“Shaw carefully maps how malignant narcissists develop and preserve their delusions of omnipotence by subjugating others, illuminating their developmental pathways and their destructive enactments in parenting, family life, and leadership.”
My friend and fellow former LC, Juan José Vaca, mentioned the term Malignant Narcissist to me many moons ago relating it to Maciel; so I cannot claim to be the first to apply it to Maciel…
Psychologist Daniel Shaw is the one who has helped me understand and put into words who Marcial Maciel, Founder of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi Movement, was and how he operated; even how he became such a destructive subjugating being.
With his grounding in psychoanalysis and decades of healing victims Shaw has delved into the inner workings of the guru under whose spell he fell, fleshing out the Malignant Narcissist and bringing it to the attention of his colleagues and to the general public. I am one of the many who admire the analysis, ethnics and tact he brings to his practice and writings. Many who work in the field of coercive persuasion in groups and relationships feel indebted to this quiet, gentle colleague with the deeply penetrating mind and articulate delivery.
I have no qualms about recommending him to our readers: they can find some of his explanations on YouTube free of charge.
Here is an intro from the Routledge Publisher’s presentation to his 2026 edition:
Routledge Introductions to Contemporary Psychoanalysis
“Daniel Shaw’s work on traumatic narcissism is a gift to all of us who care about our own and others’ mental health. Therapists, counselors, educators, and people who have been on the receiving end of the dynamics he describes will appreciate Shaw’s unwavering determination to understand destructive narcissistic processes as he casts a psychoanalytic searchlight on a notoriously dark human space. Those of us who have worked with clients suffering narcissistic abuse often feel painfully inadequate as we witness the relentless damage to their self-esteem and even their sense of reality. This beautifully written book is the antidote to that sense of helplessness. I intend to recommend it to all my colleagues as well as some of my patients.”
– Nancy McWilliams, PhD, ABPP, Visiting Professor Emerita, Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology.
“In his penetrating and timely study, Daniel Shaw offers a compelling and urgently needed psychoanalytic account of traumatizing narcissism – one that speaks with equal power to clinicians and general readers. Drawing on his unique personal experience as a former cult member, together with decades of clinical practice and a deep command of psychoanalytic theory, Shaw brings unmatched authority to a subject that devastates so many lives.
This book is a tour de force, extending beyond traditional diagnostic categories to formulate an original Traumatic Narcissism Theory. Shaw carefully maps how malignant narcissists develop and preserve their delusions of omnipotence by subjugating others, illuminating their developmental pathways and their destructive enactments in parenting, family life, and leadership. He ranges widely – through history, biography, literature, mythology, and even scripture – yet writes with clarity and elegance that make his insights accessible. The result is a work of both breadth and depth, offering survivors a path to reclaim dignity and freedom.”
Kenneth Frank, Author,Psychoanalytic Participation: Action, Interaction, and Integration.
I wrote Traumatic Narcissism Theory: A Contemporary Introduction, for people who have been traumatized in a family, a relationship or a group where a traumatizing narcissist exerted coercive control – and also for mental health professionals, many of whom are not familiar with the dynamics of narcissistic abuse.
In just about 100 pages the new book details:
– How to recognize the symptoms of subjugation trauma – the impact of coercive control and narcissistic abuse;
– How to identify the 8 behaviors of the traumatizing narcissist that can cause subjugation trauma in victims;
– How to understand the psychology of the traumatizing narcissist and the developmental conditions that form the traumatizing narcissist’s personality;
– How to understand and heal the self-alienation and fragmentation that can be the result of narcissistic abuse.
I hope that this book will be a resource for clinicians working with victims of narcissistic abuse, for those conducting psychoanalytic and trauma training programs, and for the wider public interested in the impact of narcissistic abuse and exploitation.>
Marcial Maciel Degollado LC (March 10, 1920 – January 30, 2008) was a Mexican Catholic priest and sex offender. Maciel founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was general director of the Legion from 1941 to 2005. Throughout most of his career, he was respected within the church as “the greatest fundraiser of the modern Roman Catholic church” and as a prolific recruiter of new seminarians.[1]
Trying to keep up to date with information sources re Marcial Maciel
Marcial Maciel DegolladoLC (March 10, 1920 – January 30, 2008) was a Mexican Catholicpriest and sex offender. Maciel founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was general director of the Legion from 1941 to 2005. Throughout most of his career, he was respected within the church as “the greatest fundraiser of the modern Roman Catholic church” and as a prolific recruiter of new seminarians.[1]
Quick facts The ReverendMarcial Maciel LC, Church …
Late in his life, Maciel was revealed to have been a longtime drug addict who sexually abused at least 60 boys and young men in his care. After his death, it came to light that he had also maintained sexual relationships with at least four women, one of whom was a minor at the time. He fathered as many as six children, two of whom he is alleged to have sexually abused.[2][3][4]
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI removed Maciel from active ministry, based on the results of an investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in April 2005. Maciel was ordered “to conduct a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing every public ministry”.[3][5][6] He died in 2008. On March 25, 2010, a communiqué on the Legion’s website acknowledged as factual the “reprehensible actions” by Maciel, including sexual abuse of minor seminarians.[7] In May 2010, the Vatican denounced Maciel’s actions and appointed a Papal Delegate to oversee the order and its governance.
