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ABC News reports the Vatican may have known of abuse.
In 1997 The Hartford Courant reported that nine men had come forward with charges against the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legion of Christ, for sexual abuse going back to the 1940s. Maciel denied the accusations.

The accusers said they were coming forward at that time because the Vatican had failed to investigate or answer letters sent through official channels. Two years ago, the men filed a lawsuit with the Vatican in order to excommunicate Maciel. Accusers say they were not interviewed and the Vatican did not investigate.

ABC News reported last week that the alleged victims say the Vatican not only ignored their claims but protected Maciel and "made the lawsuit go away."

J. Paul Lennon was a member of the Legion of Christ and left to aid those claiming to be Maciel's victims. He told ABC: "I would say he has the pope eating out of his hand. Who is going to touch him, no matter what he does? He's untouchable."

The ABC News report includes graphic details of the accusations but focuses on the claims that powerful cardinals covered up the case. The nine former students of Maciel claim Vatican-based Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was responsible for shelving their accusations. Ratzinger was recently appointed by the pope to investigate the current sex abuse scandal.

Maciel did not speak with ABC News but sent a strong statement of denial. Reporter Brian Ross did, however, interview Ratzinger, who "became visibly upset and actually slapped this reporter's hand."

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April (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46