ReGAIN, Religious Groups Awareness International Network
Monitoring harmful groups in mainstream Churches and Religious Groups
Hello, Friends,
here is a theme that has bothered me for years. How does it take the Vatican so long to detect and stop prominent clergy sex abusers in our midst? ´Abbè Pierre, Jean Vanier, Marcial Maciel, Cardinal Mc Carrick, Rupnik….
Here are my two cents, presented at the yearly conference of International Cultic Studies Association, Montreal, July 2025.
Hace 2 años el tribunal eclesiástico dictó sentencia contra el Depredador legionario Antonio Rodríguez Sánchez.
Por esa época publicábamos la foto de una clase pública en el Ajusco donde estaban Antonio junto con Fernando Tamayo y José María Sabín. Tanto Antonio como José María rectores en la apostólica y ambos con acusaciones de abuso sexual.
Después de la sentencia, ARS tiene por derecho la posibilidad de apelar, cosa que hizo no una, sino dos veces. Al final las apelaciones no procedieron y la sentencia permanece. El periodo de la última apelación concluyó hace pocos meses.
La Congregación de Maciel no ha dado a conocer esta información ni la de otros procesos, sino que oscurece las cosas para cuidar su imagen.
Delitos Graves contra el Sexto Mandamiento (pecados sexuales) con Menores” -¡por si se pierde la claridad con los latinajos!
Artículo publicado 7 mayo 2024 en “Legioleaks” de Facebook por Victor Hugo Santos
< Hace 2 años el tribunal eclesiástico dictó sentencia contra el Depredador legionario Antonio Rodríguez Sánchez.
Por esa época publicábamos la foto de una clase pública en el Ajusco donde estaban Antonio junto con Fernando Tamayo y José María Sabín. Tanto Antonio como José María rectores en la apostólica y ambos con acusaciones de abuso sexual.
Después de la sentencia, ARS tiene por derecho la posibilidad de apelar, cosa que hizo no una, sino dos veces. Al final las apelaciones no procedieron y la sentencia permanece. El periodo de la última apelación concluyó hace pocos meses.
La Congregación de Maciel no ha dado a conocer esta información ni la de otros procesos, sino que oscurece las cosas para cuidar su imagen. Con ello sigue dañando el tejido social y a la Iglesia porque impide que las víctimas conocidas avancen en su proceso de sanación y otras víctimas desconocidas puedan animarse a buscar reparación.
Antonio Rodríguez mencionó durante el proceso algunos nombres, las víctimas que recordaba. La Congregación no ha contactado a todos los adolescentes que estuvieron en contacto con el depredador, sea en el Ajusco, sea en Salamanca. Al menos no declara que han contactado a todos los posibles afectados, como hizo el Superior de los Consagrados, Félix Gómez Rueda mintiendo sobre el caso Amezcua.
El tribunal dictó sentencia… ¿y las víctimas? ¿Qué ha hecho la Congregación con aquellas personas de las que consta con certeza moral que hubo abuso por parte del depredador Antonio?
La Congregación ha intentado contactar a las víctimas que Antonio mencionó por nombre, con la intención de apoyarlas siempre que se sometan a sus estándares. Sin embargo esos estándares implican someterse a un comité evaluador, hacer un estudio socioeconómico de la víctima y canalizar en la medida de lo posible la reparación a través de Eshmá.
Algunos de los “encargados” de trato con las víctimas tienen trato y al parecer buenas intenciones, otros hacen sentir a la víctima que es su culpa.
Ojo, esto lo hacen ya los seglares contratados para el “trato con víctimas” a fin de exponer menos a los legionarios…
En el caso de la mayoría de las víctimas de Antonio Rodríguez, el tema corresponde al DT de México, sí el tristemente célebre Alberto Simán, el que dice que a él no le toca y de él no depende.
¿Por qué sigue la Legión ocultando los procesos en favor de las víctimas y de justicia contra los abusadores?