Early life and training
Maciel was born in Cotija, Michoacán, Mexico, the youngest boy of nine children, to a family with connections within the Catholic Church in Mexico. Numerous relatives were priests, and four of his uncles were bishops. He had a troubled youth. His uncle molested him.[8] His father ridiculed him and encouraged his brothers to whip him. He sent the boy to work in the sugar fields to toughen him up, and years later Maciel told one of his own victims that mule drivers on his father’s ranch had sexually abused him.[9][10]
Maciel was the grand-nephew of Bishop Rafael Guízar y Valencia, who was canonized in 2007. There has been speculation that Maciel’s scandalous conduct at age 18 contributed to Guizar’s fatal heart attack. According to an investigative report:
The day before Bishop Guizar died, he had been heard shouting angrily at Marcial Maciel. He was giving his eighteen-year-old nephew a dressing down after two women had come to the bishop’s house to complain about Maciel, who was their neighbor. Father Orozco, who was among the original group of boys to found the Legion of Christ in 1941, said he heard the women had complained about the “noise” Maciel was making with children he had brought into his home to teach religion. He said that the seminary officials blamed Maciel for his uncle’s heart attack.[11]
Maciel was expelled from two seminaries for reasons that have never been revealed, and became a priest only after one of his bishop uncles ordained him after private studies,[12] on November 26, 1944, in Mexico City. The ordination was filmed and used in later years for publicity.[10]
In 1941, Maciel founded the Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic religious congregation of pontifical right, with the support of Francisco González Arias, Bishop of Cuernavaca. From the beginning, he served as its general director. In 1959 Maciel founded its lay arm Regnum Christi.[13] All Legionaries were compelled “to take private vows, never to speak ill of Maciel or any superiors, and to report to their superiors anyone who did”, facilitating a “cult of personality” according to Jason Berry.[14] In Regnum Christi discussion groups, followers studied Maciel’s letters.[10]
Maciel wrote extensively on the formation of priests and other matters pertaining to Church governance. His main stated purpose for the Legion of Christ was to form and motivate enterprising lay members of the Catholic Church to take an active part in the Church’s mission, in particular the members of Regnum Christi.
Through the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi, Maciel started many schools, a network of universities, and numerous charitable institutes.[15]
Earlier relations with the Vatican
Until his misdeeds became public, Maciel was well-regarded by the Papal See. He accompanied Pope John Paul II on his visits to Mexico in 1979, 1990, and 1993, and was appointed by the Pope to the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Formation of Priests in Circumstances of the Present Day (1990). He was a member of the Interdicasterial Commission for a Just Distribution of Clergy (1991), the Fourth General Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) (1992), the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Consecrated Life and Its Role in the Church and in the World (1994), the Synod of Bishops’ Special Assembly for America (1997) and (since 1994) as a permanent consultant to the Congregation for the Clergy. The golden anniversary of his priestly ordination was celebrated on 26 November 1994, with 57 Legionary priests ordained the day prior. Maciel served as Chancellor of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, which is based in Rome.
Maciel collaborated extensively with Pope John Paul II, in person and through his subordinates in the Legion of Christ. The pope admired Maciel for strictly adhering to the magisterium and the vocations to the Legion of Christ. Maciel received many donations from Mexico’s richest families,[16] much of which Maciel and the Legion passed on to the Vatican over many years.
When Pope Pius XII‘s archives were opened to the public in 2024, documents were found showing Maciel was protected by Giuseppe Pizzardo, the then No. 2 of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from a judgement proposed by Giovanni Battista Scapinelli [de; it; no]. A 1956 draft of the memo describes a measure originally requiring Maciel to cease any contact with his students and attend treatment for his morphine addiction, or be suspended a divinis. By October 2, 1956, the measure was edited to remove the prohibition against contact with seminarians, and later documents say further action against Maciel was superseded by “recommendations and interventions by high-ranking personalities”.[17 et
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.
