Pay to play, Vatican-style

As the international scope of what SC Catholic apologist blog Sunlit Uplands calls "its unconscionable problem with pedophilia" grows, the Vatican continues to make token gestures.


The Pope's press people are claiming he has now taken charge of The Legionaries of Christ, it develops all the Pontiff has done is appoint a guy to "establish a commission to examine its constitution."


The Vatican leaves in place the lower circles of leadership its founder, Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, personally selected to ensure his decade of abuse of young seminarians and fathering children with mistresses would not bring him down.


Maciel, who was also a prodigious fundraiser, bought protection in the Vatican with periodic visits and what Edward Gibbon used to describe as "liberal donatives" in white envelopes.


It has taken the Pope 17 years to take even this token action.


The Vatican has two problems. One is, as an expert says: 

“This was tolerated by the Holy See for years,” Father Athié said. “In this sense I think the Holy See cannot get to the bottom of this matter. It would have to criticize itself as an authority.”

Another is the Church's desire to make the late Pope John Paul II a saint ASAP. JPII was fond of Maciel, who created a new pipeline for priests (emphasis added):

In an interview, Father Athié said Bishop Talavera — who has since died — told him that the cardinal had read the letter and decided not to proceed with the case. “Ratzinger said it could not be opened because he was a person very beloved by the pope,” referring to Father Maciel, “and had done a lot of good for the church. He said as well, ‘I am very sorry, but it isn’t prudent,’ ” Father Athié said.

Saúl Barrales, a schoolteacher who once worked as Father Maciel’s secretary and is a cousin of Bishop Talavera, said he had heard the same account of the conversation from the bishop.

Just before Christmas 1999, Ms. Wegan, the lawyer, wrote to Mr. Barba and Mr. Jurado to say she had “sad news.” She said that she had spoken twice to Father Girotti and that he had told her they had done some research into the matter, but had decided to close the inquiry “for now.”

Mr. Barba said that in a later phone conversation with Ms. Wegan, she told him it was better for eight innocent men to suffer than for millions to lose their faith. In October 2002, Mr. Barba said he had dinner with Ms. Wegan at a restaurant near her apartment in Rome. She told him, he said, that Cardinal Sodano had pressed Cardinal Ratzinger, who was thought to favor proceeding with a case, to drop the investigation. Ms. Wegan declined several requests to be interviewed.