy. In short, it is a series of attacks on the Church and its teachings on sexual morality.

So this, too, is collateral damage of sexual abuse by priests.

Monstrously, sexual abuse attacks its immediate victim, violates his trust, and harms the faith of his family and community. But this sin doesn't stop with its immediate victims. Not only does such abuse put innocent bishops and priests under suspicion, but it also empowers those who disagree with the Church on matters of sexual morality to use whatever "evidence" they can - true or false - to disparage the Church, trying to force it to change. [This statement is true on every level -- and completely applicable to the Legion. For this paragraph alone, the Legion must account for the monstrous scandal they have foisted on Holy Mother Church. Fr Kearns -- express ownership and accountability for your words!]

In the Christian spirit of Father Maciel, who has forgiven his accusers, I ask us all as followers of Christ to be charitable to our bishops and priests, to realize that sex scandals, horrible as they are, are the work of those few who have betrayed us, or of those who take advantage of the innocent.

Support and love your bishops and priests. Don't let their vocations - and the truth - become "collateral damage."

[As a reminder of the actual timeline, the extent of the early accusations and weight of evidence against MM in the 1950's go here.]