¿Será capaz la Congregación de sentarse a la mesa con víctimas sexuales de la apostólica del Ajusco?>
Editado por la administración
WOMEN ABUSED BY FORMER, EXITING OR ACTIVE LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST AND REGNUM CHRISTI MEMBERS! WOMEN, BEWARE OF LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST ON THE TIGHTROPE! Over the past year a number of women who have been deceived or abused physically, emotionally, sexually or spiritually by Legionary of Christ and Regnum Christi members have approached me: they have tangled with priests, struggling priests and seminarians, and by exited or exiting members. For me, a former Legionary priest, listening to these “victims” is a sad and frustrating experience. Each case is different. I realize that the roles can be reversed when the LC/RC in question is a woman of whom men need to be wary. But I hope I can put together some ideas which may be helpful to those who choose to heed the following caveats:
BY J. Paul Lennon, STL, MA Counseling, Post MA Marriage and Family Therapy
December 2023 – February 2024
Hello Mr. Lennon,
as we discussed on Facebook. I am writing because my ex-husband was a Legionary of Christ. I know he was in it from 2002 until around 2011. I knew the seminary he was in was strict, but I didn’t know anything about the (Maciel) scandal until just before our divorce was finalized…. Our whole marriage he was emotionally abusive and financially controlling. Then one day in 2018 I found out he had a massive affair. I discovered he had lots of women hidden on Facebook. I left soon after I found a list of confessions re porn addiction, lusts, adultery, evil in his heart for me, etc. After that my daughter started making physical and sexual abuse allegations against him. She was 4. I also realized he opened 4 credit cards in my name. The child abuse consisted of burning my daughter with a hot fork and having her witness a voodoo ritual, as well as sexual abuse according to my daughter. It was a fierce battle in court, but the abuse allegations were so bizarre that the judge did not believe my ex who is a lecturer at a college could have possibly done it. We did everything right: CPS, the police involved, therapist. The judge just wasn’t for me. I tell you all this to let you know we went to a psychiatrist for evaluation, he asked me what I knew about my ex. I told him he was in the seminary for 9 years and got a degree in Rome. He said that’s weird because he didn’t mention that. I thought it was so odd, so I started researching it. I knew it was in Cheshire, CT. And I dove into the Legionaries of Christ. My ex always told me he met a living saint. I always thought he meant a Pope but maybe he meant Fr. Marcial Maciel, the pedophile founder.
Over the past year a number of women who have been deceived or abused physically, emotionally, sexually or spiritually by Legionary of Christ and Regnum Christi members have approached me: they have tangled with priests, struggling priests and seminarians, and by exited or exiting members. For me, a former Legionary priest, listening to these “victims” is a sad and frustrating experience. Each case is different. I realize that the roles can be reversed when the LC/RC in question is a woman of whom men need to be wary. But I hope I can put together some ideas which may be helpful to those who choose to heed the following caveats:
Be careful! You don’t know what you are getting into. And for the most part the struggling Legionary or Regnum Christi member does not know what the heck is going on with him/her. On counseling one woman, asking how to understand the man she could be falling in love with, the image of a Swirling Dervish came to mind. The guy is swirling around at such speed that it is dangerous to get within arm’s length! Please do not try to rescue him/her. In Mexico they have a saying: you go in a redeemer and come out crucified.
Perhaps this is not a surprise when one considers the reckless sexual life of the founder, pedophile Mexican priest, Fr. Marcial Maciel. When I was a Legionary, 1961-84, Legion training, particularly in the area of sexuality, seemed to be governed by the same principles as the dysfunctional family popularized decades ago by the ACA Movement: “Don’t talk, don’t trust, don’t feel!” An intellectualized explanation of the vow of chastity/celibacy was imparted once. Period. It was totally forbidden that members discuss any kind of problems or personal issues with their companions. They had to confide in their superiors: the superiors had no idea, or did not know how to broach the subject, except in the most tactless and awkward way. We were not supposed to have any sexual difficulties. Because we had such a lofty calling to follow and embody Christ it was unthinkable that we could struggle with our budding sexuality. “It’s a temptation of the Devil, put it out of your mind.” These were impure thoughts and impulses. Repress and sublimate.
