A scandal-tainted conservative Catholic religious movement whose founder was a sexual predator begins a series of meetings in Rome on Wednesday in what is being seen as a key test of Pope Francis's reform drive.
Top members of the Legionaries of Christ are meeting to reform their congregation and elect a new leadership in their first meetings since they were put under Vatican oversight in 2010 after the scandals first exploded. See: http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2013/12/legion-of-christ-9-priests-guilty-of.html
"Pope Francis faces the first major challenge, the first major clash of his pontificate," said Jesus Bastante, a columnist for the Spanish-language Vatican affairs website Religion Digital.
Francis has called for a radical overhaul of the group and a Vatican-appointed delegate, Italian cardinal Velasio De Paolis, will inaugurate the proceedings with a mass and will take part in the discussions.
There have been tensions between senior Legionaries in favour of the status quo and De Paolis, whose mandate runs out at the meetings starting Wednesday.
"The Legion is not some internal issue to be discussed and decided on exclusively by the Legionaries," Bastante said, adding that the gravity of the scandals meant "the pope cannot be gentle".
The Legionaries were once held up by late pope John Paul II as a model because of their ability to gain new followers and encourage vocations to the priesthood.
The group was founded by a Mexican priest, Marcial Maciel, in 1941 and currently counts 953 priests and 70,000 lay people among its members in 22 countries and is particularly strong in North and South America.
Maciel, who died at the age of 88 in 2008, was revealed to have sexually abused seminarians and fathered at least three children despite his vow of chastity.
He was also accused of abusing his own children.
The Vatican has been criticised for failing to do enough despite reports about Maciel's behaviour dating back to the 1980s which went public in the 1990s.
Maciel was only removed from leadership of the movement by the Vatican in 2006 after John Paul II's death and the crimes have cast a shadow over his pontificate
Father Felix Alarcon, 80, one of eight Legion priests who denounced Maciel's abuses to John Paul II in the 1980s, told Religion Digital, "The Legion, such as we know it, should be eliminated," he said, adding that he hoped the pope "resolves this".
Top members of the Legionaries of Christ are meeting to reform their congregation and elect a new leadership in their first meetings since they were put under Vatican oversight in 2010 after the scandals first exploded. See: http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2013/12/legion-of-christ-9-priests-guilty-of.html
"Pope Francis faces the first major challenge, the first major clash of his pontificate," said Jesus Bastante, a columnist for the Spanish-language Vatican affairs website Religion Digital.
Francis has called for a radical overhaul of the group and a Vatican-appointed delegate, Italian cardinal Velasio De Paolis, will inaugurate the proceedings with a mass and will take part in the discussions.
There have been tensions between senior Legionaries in favour of the status quo and De Paolis, whose mandate runs out at the meetings starting Wednesday.
"The Legion is not some internal issue to be discussed and decided on exclusively by the Legionaries," Bastante said, adding that the gravity of the scandals meant "the pope cannot be gentle".
The Legionaries were once held up by late pope John Paul II as a model because of their ability to gain new followers and encourage vocations to the priesthood.
The group was founded by a Mexican priest, Marcial Maciel, in 1941 and currently counts 953 priests and 70,000 lay people among its members in 22 countries and is particularly strong in North and South America.
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| Marcial Maciel |
He was also accused of abusing his own children.
The Vatican has been criticised for failing to do enough despite reports about Maciel's behaviour dating back to the 1980s which went public in the 1990s.
Maciel was only removed from leadership of the movement by the Vatican in 2006 after John Paul II's death and the crimes have cast a shadow over his pontificate
Father Felix Alarcon, 80, one of eight Legion priests who denounced Maciel's abuses to John Paul II in the 1980s, told Religion Digital, "The Legion, such as we know it, should be eliminated," he said, adding that he hoped the pope "resolves this".
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