Deceptive appearances…
Cathy Kaveny last week wrote about a new Vatican investigation of more sexual abuse inside the scandalous Legion of Christ, and this week it emerged that one of the Legion’s most telegenic and best-known priests, Father Thomas Williams, in fact had at least one affair and fathered at least one child. All this while he was a media presence telling others how they should be holier Catholics — like him and his order.
What’s more, not only did the Legion know about the scandal and do nothing, but Father Williams himself was holding himself out as a pious preacher while living a double (or triple or quadruple) life. (John Allen’s report is here, lest our resident papalists think this is Rome-bashing.)
This really is astonishing, and I don’t think we have unpacked the psychology and spiritual peril of all these scandalous figures — Thomas Euteneuer, John Corapi and the rest — holding themselves out as the guardians and icons of orthodoxy while rallying their fans to defend them and their agendas against their enemies. That fosters cover-ups — scandals — when these holier-than-thou types are found to be less-than-holy, because so much is invested in protecting a hero and promoting an agenda.
Cathy’s point is worth revisiting:
What the Legion and RC did so well is LOOK GOOD. They seemed holy, they seemed attractive. They came out of central casting. Maybe we should take Jesus’s injunction about praying in private as a cautionary sign: we ought to be suspicious of those who try too hard to be SEEN as holy.
And they were enabled by self-proclaimed “good Catholics” who wanted always to give this group the “benefit of the doubt,” casting personal aspersion on those who had the courage to speak out.
In that thread, Alan Mitchell pointed to the summer boys camp website of Regnum Christi, an affiliate of the Legion, which features a video that would be a joke — the product of too many LOTR movie marathons — if it weren’t so typical of the regnant mindset among church authorities today. It might also be funny if it weren’t betrayed by facts. Self-proclaimed saints are instead snake oil salesmen, the self-proclaimed persecuted are in fact the powerful, and those who declare themselves courageous are in fact cowardly.
Watched the video. I’m taking the Hobbits to Isengard.
The link to the tragic phot of the extremely infirm JohnPaul II blessing Maciel is truly that photo worth 10,000 words…whether the ignorance was vincible or invincible (and I’d bet more on the former)… rotten roots have a hard time yielding good fruit– though I have no reason to suspect the integrity of the many though my ecclesiology may be far different from theirs.
I skimmed his book on morality and found it formulaic and superficial… about the same time his child was born, I’d guess
And the “famiy values” continue and the Legion tells him to “think it over,” rather than “You have child. You’re out. Go and make a life together – somehow…. Be a good father (small f).”
This is why there is no credibility left with the hierarchy that– if they knew — would permit such “accomodation.”
And, please, can we tell the Legion that they cannot supervise themselves any longer.
To be fair to Father Thomas Williams, he never struck me as an overly pious judgemental priest. He seemed a very reasonable priest, not one for dispensing moralistic advice on TV with glee, most probably because he was in the grip of sin while commenting on other public matters. I remember seeing him on EWTN a few years back with Father Jonathan Morris discussing the order they belonged to, and he seemed a little off, as if carefully considering his words. I’ve seen him on Sky News over the years, only two years ago during the coverage of the Pope’s trip to the UK, and he was as balanced a priest in his commentary as one could imagine, far from what Father Corapi would say or Father Thomas Euteneuer. He’s always seemed to me like a genuinely nice guy who clearly gave into temptation and broke his vows but has been suffering from it ever since. It was a huge mistake for his order to hush it up and to continue to allow him to go on to TV shows, and I would imagine as foolish as he was for doing so, he didn’t particularly enjoy it.
“And, please, can we tell the Legion that they cannot supervise themselves any longer.”
Do they, though? I thought they were ‘in receivership’ (to use a term that Grant has used recently) and a bishop was in charge of them now? Or is that only with respect the sex-abuse charges?
BTW, as Rod Dreher noted, Fr. Williams referred to the child he sired as “her child,” which didn’t make Rod very happy:
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/church-failure-clerg/
I’m inclined to cut some slack to priests in relationships with consenting adults. That doesn’t scandalize me at all. The “her child’ part is bad; he needs to be a good father to his children, that’s just being decent.
“This really is astonishing, and I don’t think we have unpacked the psychology and spiritual peril of all these scandalous figures — Thomas Euteneuer, John Corapi and the rest — holding themselves out as the guardians and icons of orthodoxy while rallying their fans to defend them and their agendas against their enemies.”
As opposed to, say, liberal icons of the hierarchy who engage in scandalous relationships and direct hush-money to them for years. But they aren’t promoting “orthodoxy” I guess, so no harm, no foul?
Then again, I suppose I’m just being a “papalist”.
I really cast no aspersions on him and didn’t se his commentaries except for a clip attached to the NCR article. I thought his approach in that book – admittedly skimmed — was not personally insightful, but others may disagree. I don’t think he should be dismissed as a punishment– just as the obvious action of accountability. I am not casting a first stone, but I don’t see how in the present dispostion of the Church that does not permit married or sexually active clergy, he could continue to have an honest relationshop with his son and what.. have him visit on occasion? Have the mother keep his parenthood secret?
There is always the question if they both decided to put the child up for adoption… but I don’t hink that would be a good solution either. Maybe I’m too influenced by The Scarlet Letter, the Thoirnbirds, and a few other books on clergy’s unknown children.. not fair to the child, in my mind….