For your amusement you may view my video[i]
A glaring example of the lack of psychosexual development knowledge, exploration and guidance is portrayed in Kevin O’Sullivan’s recent memoir, A Good Boy. Outliving the Legion of Christ[ii]
Former members joke about how recruiters, directors, “formators”, spiritual directors -the group uses a variety of names referring to those who train the seminarians and priests- embrace a simplistic philosophy: “you have a vocation until I say you don’t!”. Those of us who lived under the Maciel regime can attest to this. Later generations explain how the Territorial Directors now seem to possess this charism in the reformed Legion.
There are numerous stories of how a superior or female director will shaft a member at the blink of an eye: “Patricia, the territorial director and I have determined that you are no longer fit for the Movement. Pack your bags quietly and discreetly this evening. A taxi will be waiting to take you to the airport early tomorrow morning. Please do not share this information with the other Señoritas, as this might imperil their vocation. And by the way, Fr. X and I do firmly believe you have a vocation for marriage. Hopefully, you will find another person who shares your religious and moral principles.” The exiting member will be given a plane ticket and a couple of hundred dollars for her expenses. Little or no care is provided for the exiting member’s well-being and recovery from what is often a harrowing experience.
associated with such groups; one of which is the tight control the leadership exerts over the members which limits their emotional, psychological and mental development. The new member will change their usual self and acquire his/her “cult personality”. In some cases, the so-called “Legion formation” composed of a multitude of minute rules- may accentuate their defects and mental illnesses. Some members can exhibit repressed emotions, cruelty, obsessive compulsiveness, while others experience depression and anxiety. As the group’s goal is to strictly retain members, superiors will often refer suffering members to “professionals” who are in league with the superiors or otherwise influenced by the organization, or to its own home-made psychological institute[iii]. Thus, there is no one who truly looks out for the members’ well-being and emotional health. Often, members are controlled through ill-advised psychotropic medication.
I have spent thirty years trying to prove that the institution known as Legion of Christ/Regnum Christi is cult-like[iv]. I am not sure how successful I have been. Many believe that because the organization is approved by the Catholic Hierarchy it cannot be cult-like. I will not belabor the point. But if I and other cult experts such as Steven Hassan, Janja Lalich, Brian Ross and Gillie Jenkinson[v], who have treated ex-LCs and ex-RCs, are correct, we can save you a lot of grief. See me being interviewed by the then International Cultic Studies Association director, Michael Langone[vi]. And save your family, friends and counselors much time, effort and expense. And grief.
[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fB3PiIi0wg&t=27s
[ii] A Good Boy: Outliving the Legion of Christ: O’Sullivan, Kevin: 9780645487909: Amazon.com: Books
[iii] To avoid revealing the ill effects of the Legion’s repressive methods on the members, superiors will avoid sending them to bona fide and independent therapists. The Legion, like a cult, prefers to “wash all its dirty linen at home” and so attempts to train its own, homemade, psychotherapists. The order has gone to great lengths to create its “Psychological Institute” to treat troubled LC and RC members:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_the_Psychological_Sciences
[iv] See http://www.regainnetwork.org, ReGAIN Facebook, Catholic Orders and Movements Accused of being Cult-like: https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Orders-Movements-Accused-Cult-like/dp/B084QL33YZ
[v] Several Spanish psychotherapists such as Carmen Almendros, Miguel Perlado and others are also familiar with the predicament and have treated Legionaries of Christ exiting seminarians and priests and Regnum Christi male and female “consecrated” members. English cult expert and psychotherapist Gillie Jenkinson at Hope Valley has also been contacted by troubled former members.
