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Vatican inquiry into child abuse may go ahead

-6/01/05

The legal investigation into serious allegations of child sex abuse against the leader of a Roman Catholic religious order, also a close ally of the Pope, is being re-opened ñ according to a report in todayís Observer newspaper.

Father Marcial Maciel, founding father of the Legion of Christ, an ultra-conservative group second only to Opus Dei in papal influence, received warm tributes on the 60th anniversary of his ordination from Pope John Paul II and others. But he has been dogged by persistent sex abuse allegations from eight plaintiffs since the 1960s.

A week after Maciel was honoured by the Pope, the plaintiffs received a letter from their Rome lawyer telling them that the case against him had been re-opened. It was shelved in 1999 on the extra-judicial grounds that their suffering could not compare with the threat of disillusion felt by millions of Catholics, says correspondent Jo Tuckman, writing from Mexico City.

The Legion of Christ was formed in Mexico in 1941 in the wake of the struggle between Catholic traditionalists and anti-clerical revolutionaries. Highly anti-communist, the order spread elite schools in Latin America.

Today the Legion is continuing to grow while other orders are diminishing. It claims a presence in 20 countries, with 500 priest and 2500 seminarians.

According to recent reports a prosecutor appointed by the Vaticanís Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will investigate Father Maciel and the circumstances involved in the allegations.

The Sacred Congregation, formerly known as the Inquisition, has been better known for its attacks on liberation theology and radical theologians, like Brazilís Leonardo Boff and Sri Lankaís Tissa Balasuriya. Eminent writer Jacques Dupuis, who used traditional arguments to advocate a more open approach to people of other faith communities, has also been criticised.

The Vatican will not officially confirm or deny the existence of an investigation into Father Maciel.

Observers say that if the Sacred Congregation acts decisively in this case it could change forever the handling of child abuse allegations by the Vatican, which has been accused of being reluctant, evasive and secretive.

Innocent Catholic priests in many parts of the world say that they have been the subject of ridicule and abuse because Church authorities are reluctant to tackle the problem of an abusive minority head on, for fear of ëupsetting the faithfulí.