Did Rev. Maciel sexually abuse his own son?

In a sadly unsurprising development, Jose Raul Gonzalez — who is allegedly one of the late Rev. Marcial Maciel’s illegitimate children — is claiming that his father molested him, as well.

Jose Raul Gonzalez is seeking unspecified damages from the Legionaries of Christ in a lawsuit filed Monday in Connecticut. The international group has its U.S. headquarters in the state.

Gonzalez says the Rev. Marcial Maciel… started sexually abusing him when he was a little boy. The 30-year-old Gonzalez says the abuse continued for years. Maciel died in 2008.

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ABC News has more detailed coverage, including this:

In his interview, Gonzalez said his father was protected by Pope John Paul II.

“My dad told my mom that when John Paul II dies, he was going to be in trouble,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said when he was nine, his father took him to Rome for a private mass celebrated by John Paul II.

“I kissed [John Paul’s] ring,” Gonzalez said.

Obviously, the photo proves nothing beyond the fact that Gonzalez met John Paul II. Still, the late pope’s obvious blind spot regarding Maciel is disturbing.

 

Author

  • Brian Saint-Paul

    Brian Saint-Paul was the editor and publisher of Crisis Magazine. He has a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of America, in Washington. D.C. In addition to various positions in journalism and publishing, he has served as the associate director of a health research institute, a missionary, and a private school teacher. He lives with his wife in a historic Baltimore neighborhood, where he obsesses over Late Antiquity.

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