[vi] https://religiousgroupsawarenessinternational.network/2020/12/19/dr-michael-langone-director-of-international-cultic-studies-association-interviews-paul-lennon-re-his-legion-of-christ-involvement/
POR J. Paul Lennon, STL, MA Consejería, Post MA Terapia Matrimonial y Familiar
Diciembre 2023 – Febrero 2024
Hola Sr. Lennon,
como comentamos en Facebook. Escribo porque mi ex marido era legionario de Cristo. Sé que estuvo en ella desde 2002 hasta alrededor de 2011. Sabía que el seminario en el que estaba era estricto, pero no supe nada del escándalo (Maciel) hasta justo antes de que finalizara nuestro divorcio. Durante todo nuestro matrimonio, él fue emocionalmente abusivo y financieramente controlador. Entonces, un día de 2018 me enteré de que tenía una gran aventura. Descubrí que tenía muchas mujeres escondidas en Facebook. Me fui poco después de encontrar una lista de confesiones sobre la adicción a la pornografía, la lujuria, el adulterio, la maldad en su corazón por mí, etc. Después de eso, mi hija comenzó a hacer acusaciones de abuso físico y sexual contra él. Tenía 4 años. También me di cuenta de que abrió 4 tarjetas de crédito a mi nombre. El abuso infantil consistió en quemar a mi hija con un tenedor caliente y hacerla presenciar un ritual vudú, así como el abuso sexual según mi hija. Fue una batalla feroz en la corte, pero las acusaciones de abuso eran tan extrañas que el juez no creía que mi ex, que es profesor en una universidad, pudiera haberlo hecho. Hicimos todo bien: CPS, la policía involucrada, el terapeuta. El juez no me ayudó. Te cuento todo esto para que sepas que fuimos a un psiquiatra para que me evaluara, me preguntó qué sabía de mi ex. Le dije que estuvo en el seminario durante 9 años y que se graduó en Roma. Dijo: es raro porque no me lo mencionó. Pensé que era muy extraño, así que comencé a investigarlo. Sabía que estaba en Cheshire, Connecticut. Y me sumergí en los Legionarios de Cristo. Mi ex siempre me decía que había conocido a un santo viviente. Siempre pensé que se refería a un Papa, pero tal vez se refería al padre Marcial Maciel, el fundador pedófilo.
Durante este último año, varias mujeres que han sido engañadas o abusadas física, emocional, sexual o espiritualmente por miembros de la Legión de Cristo y del Regnum Christi se han acercado a mí: se han enredado con sacerdotes y seminaristas problemáticos, y por miembros que han salido o están saliendo. Para mí, ex sacerdote legionario, escuchar a estas “víctimas” es una experiencia triste y frustrante. Cada caso es diferente. Me doy cuenta de que los papeles pueden invertirse cuando la LC/RC en cuestión es una mujer de la que los hombres deben desconfiar. Pero espero poder reunir algunas ideas que puedan ser útiles para aquellos que elijan prestar atención a las siguientes advertencias:
¡Ten cuidado! No sabes en lo que te estás metiendo. Y en su mayor parte, el miembro del Legionario o del Regnum Christi que lucha no sabe qué diablos está pasando con él/ella. Al aconsejar a una mujer, preguntándole cómo entender al hombre del que podría estar enamorándose, me vino a la mente la imagen de un derviche arremolinado. ¡El tipo se arremolina a tal velocidad que es peligroso acercarse al brazo de distancia! Por favor, no intentes rescatarlo. En México tienen un dicho: entras como redentor y sales crucificado.
