Marcial Maciel exprimió a su principal benefactora y luego la "botó"

SDP Noticias

05 de Febrero, 2009 - 10:52 — Ciudad de México

La hija de Flora Barragán de Garza principal benefactora de Los legionarios de Cristo habla de como el padre logró sacarle más de 50 millones de dólares

Doña Flora Barrgán de Garza.

Flora Garza Barragán hija de Flora Barrgán, primera benefacora de La legión de Cristo, en entrevista en el noticiario radiofónico de Carmen Aristegui platicó de como el fundador de Los legionarios de Cristo, se fue apoderando de la fortuna y voluntad de si madre.

Esto comenzó, comenta, cuando su padre murió y le dejo a su madre una inmensa fortuna haciéndola una de las mujeres más ricas de México. De esa fortuna se tendría que destinar 10 millones de pesos para la construcción para un hospital para el tratamiento de tuberculosis.

Esos diez millones en lugar de ser ocupados para construir dicho hospital se edificó el Instituto Cumbres, primera gran sede de la congregación, y en donde posteriormente se llevarían a cabo actos de violación de menores. Finalmente terminó donando a la orden más de 50 millones de dólares.

Detalló también cómo durante muchos años mantuvieron a su mamá ocupada para evitar que ella llegase a conocer a algún hombre u otra persona que pudiera alejarla de la orden.

Lo califica como un hombre muy astuto al grado tal de envolver a su madre y a otras personas de alta alcurnia de Monterrey y volverlas fanáticas de catolicismo, entre esos personaje que contactó con el padre estaban, Maria Luisa Noriega, Roberto Garza Sada, Guillermo Zambrano, los Zambrano León entre otros.

Platicó también de como Marcial Maciel llegaba a pasar varios días en la casa de ellas acompañado generalmente por dos seminaristas y de como el se drogaba con unas pastillas de las que hoy se sabe que era Dolantina a la que era adicto y que incluso llegó a otorgarle a su madre.

Con profunda amargura contó como en los últimos 12 años de vida de Flora Barragán el cura prácticamente se olvidó de ella, esto debido a que ya su fortuna se había agotado en donaciones a La Legión.

Su madre le pedía diariamente que se lo comunicara y ella al intentar buscarle, Marcial Maciel se negaba, esto siguió prácticamente hasta el ultimo día de su vida y el sacerdote jamás se apareció ni contesto siquiera las llamadas.

Abolition of Legionaries should be on the table: by John Allen for NCR

Baltimore archbishop welcomes Vatican probe of Maciel's order

Apr. 03, 2009

By John L Allen Jr

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien and Cardinal William H. Keeler at an April 2 prayer service. (CNS)

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the Legionaries of Christ among the American bishops. In an interview with NCR in June 2008, O'Brien voiced frustration about what he saw as a lack of transparency and said he had decided to ask the Legionaries and their lay arm, Regnum Christi, to withdraw from his archdiocese, but stayed his hand at the request of the Vatican. He asked the Legionaries to provide a full accounting of all their activities in the archdiocese.

In February, O'Brien told his archdiocesan newspaper that in the wake of an admission by the Legionaries that their founder, Mexican Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, had engaged in grave misconduct, including fathering a child out of wedlock, the order must offer "full disclosure of [Maciel's] activities and those who are complicit in them, or knew of them, and of those who are still refusing to offer disclosure," adding that the finances of the order should also be opened to "objective scrutiny." Those comments came after O'Brien met in Rome with Maciel's successor as the superior of the Legionaries, Fr. Alvaro Corcuera.

O'Brien, who is generally considered a theological conservative, said in February that his objection to the Legionaries has nothing to do with their reputation for doctrinal orthodoxy and loyalty to the papacy. Instead, he said, the issue is "respect for human dignity for each of its members."

On March 29, the Legionaries revealed that the Vatican has decided to conduct an apostolic visitation of the embattled order. In his first interview since that announcement, O'Brien outlined his perspective on the investigation. He brings personal experience to the subject, since O'Brien was tapped by the Vatican to coordinate a wide-ranging visitation of American seminaries and religious houses of formation in 2005 and 2006.

O'Brien spoke to NCR by phone April 3.

Are you encouraged by the Vatican's decision to launch an apostolic visitation?