A small qualitative study would seem to indicate that the effect of contact with Legion of Christ and Regnum Christ had a negative effect on their cradle/original l, pre-contact faith
A presentation at International Cultic Studies Association conference in Enfield, CT, Usa may have been the straw the broke the camel´s back. Because before and after this event the Legion of Christ Catholic Religious Congregation may have had other reasons to sue me, to suppress me, to silence me and to threaten this stubborn little Irishman.
THE LEGION OF CHRIST SUED ME BECAUSE OF THIS ARTICLE
By J. Paul Lennon, MA Theology, MA Psychology, LPC, Active member International Cultic Studies Association.
Paul Lennon embraced by Father Maciel, Founder of Legion of Christ, on his ordination on November 26, 1969
I believe the article identified below could have incited Father Maciel´s ire and consequently that of his accomplices. One of whom would have been the U.S. Legion of Christ´s Fr. Peter Hopkins, LC. Who signed the lawsuit against me. He has never apologized for putting me through six months of mental anguish. Irish unconditional Fr. Owen Kearns LC, my compatriot, did, sometime later, send a pathetic apology on a piece of plain paper without any Legion letterhead – so as not to imply any official Legion wrongdoing.
The lawsuit was filed by a very powerful and expensive law firm in Atlanta, GA, aided by a local law firm registered in Alexandria, VA.
The suit was covered by in the Washington Post of that time:
<Outspoken Ex-Priest Sued Over Documents
Catholic Order Says Material Stolen, Misused
September 5, 2007
By Daniela Deane
Former priest John Paul Lennon says the Legion of Christ is a dangerous and ultra-secretive cult that still idolizes its founder even though the spiritual leader was sanctioned by the Vatican after years of sexual abuse allegations.
The Legion accuses the Alexandria man of distributing stolen property and “malicious disinformation” about a fast-growing Roman Catholic Church order with tens of thousands of followers worldwide.
The argument is unfolding in Alexandria Circuit Court in a lawsuit the Legion filed last month that seeks to block Lennon, a Legion member for 23 years, from disseminating on a Web site letters and documents it says are the order’s private property and intended only for internal use.
Some internal documents chronicle the conservative group’s strict rules of conduct, including directives on how a legionary, as the order’s members are known, must butter his bread, part his hair or sit in a chair. The documents also include the group’s “private vows,” which say that members must never criticize the order and must report anyone who does.
Under a recent court order, Lennon must turn over any Legion property by Sept. 14, including documents, computer disks and CDs.
Besides Lennon, the Legion is suing Regain Inc., the corporation that owns http://www.regainnetwork.org, a Web site critical of the Legion. Lennon is its president. Other former Legion members and relatives and friends of former Legion members are involved in the corporation and the Web site, Lennon said.
Lennon, 63, a child and family therapist in Arlington, recently found a lawyer to represent him in the suit, which he said came out of the blue. He said the deep-pocketed order, which he left more than 20 years ago because he had grown disillusioned, is trying to silence former members and teach him a lesson.
“They’re also trying to scare anybody else who would dare to share these documents with the public,” he said. “It’s the Alexandria witch hunt instead of the Salem witch hunt. It’s like a 21st-century Inquisition.”
Jim Fair, a Chicago-based spokesman for the order, couldn’t disagree more.
“Regain has some materials that belong to the Legion and that they are using,” he said. “They were not granted use of them, and we’d like them to stop doing that.” Attorneys for the order declined to comment.
In the lawsuit, the Legion is also asking for the identities of individuals writing on the Regain site and on a Web discussion board, http://www.exlegionaries.com, that was once affiliated with it. Regain severed ties with the discussion board this year after pressure from the Legion, Lennon said.
Many of the documents at issue are private letters written by the group’s founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado. Some of the letters have been posted on the site and the discussion board.
Last year, Pope Benedict XVI took disciplinary action against Maciel after a long, on-again, off-again investigation into allegations of sexual abuse. Maciel is no longer supposed to celebrate Mass in public, give lectures or make other public presentations.
Maciel, 87, is the founder and patriarch of the Legion of Christ, a worldwide order of more than 750 priests and 2,500 seminarians, and of Regnum Christi, an affiliated movement of lay people that claims 70,000 members around the world. The U.S. headquarters for the order is in Connecticut.
Both groups are built around the aging priest’s “charism,” a church term for exceptional gifts and mission. Maciel, who was close to Pope John Paul II and is venerated by many Catholics, stepped down as head of the Legion after last year’s papal sanction. He then left Rome and moved to his hometown of Cotija, Mexico.
