Scandal-Plagued Catholic Order Rocked by Priest's Affair

Chicago Tribune ^ | 5/15/12 | Philip Pullella

[marshmallow]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The scandal-plagued Legionaries of Christ Roman Catholic religious order suffered another major blow to its image on Tuesday when one of its most prominent members admitted to having fathered a child.

Father Thomas Williams said in a statement he was "truly sorry to everyone who is hurt by this revelation".

Williams, the American author of more than a dozen books on spirituality and dean of moral theology at a papal university in Rome, often appeared on American television to explain Vatican affairs and Catholic teachings.

The Legionaries have been at the centre of controversy since 2009 when they admitted their charismatic Mexican founder, Father Marcial Maciel, had led a double life, secretly fathering children, using drugs and misusing donations.

Maciel was also accused of sexually abusing seminarians.

[RightOnline]

I had the privilege of meeting a senior member of this order a couple of years ago; great guy. My, but the poor man must be ripping his hair out.......

These guys really DO a lot of good around the world.

[marshmallow]

The above link to the rest of the article is incorrect. Click HERE for the correct link.

[married21]

I read somewhere a few years ago that the part of the brain that governs religious belief is very near the part that governs sex. The theory in the article was that some people who are strongly religious are also strongly sexual and that makes big trouble and temptation for some religious leaders. The article was written back in the Jimmy Swaggart scandal era.

Anyway, I’m pretty discouraged to see the devil so often winning the internal struggle for the soul of a religious leader.

[Explorer89]

Must be near the part that governs politics, as well...

[Jeff Chandler]