Why did the Popes cover-up for a known pedophile?
On this page you
can see conciliar Popes giving all possible support to a notorious
pedophile priest, Fr. Marcial Maciel Degolado, the founder of the
Legionaries of Christ.
The excuse that “they didn't know” is hard to believe, principally because in 1997 eight ex-members of the Legionaries wrote an open letter to the Pope reporting the sexual abuses they had suffered when they were minors. They complained that they had already reported those abuses to the Hierarchy without any answer. Among those who ignored these victims was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. No measures were taken. (Document in Spanish here)
The excuse that “they didn't know” is hard to believe, principally because in 1997 eight ex-members of the Legionaries wrote an open letter to the Pope reporting the sexual abuses they had suffered when they were minors. They complained that they had already reported those abuses to the Hierarchy without any answer. Among those who ignored these victims was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. No measures were taken. (Document in Spanish here)
La Prensa online gives more details putting to rest the idea that the Holy See was not informed. Its online edition reads [our translation from Spanish]:
"Documents from the archives of the then Congregation for the Religious show how a succession of Popes – including John XXIII who will be canonized next Sunday – simply disregarded credible reports that Maciel was a scam, drug addict, pedophile and fraudulent religious.
"Since 1948, seven years after Maciel founded his order, the Holy See had documents of Vatican officials, Bishops from Mexico and Spain questioning the legitimacy of Maciel's order, particularly the legality of its foundation, and warning against his "totalitarian" behavior and the spiritual violations of his young seminarians.
"The documents show that the Holy See was well informed of Maciel's drug abuse, sexual abuses and financial irregularities since 1956, when it ordered an initial investigation and suspended him for two years to receive treatment for his heroin addiction.
"However, ... Rome preferred to overlook these serious matters. In 1994, John Paul II said that Maciel was an 'efficacious guide for the youth,' and he was not alone. His principal assistants were some of the most ferocious defenders of the Legionary leader, convinced that the accusations were 'calumnies' hurled against the greatest of saints." (La Prensa, April 21, 2014)
Only in 2006, did the Holy See invite Maciel to lead a reserved life and not engage in any public ministry.
With these data at hand, we leave to the reader to conclude why the conciliar Popes allowed the snake to flourish and harm the multiple victims that it did.