I certainly am. I think it settles a lot of people's concerns that nothing was going to be done. It remains to be seen how this visitation will shape up, how deep they will go into the whole matter of the Legionaries and Regnum Christi. I would think that this is a one-shot thing, that we'll have one swing at this, and I hope that it answers the questions and responds to the doubts that so many people have raised.

You've run an Apostolic Visitation. What does it take to get it right?

First of all, it takes some trust on the part of the institution that's being reviewed. That means cooperation, full cooperation, including opening all the books and providing all the background that's required to get a full picture.

Are you confident the Legionaries are ready to cooperate?

I hope so. I'll put it that way: I really do hope so. It depends on so many individuals being open, because it just takes a few to try to block it and to mislead. I hope that the Legionaries will realize that in the long run, this is going to help them.

You're recently had talks in Rome with Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, the superior of the Legionaries. Are you confident he's ready to cooperate?

I can't say. I'm quite sure he would want to see this thing cleared up, and I hope he'll realize that the best way is to encourage everyone to cooperate.

What are the issues that the visitation should consider?

In the first place, they have to look at Maciel himself. What are the facts, who knew them, when did they know them, and why did it take so long for them to become public? They should look at the financial dimension. They also need to examine who the victims are, and what's being done to meet the needs of those victims.

Then, they need to look at the structure that Maciel created. There was a good deal of secrecy in his own life, and there's secrecy in the structures he created. It would be helpful to know why there is such secrecy. For example, why is there such an effort with their seminarians to limit their exposure to the real world out there? What are their recruiting strategies for vocations to the priesthood? How above board are they? What are the numbers involved, how many priests have been ordained and how many are still active in the priesthood with the Legionaries?

The Legionaries put out numbers. Are you suggesting they may be skewed?

I'm told that the numbers are hard to come by. We might have ordination numbers for this year and a total of those ordained, but I hear there's a large drop-out rate … that's the scuttlebutt, anyway. If so, it would help them to reveal that and to ask questions as to why. Does that reflect something in their formation? I don't know, but we should be asking the question.

What's the profile of the right kind of person to conduct this visitation?

It has to be clear that they're working directly for the Holy Father. They have to be convinced of that, and so do the members of the Legion. They should also have some status, so I think it would be helpful if bishops were involved. They should be as objective as possible. They should also have some experience with religious life, with the vows, formation, canonical structures and spirituality of religious life.

Do you believe that abolition of the Legionaries should be on the table?

I think everything should be on the table. Of course, the ultimate hope is that what is good [in the Legion] can be preserved, so that it grows into a stronger movement. That's what everyone would like to see. I have said before, however, that there may be something endemic in the whole thing that will not allow that to happen.

In your view, the visitators should not be afraid to recommend drastic steps?

Absolutely not. This is a solemn obligation they have. It's very serious. Souls are at stake, lives are at stake. I'm sure the Holy Father will let them know that every aspect should be investigated, including the Legion's accomplishments, areas that need to be improved, as well as areas that have to be excised.

You've been very public in your criticisms of the order. Why have you chosen to speak out?

I saw a lot of the Legion when I was in Rome, and I heard a lot about them back here in the States. When I came to Baltimore, I learned that [Cardinal William Keeler]had been dealing with them on a local basis for three or four years, asking for greater transparency, and basically got nowhere. Our priests were frustrated. When I told them that I would demand accountability and share the results with the priests' council, it got a very positive reception.

When word got out of what I was doing, I was surprised by the response. I've received some harshly negative reactions, but I've also had letters from all over the country saying 'Thank you, here's my story.' I got one just last week, from somebody who had been in the organization for seven years and left last week, saying how guilty they felt and that they're having nightmares. It seems to have such a hold on people, and we need to find out why. I don't know of any other organization that has created this atmosphere of suspicion. For their good, and for the good of the church, the full picture should be laid out.

I had no idea when this started that it would draw such a reception. I don't regret it, but it certainly wasn't planned. In the long run, I believe it will be helpful.

Apart from the details about Maciel, are their broader lessons for the church in what's happened with the Legionaries?

I think it begins with Maciel, with the cult of personality around him, the secrecy. The saints don't need that. We have many saints who are respected and looked up to in ways similar to how so many looked up to Maciel, but the saints don't have that fence around them, that mysterious following.

