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[CORRECTED] Jason Berry, who began reporting on sex abuse in the Catholic church for NCR in 1985, has more to tell about the late Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionnaries of Christ. Just last week, after decades of denying it, top officials of the Legionaries of Christ acknowledged that Maciel, sexually abused young seminarians, and they asked forgiveness for failing to listen to his accusers.
After investigating allegations that Maciel had sexually abused young seminarians, in May 2006 the Vatican ordered him to stop practicing his ministry in public and to live a life of prayer and penitence. At the time, Legion officials defended Maciel's declaration of innocence and compared him to Christ for his suffering. Maciel died in January 2008 at age 87.
Berry's newest reporting tracks Maciel's rise to influence in the Vatican. The story is on our Web site: Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican.
Here is an ABC News story with Berry talking about the stories on our Web site. The video includes the clip of then-Cardinal Ratzinger slapping the hand of Brian Ross of ABC News, as Ross tried to question him about the Maciel case.