Tal vez esto no sea una sorpresa si se tiene en cuenta la desenfrenada vida sexual del fundador, el sacerdote mexicano pedófilo, el padre Marcial Maciel. Cuando yo era legionario, de 1961 a 1984, el entrenamiento de la Legión, particularmente en el área de la sexualidad, parecía estar regido por los mismos principios que la familia disfuncional popularizada hace décadas por el Movimiento ACA: “¡No hables, no confíes, no sientas!” Una vez se impartió una explicación intelectualizada del voto de castidad/celibato. Periodo. Estaba totalmente prohibido que los miembros discutieran cualquier tipo de problema o cuestiones personales con sus compañeros. Tenían que confiar en sus superiores: los superiores no tenían ni idea, o no sabían cómo abordar el tema, excepto de la manera más indiscreta y torpe. Se suponía que no debíamos tener ninguna dificultad sexual. Debido a que teníamos un llamado tan elevado a seguir y encarnar a Cristo, era impensable que pudiéramos luchar con nuestra sexualidad en ciernes. “Es una tentación del diablo, sácala de tu mente”. Eran pensamientos e impulsos impuros. Reprimir y sublimar.
Para su diversión, puede ver mi video[i]
Un ejemplo flagrante de la falta de conocimiento, exploración y orientación sobre el desarrollo psicosexual se retrata en las recientes memorias de Kevin O’Sullivan, A Good Boy. Sobrevivir a la Legión de Cristo[ii]
Los antiguos miembros bromean sobre cómo los reclutadores, los directores, los “formadores”, los directores espirituales -el grupo usa una variedad de nombres para referirse a los que forman a los seminaristas y sacerdotes- abrazan una filosofía simplista: “¡tienes una vocación hasta que yo diga que no la tienes!”. Quienes vivimos bajo el régimen de Maciel podemos dar fe de ello. Las generaciones posteriores explican cómo los Directores Territoriales parecen poseer ahora este carisma en la Legión reformada.
Hay numerosas historias de cómo un superior o una directora machaca a un miembro en un abrir y cerrar de ojos: “Patricia, la directora territorial y yo hemos determinado que ya no eres apta para el Movimiento. Haz las maletas de forma tranquila y discreta esta noche. Un taxi te estará esperando para llevarte al aeropuerto mañana por la mañana temprano. Por favor, no comparta esta información con las otras Señoritas, ya que esto podría poner en peligro su vocación. Y, por cierto, el P. X y yo creemos firmemente que usted tiene vocación para el matrimonio. Con suerte, encontrarás a otra persona que comparta tus principios religiosos y morales”. El miembro saliente recibirá un boleto de avión y un par de cientos de dólares para sus gastos. Se brinda poca o ninguna atención para el bienestar del miembro saliente y la recuperación de lo que a menudo es una experiencia desgarradora.
uno de los cuales es el férreo control que el liderazgo ejerce sobre los miembros, lo que limita su desarrollo emocional, psicológico y mental. El nuevo miembro cambiará su yo habitual y adquirirá su “personalidad de culto”. En algunos casos, la llamada “formación de la Legión”, compuesta por una multitud de reglas minuciosas, puede acentuar sus defectos y enfermedades mentales. Algunos miembros pueden exhibir emociones reprimidas, crueldad, obsesividad compulsiva, mientras que otros experimentan depresión y ansiedad. Como el objetivo del grupo es retener estrictamente a los miembros, los superiores a menudo remiten a los miembros que sufren a “profesionales” que están aliados con los superiores o que están influenciados por la organización, o a su propio instituto psicológico casero[iii]. Por lo tanto, no hay nadie que realmente vele por el bienestar y la salud emocional de los miembros. A menudo, los miembros son controlados a través de medicamentos psicotrópicos mal aconsejados.
He pasado treinta años tratando de demostrar que la institución conocida como Legión de Cristo/Regnum Christi es una secta[iv]. No estoy seguro de qué tan exitoso he sido. Muchos creen que debido a que la organización está aprobada por la Jerarquía Católica no puede ser como una secta. No me extenderé en este punto. Pero si yo y otros expertos en sectas como Steven Hassan, Janja Lalich, Brian Ross y Gillie Jenkinson, [v]que han tratado a ex-LCs y ex-RCs, estamos en lo cierto, podemos ahorrarte un montón de dolor. Véanme siendo entrevistado por el entonces director de la Asociación Internacional de Estudios Cultuales, Michael Langone[vi]. Y ahorre a su familia, amigos y consejeros mucho tiempo, esfuerzo y gastos. Y el dolor.
