Legionaries of Christ say sorry for founder Maciel

THE general secretary of Mexico’s Legionaries of Christ asked for forgiveness from the people who were harmed by the “immoral actions” of the order’s founder, Father Marcial Maciel.

“We ask forgiveness because we are sincerely sorry for what the church and people have suffered,” Father Evaristo Sada told an audience during the Youth and Family Encounter in the Mexican capital Feb. 20.

The comments were the most recent in an effort by the order to overcome allegations of sexual abuse of young seminarians by Father Maciel and the subsequent revelation that the Mexican priest fathered at least one child.

Father Maciel died Jan. 30, 2008, at the age of 87. In May 2006 after its own investigation, the Vatican decided against conducting a canonical trial, but ordered the then-frail Father Maciel to withdraw to a life of prayer and penance.

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