Reporter Jason Berry, whose recent investigation of the Legion of Christ’s Father Marcial Maciel was published in a two-part series in the National Catholic Reporter, was interviewed today on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Despite allegations that he was a pedophile and that he had fathered several children while a priest, Maciel managed to fundraise very successfully for the Catholic Church. In part one of the two-part series, Berry wrote, “The charismatic Mexican, who founded the Legion of Christ in 1941, sent streams of money to Roman curia officials with a calculated end, according to many sources interviewed by NCR: Maciel was buying support for his group and defense for himself, should his astounding secret life become known.”
In the NPR interview, Berry said of the Church’s protection of Maciel, “It really reminds one of Tammany Hall, or the Chicago political machine 30 or 40 years ago… Needless to say, all of this was a way of buying influence and protection for Father Maciel.”
Listen to the interview and read the accompanying article here.