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A30 world news
Diahuebs 24 Februari 2022

25 years later, Legion of Christ victims seek reparations

chives show how a succes- dated reform process, the Le- to retract the claims. But then
sion of popes, cardinals and gion apologized and tried to Legion superior, the Rev.
bishops starting in the 1950s make amends, even as it has Eduardo Robles-Gil, refused
simply turned a blind eye to been forced to confront rev- during a December 2019 me-
credible reports that Maciel elations of a new generation diation meeting in Mexico
was a con artist, drug ad- of abusers within its ranks City, Barba said.
dict, pedophile and religious — some of them Maciel’s
fraud. The Vatican and espe- original victims — and the In a Jan. 4, 2020 summary of
cially John Paul, however, ap- superiors who covered up for that meeting, Barba said the
preciated his ability to bring the crimes, some of whom Legion’s initial calculus of
in vocations and donations. remain in power. a low five-figure settlement
The reality of Maciel’s de- offer for each of the three
pravity burst into the public In 2020, the Legion pub- remaining victims was a “hu-
domain Feb. 23, 1997, when licly retracted the “negative miliation,” and he proposed
The Hartford Courant pub- institutional and personal a team of five arbitration ex-
lished a lengthy expose by judgments about the char- perts to determine a more
(AP) — A Connecticut of Maciel’s victims are still investigative journalists Ja- acter and motivations of the “just” reparation.
newspaper exposed one seeking reparations from the son Berry and the late Gerald people who made legitimate
of the Catholic Church’s Legion to compensate for the Renner about Maciel and the and necessary accusations” in Robles-Gil signed the sum-
biggest sexual abuse scan- abuse they suffered and the order, whose U.S. headquar- the original Courant expose. mary but wrote: “I receive
dals by reporting 25 years “moral” harm done to their ters were based in Connecti- Naming the original victims, this without accepting the
ago Wednesday that eight reputations by the order. cut. it said “Today we recognize as process that is asked for and it
men had accused the re- prophetic their accusations in remains at our consideration
vered founder of the Le- They had refused earlier The story, which formed the favor of truth and justice.” to accept it or not.”
gion of Christ religious compensation offers that basis of a 2004 book “Vows of
order of raping and mo- their fellow survivors accept- Silence,” quoted several vic- But Jose Barba, one of the The Legion’s new superior,
lesting them when they ed, and a mediation process tims by name who indepen- most vocal of the original the Rev. John Connor, tried
were boys preparing for begun in 2019 has stalled, ac- dently reported that Maciel eight survivors, wants the Le- unsuccessfully to engage
the priesthood. cording to emails and docu- would bring them into his gion to formally retract what with Barba after his February
ments provided to The Asso- bedroom at night, and under he calls the “lies” the order 2020 election, sending two
It took a decade for the Vati- ciated Press. the pretense of abdominal provided to the Courant to letters that went unanswered
can to sanction the founder, pain, induce them to master- discredit him and the other until Barba emailed him on
the Rev. Marcial Maciel, and The Vatican in 2010 took bate him. victims. They include what Jan. 5, 2021, seeking to restart
another decade for the Le- over the Mexico-based Le- he says were a falsified let- negotiations.
gion to admit he was a serial gion and imposed a process A year after the original Cou- ter from a Chilean bishop
pedophile who had violated of reform after an investiga- rant story, in 1998, the victims who had investigated Maciel Connor assured him he
at least 60 boys. In the mean- tion showed that Maciel had filed a formal canonical com- in the 1950s, and false state- wanted to “find ways to con-
time, the original whistle- sexually abused seminarians plaint against Maciel with ments from four Mexicans tribute to heal and close the
blowers suffered a defama- and fathered at least three the Vatican’s Congregation who claimed the victims had painful events of the history
tion campaign by the Legion, children with two women. for the Doctrine of the Faith, tried to enlist them in a con- of our congregation.” But in
which branded them liars The Vatican found he had where the case languished spiracy against Maciel. an email, Connor said Bar-
bent on creating a conspiracy created a system of power until after John Paul died. ba’s proposal for five arbitra-
to hurt a man considered a built on silence, deceit and Maciel was sentenced in 2006 Barba, who says he repre- tion experts wouldn’t help
living saint. obedience that enabled him to a lifetime of “penance and sents fellow survivors Arturo “in finding a shared resolu-
lead a double life. prayer,” and he died in 2008, Jurado and Jose Antonio Per- tion.”
As they marked the quarter- still considered a saint by the ez Olvera, drafted a proposed
century anniversary of reve- The findings were by no Legion. letter to the Courant and the Barba never replied. “I don’t
lations that tarnished the leg- means news to the Holy See: Vatican newspaper that he trust them because it’s not in
acy of St. John Paul II, three Documents from Vatican ar- Following the Vatican-man- wanted the Legion to submit good faith,” he told the AP.

South Korea’s presidential race puts misogyny in spotlight

(AP) — As South Korea men above 55 — are fighting The tensions can be seen Divisive gender politics has ics say this makes up only a
enters a bitter presidential for what they see as a “male” on the streets. Hundreds grown as South Korea deals small number of rape claims,
race, Hong Hee-jin is one vote crucial for victory. They of women have marched in with a fast-aging population, and that the threat of tougher
of many young women have increasingly focused protest against the “election a plummeting birth rate, punishment could intimidate
who feel that the coun- their messages on young men of misogyny.” Small but vo- soaring personal debt, a de- victims from coming forward
try’s politics has become who decry gender equality cal groups of anti-feminist caying job market and stark amid a recent male backlash
dominated by discrimina- policies and the loss of tradi- men have staged rallies in re- inequality. There’s also the against the #MeToo move-
tion against women, even tional privileges in a hyper- sponse. growing nuclear threat from ment.
outright misogyny. competitive job market. North Korea and fears of be-
ing squeezed in the confron- Liberal ruling party candidate
For years, South Korean tation between the United Lee, 57, has taken a cautious
women have made slow but States and China. approach to gender issues,
steady progress in the work- while clashing with Yoon
place as they confronted an No campaign issue, however, over the economy and North
entrenched culture of male has caused more debate than Korea policy.
chauvinism and harassment. Yoon’s vow to abolish the
But this extremely tight pres- Ministry of Gender Equality Narrowly trailing Yoon in the
idential race, which culmi- and Family, which the can- polls, Lee has faced calls to
nates March 9, has exposed didate says promotes policies appeal to more young men,
the fragility of what’s been unfair to men. whose support of conserva-
won. tive candidates in mayoral by-
A former prosecutor gener- elections in Seoul and Busan
Top conservative candidate al, Yoon, 61, has also vowed may have led to a shocking
Yoon Suk Yeol and his liberal stronger penalties for false double-defeat for the liberals.
rival Lee Jae-myung — both sexual crime reports. Crit-