Man says he is Maciel's son, sues Legoinaries
A man who claims he is the son of Legionaries of Christ founder Marcial Maciel plans to sue the group, saying the Roman Catholic clergyman molested him for years, the Associated Press reports.
Jose Raul Gonzalez of Mexico plans to file the claim of fraud and negligence Monday in Connecticut against the worldwide Legionaries of Christ, said his attorney, Jeff Anderson. The order has its U.S. headquarters in the state.
Gonzalez' mother, Blanca Lara Gutierrez, has said the late Rev. Marcial Maciel led a double life, had two children with her, adopted another, then sexually abused two of the three.
Lara Gutierrez said she was 19 when she met the priest, then 56, who passed himself off as "Jose Rivas," an employee of an international oil company, a private investigator and a CIA agent. She said she didn't discover his real identity until 1997, through a magazine article.
After decades of vehemently denying abuse allegations against Maciel, Legion officials have recently acknowledged the priest fathered at least one child, a girl who now lives in Spain, and sexually abused seminarians. Leaders of the religious order have met several times with Gutierrez but have not publicly affirmed her claim. Maciel died in 2008 at age 87.
Gonzalez has acknowledged previously asking the Legion for $26 million to keep quiet, saying Maciel had promised him and his brothers a trust fund. Anderson said in an interview Friday that Gonzalez had only asked for "what, in effect, had been promised to them."
A U.S. spokesman for the Legion, Jim Fair, said he could not comment because he had not seen the lawsuit.
The Vatican had conducted an investigation of the Legion and concluded last month that Maciel had committed grave and "objectively immoral actions" that constituted true crimes in some cases and showed a "life devoid of scruples and authentic religious meaning."
Maciel created a "system of power" built on silence, deceit and obedience that enabled him to lead a double life that allowed the abuse to go unchecked and unquestioned, the Vatican said.
The statement was stunning, since the priest had enjoyed such favor at the Vatican under Pope John Paul II, who admired the order's conservative outlook and its success in fundraising and recruiting seminarians at a time when the ranks of priests were dwindling.
The Holy See has said that Pope Benedict XVI would appoint a delegate to lead the order after the investigation showed the Legion needed profound reform to survive, given Maciel's enormous internal influence on the group.
Comments
From the internal internet, an email:
Hey Uncle Wormwood,
How are you feeling lately? Is that pustule of virtue on your backside acting up? I hear that stinging nettle is really good for that, mixed in a caldron of course. Anyways, I wanted to get your advice as always on this latest disaster we have to deal with up there. I would have consulted Maciel directly since he is such a big man on campus down here now, but the chief has him busy 24/7 on a project. I am left to deal with the fallout he scattered. The terrible thing is that the huge reality of his double lives are starting to come out. To such an extent that some old hands here are saying that we should decrease the impetus for double lives amongst the foot soldier priests. But even worse they are worried that if Maciel's life becomes really big news that it will make people question the whole "rigid conservative " thing up there. As you know the rigid conservative things has been fantastic for us, and we have won soul-victories more consistently that way than any way else. What will happen if another healthy liberal is allowed to get in charge.? I know that same Mexican nun who worked her magic on John Paul the first is still around the Vatican, but she is really old by their standards and maybe too senile to pull off another.
So I need your advice. I am thinking we need to act aggressively but I don't know how. How can we convince those on the ground that the very results of rigid conservatism were in fact caused by liberal attitudes. Is it possible they could buy that? The trouble is Maciel made a career out of being arch-conservative. If only we could have had him as Pope. Whereas Maciel never believed a word of it, that Polish fellow did to some extent. Maciel just wanted to have a nice life and score some pussy and hot dick with his fancy boys in the seminary. But the Polish Pope liked the pain thing. That was a great cover by the way for Sister Rosita' s daily ministrations. She says that he really was strong as a horse. Because she gave the Polish one everyday what she gave the italian, and the Italian kicked the bucket immediately. If we could have gotten Maciel made a Cardinal in time we could have saved the whole plan. I almost lost my job as you know over the whole thing.
So here is my plan, if you give me your blessing. We have an opportunity in Florida! We have had such luck in Florida that I almost don't want to jinx it.
I really didn't believe that you could actually change the whole course of their history by making some paper holes bigger on ballots. And with that we got blessed mayhem in the Middle East. Why did we go through all the trouble for art training for fancy boy Adolf, when we could have created war with paper holes as in Florida. And stupid Adolf only wants to paint watercolors down here along the lines of Thomas Kincaide. He says if he had been around to do what what Kinkaide is doing he could have destroyed the whole world entirely with art! He thinks that was his real destiny!
But anyways, our opportunity in Florida is the new Archbishop of Miami named Womenski. We won't even try to turn him because we have plenty of representatives already in that place amongst the foot soldiers. But he could be very useful. I have thought for a long time that if we could somehow create the idea that Haiti is an epitome of strong faith and special spirituality we could make the rest of the world there a paradise like Haiti. I have been told this is far-fetched because they like all their conveniences and things that work. But this Womenski fellow is such a hard worker and so nose-to-the-grindstone that we may be able to use him very well. And you are not going to believe this, this place Miami is the only one that banned Maciel's foot soldier! What great cover, huh? So my plan is this in a nutshell. Womenski will be at the forefront of a perfectly wretched rise of really conservative belief, and the Haitians will be the dupes for it all. Because of the racial thing no one will dare say a word against it. This is how we are going to save the whole "rigid conservative" things threatened by the Maciel revelations. We will do it on the backs of the people of Haiti, just as we did with their ancestors. And the best part is that if our plan is discovered we can blame it on the Voodoo which only our historical curators are interested in down here. That's the great luck we have always had, they are obsessed with stuff like that and usually never notice where we are really working. The Maciel thing threatened that, but I think I have come to the rescue. I hope you are proud of me Uncle!
fondly,
Screwtape, Jr.
Posted by: Screwtape, Jr. | June 19, 2010 12:44 PM
The game is to have them all running about with fire extinguishers when there is a flood, and all crowding to that side of the boat which is already nearly gunwale under.
Posted by: Screwtape, Sr. | June 19, 2010 1:27 PM
Sir,
Information you are quoting and thus revealing from my father's files is still classified. Please observe that stricture. Our strategy that destroyed the Spanish Armada is not something to be made public. Remember, a few centuries are but an ember in the Chief's eyes.
Screwtape, Jr.
Posted by: Screwtape, Jr. | June 19, 2010 6:32 PM