[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fB3PiIi0wg&t=27s
[ii] Un buen chico: Sobrevivir a la Legión de Cristo: O’Sullivan, Kevin: 9780645487909: Amazon.com: Libros
[iii] Para evitar revelar los efectos nocivos de los métodos represivos de la Legión en los miembros, los superiores evitarán enviarlos a terapeutas independientes y de buena fe. La Legión, como una secta, prefiere “lavar toda su ropa sucia en casa” y por eso intenta formar a sus propios psicoterapeutas caseros. La orden ha hecho todo lo posible para crear su “Instituto Psicológico” para tratar a los miembros problemáticos de LC y RC:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_the_Psychological_Sciences
[iv] Ver http://www.regainnetwork.org, ReGAIN Facebook, Órdenes y Movimientos Católicos Acusados de ser Sectarios: https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Orders-Movements-Accused-Cult-like/dp/B084QL33YZ
[v] Varios psicoterapeutas españoles, como Carmen Almendros, Miguel Perlado y otros, también están familiarizados con la situación y han tratado a seminaristas y sacerdotes salientes de los Legionarios de Cristo y miembros “consagrados” del Regnum Christi, hombres y mujeres. La experta en sectas y psicoterapeuta inglesa Gillie Jenkinson de Hope Valley también ha sido contactada por ex miembros con problemas.
[vi] https://religiousgroupsawarenessinternational.network/2020/12/19/dr-michael-langone-director-of-international-cultic-studies-association-interviews-paul-lennon-re-his-legion-of-christ-involvement/
Cult specialist Livia Bardin's helpful classic; Heralds of the Gospel, censured by Vatican but not suppressed. Saint Pope John Paul II blesses Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC, pedophile, psychopath and founder of the Legionaries of Christ now morphed into Regnum Christi Federation; Father Fernando Martínez LC abused prominent Mexican TV personality Analu Salazar and seven other girls at Cancun school when she was eight years old; Fr. Maciel embraces Paul Lennon after his priestly ordination; Fr. Urrutigoity, abuser, and founder of the Society of Saint John in the USA 1997, now suppressed.
Often the line between a cult and conventional religion is blurred; and some cults even claim to be Christian while bear no resemblance to authentic Christianity.
By John Alonso Dick | Belgium
LA CROIX, France’s leading Catholic Newpaper
November 7, 2023
According to Hebrew tradition, when Moses went up into Mount Sinai in the 13th century BCE to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12-18), he left the Israelites for forty days and forty nights. The Israelites became restless and fearful in his absence. Turning away from God, and led by Moses’ brother Aaron, they directed their devotion to worshiping the Golden Calf. It was immediate, provided simple answers, and required no thinking. An early cult.
There are of course more contemporary examples, where people become fearful, want immediate and simple answers to life’s big issues and problems. They stop thinking. Their critical faculties decline and they surrender to the simple but phony propaganda of cultic leaders. And they are usually supported by far-right movements with strong racial supremacy.
Turning fantasy and fiction into accepted truths
Quite often the line between conventional religion and a cult is not so clearly defined. Cults are exclusive, highly secretive, and authoritarian. Some cults even proclaim Christianity but bear no resemblance to anything truly and authentically Christian. There are also political cults, which attract and control because they act like captivating religions, whose only demands are obedience and unquestioned loyalty.
A typical cult has a somewhat theatrical and unaccountable leader, who persuades by coercion and exploits the cult’s members economically, sexually, or in some other way. Cult leaders shun and ostracize people who don’t accept the cult’s exclusive claims to truth. When it comes to truth, cult leaders gradually turn fantasy and fiction into accepted truths by continually repeating false statements in rhetoric, propaganda, and the media. Cult leaders are false prophets.
