I think the media has tired of this story: the Jackson trial occupies their entire quota of attention paid to child molestation. But, while the media looks the other way, there are more developments. Here's one you might not have heard about:
Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado is the founder of the Legionaires of Christ, a conservative order based in Mexico. In the '90s, eight former students of Fr. Maciel lodged a formal complaint with the Vatican, alleging that he had sexually abused them when they were between 10 and 16 years old. The group of former students lodged their complaint after hearing Pope John Paul II praise Maciel as "an efficacious guide to youth".
Little was heard from the Vatican about the charges until late last year, when Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) "reopened" the investigation. Under Canon Law, reopening an investigation requires that all facts of the investigation be kept under seal.
The speculation at the time was that Ratzinger was trying to make sure that no embarrassing facts about Maciel came to light while a new pope was being chosen. On Monday, the Mexican press reported that the investigation is, in essence, over.
According to one of Maciel's accusers, an ex-cleric who now teaches in a college in NY, the monsignor investigating the claim believed the charges brought against Maciel were true and that the accusers deserved an apology from the church.
Of course the charges are true: most of them are. This is yet another whitewash in a long series of coverups.
The Maciel case occurred in Mexico, so who knows what effect it will have on the church in that country. My guess is precious little. In this country, a number of Catholic Dioceses are on the verge of bankruptcy from pending and successful lawsuits, and I'll bet that most of them will be in the near future.
So here, at long-last, is the Rochester-related component of my rant: Why on earth would anyone want to give a penny to your local Catholic church or the Diocese of Rochester?
Do you really want to lend financial support an institution that hides (and in some cases was proven to foster) evil. From the pope on down, the church has made it clear that he has little interest in a full accounting of the abuse that occurred in the past. Last year, Benedict (then Ratzinger) said that the abuse scandal was a "planned campaign" by the news media to "discredit" the church. Someone laboring under this delusion is not going to step far out of his way to do the hard and embarrassing work needed to right the shameful wrongs of the past.
So, Rochester Catholics, send your money someplace else. There are many worthy charities who don't have a long history of hiding pederasts in their midst. The only way to get Benedict's attention is through the church's pocketbook, and this thick-headed old man is going need a big wakeup call before he'll make any changes.