We can learn from this. So many have been devastated and misled, and it will be good to see how it all came about. It's a lesson about holiness in the church. There's also something to learn about transparency. Of course, there are some areas where the church has to conduct itself in the internal forum, to protect people's rights and consciences, but I do think that at the core of the Legionaries there's been an unnecessary and unhealthy secrecy.

Do you sense that a growing number of Legionaries and Regnum Christ members agree with you?

I think so. I've spoken to a couple of Legionary priests who say they're on the fence right now, wanting to see this thing clarified. They're good priests, they've gotten a lot out of the movement, but now so much of what nourished them seems to be less ideal than they thought it was.

It will be tough for them. I don't know of any religious orders founded by somebody like Maciel, or if they were, they didn't last very long. The Legion has managed to dig itself in pretty deep, and to spread broadly. I don't think it necessarily has to fold, because it has some elements that have contributed to people's holiness. If we can preserve that, we'll be better for it.

Godot Got Here. Vatican orders apostolic visitation of Legionaries of Christ

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has ordered an apostolic visitation of the institutions of the Legionaries of Christ following disclosures of sexual impropriety by the order's late founder, Father Marcial Maciel Degollado.

The announcement of the unusual investigation was posted on the Web site of the Legionaries of Christ March 31, along with the text of a letter informing the Legionaries of the pope's decision.

The letter, written by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the pope wanted to help the Legionaries of Christ deal with its present problems with "truth and transparency." It said the visitation would be carried out by "a team of prelates," who were not identified.

Apostolic visitation is a form of internal church investigation ordered by a pope and undertaken by his delegate or delegates. The pope sets the jurisdiction and powers of the visitation, which usually ends with the submission of a report to the Holy See.

In February, Legionaries of Christ officials in Rome disclosed that Father Maciel had fathered a child. Sources in Rome said the order was also looking into accusations of financial irregularities by Father Maciel.

In the past, Father Maciel had been accused of sexually abusing young seminarians in the order. After investigating those allegations, the Vatican in 2006 told Father Maciel to renounce public ministry as a priest and spend the rest of his life in prayer and penitence; the Vatican did not, however, confirm that sexual abuse had occurred.

Father Maciel died Jan. 30, 2008, at the age of 87.

Cardinal Bertone's one-page letter, dated March 10, was addressed to Father Alvaro Corcuera, director general of the Legionaries and its lay association, Regnum Christi.

"The Holy Father is aware of the noble ideals that inspire you and the fortitude and prayerful spirit with which you are facing the current vicissitudes, and he encourages you to continue seeking the good of the church and society by means of your own distinctive initiatives and institutions," the cardinal's letter said.

"In this regard, you can always count on the help of the Holy See, so that with truth and transparency, in a climate of fraternal and constructive dialogue, you will overcome the present difficulties. In this respect, the Holy Father has decided to carry out an apostolic visitation to the institutions of the Legionaries of Christ through a team of prelates," it said.

Details of the visitation were not made public in the announcement. Jim Fair, the order's U.S. spokesman, said the order knew little more than what the letter stated.

"We know they're going to be visiting. We'll cooperate and prepare. But all we know is what's on the site," Fair told
__________________
They lied before. Will they lie again?

Patience pays...

It seems that Godot is on his way.

Cassandra Strikes Again!

Pity, Cassandra that no one believed you

But then again you were lost from the start

Now we must suffer and sell our secrets

Bargain, playing smart, aching in our hearts

Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood

now the last day is dawning

Some of us wanted but none of us would

listen to words of warning

From the ABBA song, Cassandra

Read the complete article by Cassandra Jones on spero news here.

Legion of Christ delays explanation of Rev. Maciel

More than a month has passed since revelations that the Legion of Christ's founder, Rev. Marcial Maciel, may have fathered a child, the LC appears to delay a response due to an internal debate over its "charism." He is also accused of paedophilia.

More than a month has now passed since the February 3 revelation that Rev. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, fathered a daughter. The Legionaries immediately admitted it officially and claimed to be surprised at the discovery of inconsistencies in their founder’s life. But this was only a provisional response that avoided specifics out of concerns for privacy and suggested that a fuller accounting was being prepared. That fuller accounting is now delayed and the reasons why are emerging. Church officials must reconcile two divergent views on the question whether the Legionaries have a “charism” and a “mission” given to them by God and already acknowledged by the Church.

A promise of “materials to inform the Church and the public about all of this” was first made on February 13 by Rev. Owen Kearns, publisher of the Legionary National Catholic Register. Some inside the Legion and the Vatican expected these to be issued on February 24 and the Catholic News Agency was told so.