The features and signs cultic development
The American psychiatrist, Robert Jay Lifton (b. 1926), known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of political violence, delineates these three common features of destructive cults:
(1) A living leader, who has no meaningful accountability and who becomes the single most defining element of the group and its source of power and authority.
(2) A process of indoctrination, persuasion or thought reform, commonly called “brainwashing.” In this process, members of the group often do things that are not in their own best interest, but in the best interest of the group and its leader.
(3) Economic, sexual, social, and political exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie.
The warning signs of cultic development are clear:
We all need to be alert to cultic leaders and groups. They are unhealthy and pernicious. We need to have the courage to speak out. They thrive on fear and fear of social change; and they take advantage of people by controlling information and promoting fear. In the process, they support a very unhealthy kind of religion.
John Alonso Dick is an historical theologian and former academic dean at the American College, KU Leuven (Belgium) and professor at the KU Leuven and the University of Ghent. His latest book is Jean Jadot: Paul’s Man in Washington (Another Voice Publications, 2021).
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of La Croix International)
Read more at: https://international.la-croix.com/news/culture/beware-of-cultic-leaders-and-groups/18649>
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The Best Kind of Witnesses are Dead Witnesses
would seem to be the Legion of Christ’s motto and method
They have left it to the last moment to attempt outreach and compensation to the victims. And only to the victims who will accept compensation on their terms. Those “bad” victims will not be rewarded for their “stubbornness” – or would that be “the strength of their convictions”?
Some of us got together several years ago in Mexico.
I am aware that the below is an extremely poor testimony to the victims, who spent their lives and money seeking truth and justice -and received very little in return!
Paul Lennon
These are some of the men, a few of whom victims, who fought for decades against Vatican and Legion of Christ Silence regarding the Founder’s disreputable life. González-Parga and Lennon were ordained priests in the Legion; the others left disillusioned in the 1960s as seminarians.
(From right)
Carlos de la Isla, from Mexico, one of the first junior seminarians, apostólicos, recruited by Maciel and who began his studies in Mexico City in the 1940s. Carlos and his two brothers joined the Legion as children. It is a fact that one of Carlos’ brothers was sexually abused by Maciel. The father traveled to Mexico City from the heartland to confront the founder. Maciel, as on many other occasions, found a way to deny, placate and slip away from trouble. From that moment on, someone in the Legion knew about his evil inclinations. But the Great Catholic Houdini would always find a way out of any tight spot and come out smelling like a rose.
Arturo Jurado, early legionary, victim and witness, was one of those unfortunate seminarians who was manipulated by Maciel into finding drugs for his father beyond reproach in Spain and Rome. He left the Legion in the 1960s after being held in seclusion and silenced by Maciel for years, and made a good living for himself as Spanish language teacher and interpreter in California. On discovering that he has much in common with José Barba, he joined forces with José Barba. He spent years paying his way to Rome with José to request Vatican intervention regarding Maciel’s sexual abuse of his seminarians and many other irregularities.
José Barba-Martín, PhD Harvard in Philology, professor emeritus, ITAM, Mexico City where he held the chair of Political and Social Institutions. He of the prodigious memory, spear-headed the accusers cause, aided by Jurado. Their decades-long saga, after meeting with denial, stone-walling and minimization, finally bore fruit in 2006 when Vatican and Pope Benedict accepted their accusations, made no apology to them, gave Maciel a slap on the wrist and ordered him to a life of Penance and Prayer; to which unrepentant Maciel paid no attention, continuing to live with his paramour and daughter and traveling wherever he wanted by private plane.