Complaints of sexual abuse against Maciel came to light in the 1990s, when nine former members of the Legion, including several priests, alleged that Maciel had molested them when they were young seminarians, from the 1940s into the 1960s.
The National Catholic Reporter newspaper, citing Vatican sources, reported last year that the number of accusers who had come forward was “more than 20, but less than 100.” Lennon said the number of victims is much greater than 100.
Lennon said turning over any documents he has would not stop them from being circulated. He denies that any were obtained illegally.
“They have lots and lots of money,” Lennon said of the Legion. “I don’t have any. The idea is to drag this on in such a way that it will bleed us to death.” Lennon is soliciting donations for his legal defense on the site.
Jason Berry, who co-wrote a 2004 book and produced a forthcoming documentary film about the Maciel case, both titled “Vows of Silence,” called the group’s founder “arguably the greatest fundraiser in the history of the modern church.” He’s also “one of the worst pedophiles in the history of the church,” Berry said.
On the two Web sites, former members of the order discuss the sexual abuse allegations that drove Maciel out of Rome. But Lennon said most members of the order would not even be aware of the allegations.
“They can only watch certain television programs, they don’t have radios and they can’t use the phone without permission from their superiors,” he said. He added that phone calls are monitored.
“The Legion of Christ is trying to shut down Regain, which is a clearinghouse for information on what the Legion is really about,” Berry said. “It shows the group’s extraordinary hubris in thinking they can crush an opponent by trampling on the First Amendment.”
Staff writer Alan Cooperman contributed to this report.>
Aspects of Concern regarding the Legion of Christ was originally presented at the American Family Foundation (AFF) Conference, Enfield, CT, October 18, 2003. Because of I.C.S.A. copyright and Legion of Christ mug order as part of the civil case settlement the content of the article cannot be reproduced here.
A link to I.C.S.A´s archives for the full text is hereby provided:
Let it be noted that Father Owen Kearns LC, accompanied by a lawyer said to represent the interests of the Legion of Christ, approached then executive director of I.C.S.A., Michael Langone, PhD, and attempted to persuade him not to allow Juan Jose Vaca and Lennon from presenting their papers at the I.C.S.A. conference. Dr. Langone listened patiently to their reasons. They also invited Dr. Langone to visit the nearby Legion of Christ seminary so he could see for himself there was nothing cultic about the order. Dr. Langone, accompanied by Catholic cult expert Father James LeBarr, visited the Legion facility and observed the building, the atmosphere and the seminarians. Despite these efforts Dr. Langone decided to allow us to speak. He later published some reflections on the Legion of Christ:
The Aspects of the Concern in the Legion of Christ article, suppressed by the Legion lawsuit among other draconian measures, survived the purge because it was published by the International Cultic Studies Association, a prestigious professional organization in the cultic studies field. As the author had presented it at one of the association’s annual conferences, the article gained prestige and a life of its own in the I.C.S.A. archives:
The “controversial document” can be found on the International Cultic Studies website:
Today Lennon comments regarding his original article: Although the Legion of Christ constitutions may have been altered by early twenty-first century Vatican interventions, one can hold that they are essentially the same as the originals quoted in Aspects of Concern…. Note that Father Maciel and his accomplices frequently “played loosely with the truth” and could supply Vatican authorities with an appropriate version of the constitutions and rules. Besides, many of the issues raised in the article do not pertain directly to the official constitutions of the organization which has since morphed into Regnum Christi Federation or been absorbed into this broader organizational framework to distance itself from the amoral founder. Aspects of concern focus on the multiple other private or personal rules and regulations -unknown or unmonitored by Vatican authorities- that members must follow, which are beyond the scope of the constitutions, vows and official rules. Perhaps because Lennon´s article dared to reveal these “hidden rules” that bind and control members in overt and subtle ways, Legion leadership felt it necessary to take such drastic action as to sue a former member in Alexandria City, Virginia`s Civil Court whereby he and his organization would be considered guilty until proven innocent.
Some other books by John Paul Lennon, aka J.Paul Lennon, published on Amazon
-Fr. Marcial Maciel Pedophile, Psychopath and Legion of Christ Founder: From R.J. Neuhaus to Benedict XVI
-A Naïve and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of Christ: Surviving and Thriving after knowing Pedophile Psychopath Founder Fr. Marcial Maciel
-Catholic Orders and Movements accused of being Cult-like: Intra-Ecclesial Sects? (Harmful Groups)
-Perdí mi Fe Católica a causa del Regnum Christi: ¿Dejarla o recuperarla?