The statement could be expected to address specifics, at least in general terms: Was the daughter’s mother a “mistress” or was the child conceived in an act of statutory rape, another instance of Father Maciel’s pedophilia? Is there another child? Was money embezzled or misused? Is Father Maciel’s sexual abuse of his seminarians now officially admitted to? Will Father Maciel’s public accusers, whom the Legion calumniated for years, be acknowledged and apologized to? What are the consequences of Father Maciel’s sins on the life of his institute?

These questions are painful enough for the Legionaries to answer honestly, especially since for 12 years in public they only ever defended their Founder with untruth and evasion. But the statement would also begin to lay out for the order a path on which to continue in a post-scandal future and that will need the approval of Catholic Church authorities. The Church will not now allow the order to decide its future entirely on its own.

VATICAN: APOSTOLIC VISITATOR FOR THE LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST SOON

VATICANO: PRESTO VISITATORE APOSTOLICO PER LEGIONARI DI CRISTO (STAMPA)

(ASCA) - Citta' del Vaticano, 6 mar - A metterlo nero su bianco e' stato da ultimo, nella sua edizione odierna, il quotidiano argentino ''Clarin', uno dei piu' autorevoli di tutta l'America Latina: la Santa Sede starebbe per inviare un ''visitatore apostolico', ovvero un ispettore ufficiale, per valutare la situazione del movimento dei Legionari di Cristo, fondato da p. Marcial Maciel e tra la realta' piu' dinamiche e in crescita dell'intera Chiesa cattolica. P. Maciel, morto nel 2008 a 87 anni, era stato oggetto quando era ancora in vita, di numerose e fondate accuse di pedofilia, tanto che papa Benedetto XVI lo aveva condannato ad una vita di solitudine, preghiera e penitenza, senza pero' permettere che il processo canonico contro di lui giungesse a termine. Nelle ultime settimane, poi, e' giunta la notizia che p. Maciel avrebbe condotto per anni una doppia vita, con una figlia, ora 22enne, che vive in Spagna, frutto di una lunga relazione con una amante al cui mantenimento economico provvedeva lui stesso. Notizie che hanno scosso profondamente i Legionari (e il movimento laicale ad essi legato, Regnum Christi) mettendo in discussione il carisma del fondatore, centrale per l'identita' della congregazione. Un trauma cosi' forte che persino numerosi membri dei Legionari, soprattutto Oltreoceano, hanno invocato l'intervento della Santa Sede. Fra questi p. Thomas Berg, direttore del Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person in Usa, che in una lettera pubblica ha chiesto esplicitamente l'arrivo di un visitatore apostolico. ''I superiori dei Legionari hanno fallito, e fallito miseramente, nel rispondere adeguatamente a questa crisi'', scrive. In molti infatti fanno notare che i leader della Legione, i piu' stretti collaboratori di Maciel, non abbiano potuto rimanere all'oscuro di tutto per decenni. Di fronte alle indiscrezioni su un prossimo arrivo di un visitatore, fonti dei Legionari spiegano all'ASCA che ''si tratta di informazioni in cui non viene citata una fonte ufficiale''. Si tratta quindi di ''notizie vaghe, supposizioni o illazioni''. ''Alla luce di cio' - e' la conclusione - non abbiamo altro da aggiungere a quanto abbiamo detto in passato''. E che si tratti di un ''momento doloroso'' lo conferma anche il successore di p. Maciel alla guida dei Legionari, p. Alvaro Corcuera. ''Stiamo vivendo - ha scritto in una lettera ai membri del movimento dell'inizio di febbraio - momenti di dolore e sofferenza; e in questo dolore, un'esperienza dell'amore infinito di Dio che ci chiede di andare avanti con pace e bonta', poiche' l'unica cosa che vuole nelle nostre vite e' che sperimentiamo la felicita' di essere suoi figli''. Senza citare colpe o reati specifici di p. Maciel, Corcuera ammetteva pero' che ''e' anche vero che e' stato un uomo e questi temi che ci hanno ferito, sorpreso stanno gia' davanti al giudizio di Dio. E' vero che c'e' molto dolore e molta pena. Come in una famiglia, queste pene ci uniscono e ci portano a soffrire e gioire come un solo corpo. Questa circostanza che viviamo ci invita a vedere tutto con molta fede, umilta' e carita'. Cosi' la mettiamo nelle mani di Dio Nostro Signore, che ci insegna il cammino della misericordia infinita''. Di fronte allo smarrimento e alla confusione che regnano nelle centinaia di case e istituzioni dei Legionari in tutto il mondo, e in particolare nei seminari che riescono ancora a fornire alla Chiesa cattolica decine di preziose nuove vocazioni al sacerdozio, si ritiene probabile che la Santa Sede procedera' prima o poi ad una qualche riorganizzazione del movimento.