(John) Paul Lennon, believer, friend and supporter of Maciel’s victims; like Domínguez not a victim of sexual abuse. Joined the Legion of Christ in Dublin, Ireland, at the age of seventeen, considered Irish co-founder by Maciel, ordained to the priesthood in Rome, together with eleven others (among which Bishop Brian Farrell and Cardinal Fernando Vérgez), on the 25th anniversary of Fr. Maciel’s priestly ordination, 26th November 1969. Left Legion in 1984 -before he every heard of abuse- and since then has been a critic of Maciel’s foundation. He was sued for his troubles by the Legion of Christ in the City of Alexandria, VA, USA in August 2007. One lawyer commented: “Mr. Lennon, you have made some very rich people very angry!”
Francisco González-Parga, known in the Legion as Padre Parga, passed away this year in Guadalajara, Mexico, mourned by his wife, Esther. Francisco was one of Maciel’s sexual abuse victims; an enslavement which began in puberty and lasted into his twenties. He was not one of the original group of accusers but came forward in 2005 when Vatican prosecutor, then Monsignor, Charles Scicluna carried out the first thorough Vatican investigation into Maciel’s sexual abuse of his seminarians in Mexico City. By this time Maciel was 85 and the victims in their sixties. Remember that Maciel founded the Legion in 1941, when he was a 21-year old untrained seminarian, and began sexually abusing the 10 and 11-year-olds under his “pastoral care.”
Maciel’s sexual preference was pubertal males. In some cases, if he found them especially attractive he would continue the relationship into the victims’ twenties. Each older victim believed he was the only object of Maciel’s attention… As Maciel “matured” he sexually abused boys who were not his seminarians, later seducing younger, vulnerable females. It would seem he never had an equal-to-equal relationship in his life. All his relationships were controlling, manipulative and exploitative. (See the author’s Breaking Bad article on this page)
(Seated)
Saul Barrales-Arellano, R.I.P., known to his companions as Brother Charity. An extremely kind and helpful person. The story goes that Saul would lay down at night outside Maciel’s bedroom in Rome, Via Aurelia 677, to prevent others from entering and being victimized. Because he once demonstrated a lack of unconditional support for Maciel, the Saint stopped his ordination as a priest, sending him instead into exile on the Canary Islands where he languished alone for months. He finally got help from his family in Mexico to fly home. He was a headmaster at a Mexico City school and is survived by his dear Tere.
A Little addendum:
Don Alejandro Espinosa-Alcalá with Aura and Paul Lennon on one of our trips to Mexico. Alejandro is a very active original witness to Maciel’s sexual abuse , and has written about it in El Legionario (2006, edit. Grijalbo, Mexico) and El Ilusionista Marcial Maciel, of which I treasure his dedication. Like other survivors, Alejandro has lived in relative, and sometimes abject, poverty since leaving the Legion half a century ago. It seems that at the eleventh hour Fr. John Connor, Maciel’s successor, has been trying to save face by awarding “Easter Eggs” of ten thousand dollars to the victims, assisting them in their old age, and/or paying for their funerals.
I had mistakenly pointed out Federico Domínguez in the photo. He is not in the photo, but everything that was said of him is true. At one point, Maciel sent him and some other seminarians to Dublin, Ireland, to study at the prestigious Maynooth College. After some time, Federico became disenchanted with the whole Legion project, left the seminary and married a lovely Irish girl, and “they lived happily ever after” in the USA.
Federico Domínguez, R.I.P., one of Maciel’s writers, circa 1955 he reported to Church authorities in Rome regarding some of Maciel’s questionable behaviors; thus provoking the first major Vatican investigation into the founder and his order, 1956-59; Maciel was exiled for two years, but with the help of allies in the Curia (Pizzardo & Co.), was able to return and consolidate his power and control. About this time Maciel conceived the Private Vows (see Berry & Renner’s Vows of Silence), one of which was the “snitching vow” whereby “Never to criticize the person or actions of the superior, and to inform on anyone who does so.” This vow was apparently abolished by the later Vatican investigation around 2010, the spirit may still prevail among die-hard Legion and Regnum Christi members.
