Thursday, March 4, 2010

Did Fr. Marcial Maciel's "son" ask for $26,000,000?

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El Universal (mainstream newspaper in Mexico) today, at 10:21 AM, Mexico City time, quotes the Legionaries of Christ as saying that Raul Gonzalez - who yesterday claimed on CNN's Aristegui TV and radio show that his alleged father, Marcial Maciel, abused him - asked for a payment of $26,000,000 to ensure his silence. It's probably not a coincidence that the show aired while the Legion's Director General, Fr. Alvaro Corcuera is visiting Mexico. Today, according to ReligionenLibertad, CNN rebroadcast the interview to all of Latin America.

Here is the gist of the El Universal report:
The Legionaries of Christ responded to allegations by Jose Raul, Christian Lara and Omar Gonzalez, alleged children of the congregation's founder, Marcial Maciel, who claimed to have been sexually abused during childhood on a radio program in Mexico.

The congregation published a letter written by Fr. Carlos Skertchly to Carlos Raul Gonzalez Lara on January 12, 2010, in which he says that Raul demanded up to 26 million in compensation in order for him no to reveal "the truth".

The letter (see original Spanish version on LC site) notes that the congregation rejected the request and prefers to deal with the truth, however painful it may be.

In their statement, the Legionaries said they were unaware of this latest situation involving their founder, and expressed sympathy for "the difficult circumstances the Gonzalez Lara family members are going through".


To be continued....

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How could the men at the top of the Legion not have noticed?

Anonymous said...

Monk, I vaguely remember you from the Legion, with Brian S. , John D. Fintan L . et al.
I feel for our colleague who have spent all their young and now old lives following the illusion of Maciel
What can we do tho help and support them and many like them who believed in his santity ?
These are the forgotten and overlooked victims who need moral and emotional support.
We did'nt see, and neither did they, and they are still our brothers
Any suggestions anyone ????

Anonymous said...

Well, I was in the Legion for 7 years, and untill now I was´nt really affected by all the bad news. Its almost 10 years since I´ve left. But you´ve got a good point. For me it is becoming every time more clearer that some psychological problems are due to my life there. But I was never abused or whatsoever. But the people that were and are there, and then I mean the inoccent,- I am sure most of my brothers in the Legion- these people are co-victims. I really hope that the can cope with the black hole in their lifes. For me, only God can relieve the pain for real.

Anonymous said...

Is there a reason you have the word son in quotation marks?
Sarcastic.