El Mercurio Reports Vatican Study for Intervention for the Legion of Christ

El Vaticano estudia intervenir Legionarios de Cristo

La posibilidad de llevar a cabo esta supervisión está siendo analizada por el prefecto de la Congregación para los Institutos de Vida Consagrada, el cardenal Franc Rodé, quien hasta ahora no ha autorizado su inicio.

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO.- Al comienzo era sólo un rumor, pero hoy ya es un tema debatido al interior de El Vaticano: Se está estudiando intervenir la congregación católica Legionarios de Cristo y así orientar su futuro en medio de una crisis interna.

Así lo da a conocer hoy el diario Clarín de Buenos Aires y la agencia mexicana Notimex que cita fuentes al interior de la Santa Sede: “El Vaticano estudia intervenir la orden con el nombramiento de un Visitador Apostólico a fin de salvar a los Legionarios de un final estrepitoso o de una disolución a mano de la Santa Sede”.

La posibilidad de llevar a cabo esta supervisión está siendo analizada por el prefecto de la Congregación para los Institutos de Vida Consagrada, el cardenal Franc Rodé, quien hasta ahora no ha autorizado su inicio.La idea surge luego de que la cúpula misma de la Legión aceptara públicamente el 4 de febrero que su fundador, Marcial Maciel fallecido hace más de un año-, tuvo en vida "actitudes no correspondientes a un sacerdote católico".

Informaciones previas aparecidas en medios de Internet y algunos blogs católicos señalaban que Maciel mantuvo una relación amorosa durante muchos años. Según una investigación del diario The New York Times, de ese vínculo nació una hija.

Se trata del primer "mea culpa" de la congregación sobre las acciones de su fundador, pero la aceptación pública de las conductas de Maciel también ha provocado una "fuerte crisis" al interior de la orden.El sacerdote, que murió a los 87 años, fundó los Legionarios de Cristo en 1941, cuando apenas tenía 20 años, y en 1959 creó su brazo laico, Regnum Christi. La orden creció hasta convertirse en una de las más influyentes congregaciones de la actualidad: cuenta con unos 800 sacerdotes y 2.500 seminaristas en más de 40 países. También gestiona una importante universidad pontificia en Roma.

Pese a que fue muy cercano a los dos últimos papas, en especial a Juan Pablo II, los últimos años de la vida de Maciel estuvieron marcados por controvertidas acusaciones. En 1995, estallaron denuncias en su contra por abusos sexuales, hechas por cerca de una treintena de ex seminaristas de la orden, que se remontan a los años 40 y 50, cuando algunos de ellos eran niños.
Maciel dejó de ser el líder de la orden en 2004, y en 2006, el Papa Benedicto XVI le ordenó que se retirara a una vida de "oración y penitencia" y que abandonara sus responsabilidades sacerdotales tras una investigación del Vaticano sobre las acusaciones.

Propuesta de una supervisión apostólica no es nueva

El 9 de febrero pasado el escritor católico estadounidense George Weigel, acreditado biógrafo de Juan Pablo II y reconocido como cercano a la Legión, propuso públicamente la supervisión apostólica.

"Sólo después de que se haya llevado a cabo ese tipo de auditoría moral e institucional y se haya verificado públicamente como auditoría limpia, podrá la Legión de Cristo y la Iglesia entera afrontar las cuestiones sobre su futuro", escribió.

En un artículo de su blog On the Square (En la Plaza), Weigel estableció que la visita de un delegado del Vaticano a todos los centros de los Legionarios del mundo puede dar certeza de transparencia.

"Sólo puede ser salvada (la orden) si hay una divulgación completa y pública de las maldades de Maciel y si se realiza un examen de las raíces y las ramificaciones de la posible complicidad en esas maldades dentro de la Legión de Cristo", añadió.