That’s a cheap shot from a self-indulgent sin sniffer. Rod’s only happy when the world is heading down the drainpipe and he’s the guy who predicted it. If Rod hasn’t committed a major sin in his life, he should thank God every day that he’s been spared the excruciating pain of it, and if he thinks he’s safe now, don’t worry, there’s still time.
I think the focus of David G’s post above points away from the circumstances of Fr. Williams’ fathering a child – something that has happened in many other times and places in the church – and toward the order. The order knew about this, didn’t do anything about it (as far as we know), and continued to promote this guy as a superstar and role model. I’d think that every religious order, sooner or later, is going to have to deal with sexual sins of its members. The Legion has found a particularly bad way to do it.
First of all, I really want to resist falling into a “I-told-you-so” screed but what else is there to say? Why after all the evidence and revelations that have come to light now over decades are Catholics still “astonished” at the level of betrayal and corruption of the hierarchy and priesthood?
These men are unassailable and unaccountable because they have unlimited access to literally $billions to perpetuate their perverse political hegemony over the church. Their sexual exploitation of women and children is only the most repugnant byproduct of a corrupt system that allows clerics to indulge their basest instincts with impunity.
David Gibson just posted the remark above that for me is most disturbing: Thomas Williams referring to the child he fathered as “her child.” How clinically narcissistic is that!?!
Much of the ruminations on these blogs are disturbing to me because the discussion is still fundamentally narcissistic: It’s all about Williams, it’s all about priests and bishops’ hidden sexual life, the bishops’ lies, the lies of priest who must mouth a discredited ideology, etc. It’s all about “me.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to priests, and especially hierarchs, it’s always about “me.” That was what was so devastating about the critic of Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny last summer when he nailed the Vatican for their endemic “narcissism.”
One thing becoming a father taught me is that I was no longer “No. 1″ even in my own life. My priorities were now secondary or subsequent to those of my wife and sons. That is what happens when you hold a newborn in your hands for the first time and realize that you are already hopelessly in love with this person, and you understand how vulnerable you have become to a broken heart.
My personal needs now came in a miserable 4th or 5th place in life’s daily routine. This was [is] quite a come down for the psychological demigod that boys are frequently acculturated to by families and society. It convinced me that God indeed has a twisted sense of humor.
If there is anything to celebrate it is that Williams has been liberated from a obdurate sub-culture in the Catholic Church that only exaggerates the pernicious effects of this clerical narcissism.
This story is not about Williams’ priesthood, his betrayal of his high office, or the decayed and corrupt state of the priesthood in the church.
Ultimately, this story is about the child [or, children] that Williams has fathered. The story is about their lives, their welfare, and their future: how they will remake their father. Isn’t that the mystery at the heart of the Christmas pageant we reenacted each year?
Children are God’s way of turning our lives upside-down: giving us a chance at true humility because when parents are true to their calling they must now truly live their lives for others. [Arguably, this all comes more naturally to women than men because the feminine really does reenact the creativity of the divine - in their own bodies!]
Sadly, the way the Catholic Church has evolved over the centuries we deny by design this fundamental human experience to our priests. Too many Catholic priests are forced to live a “lie” about who and what is their deepest personal identity and sexual needs. As my sainted sixth-grade teacher, Sister Mary Adelaide, would often warn us: “You live a lie, you live in hell.”
If the last decade of revelations about the rape, sodomy and sexual exploitation of children by priests and bishops have taught us anything it is that our priests and bishops have betrayed not only us, the survivors and folks in the pews, but they have allowed their priesthood to become a fraud.
For over a decade now Catholics have had to watch the spectacle of bishops and priests retreating behind a phalanx of lawyers and public relations firms just to salvage their political hegemony over the church. We have had to watch as geriatric pope, cardinals and bishops offering limp apologies while conducting a worldwide cover-up strategy that seeks to insulate them from their moral responsibility.
Why is the Legion of Christ NOT ALREADY supressed??? What is the Vatican waiting for???
Karl Rahner was prophetic when he foretold years ago that the church was entering into ”wintertime” for Christianity.
The only road out of this mess is for Catholics to take matters into their own hands: Reform and renew the priesthood from parish to pope. LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!
Half-measures will not cut it. The cancer in the priesthood has metastasized too far. Williams’ story is only the latest evidence of the true extent of the rot and decay. Williams seems like a basically good man, flawed like the rest of us, who got terribly twisted around by a corrupt system that has abetted the religious cult founded by Marcel Marciel.
The sooner we Catholics acknowledge what we’re up against, the better the church’s long term prospects for survival in the next century.
In the meantime, I pray that Williams’ children will be able to teach him what true spiritual death and resurrection really feel like.
Jim
It’s true that church history has plenty of examples of children of clergy. The bishop who resigned a couple months ago is a current high profile example. My thought is that the Church should simply say that that separates you from functioning as a priest given the current discipline — which I wish were different. I know many have relationships that do not result in a child and can end- or continue- with whatever ways they work out, but it seems to me a child deserves something that cannot be honestly given in our current system and that trumps his continuance in that role to accept his responsibility that is asked of anyone who fathers a child. Other ideas?
Jim Pauwels
Regarding your question about the “receivership” of LC. The media has been reporting that the Cardinal put in charge of them knew about Fr. Williams since last January. One has to ask whether this would be known today were it not for the Spanish group that advocates for victims of abuse, who revealed it.
http://trib.in/JjfQAM
Jim, all I got from your rant is that it’s all about Jim. The length and verbosity of your comment and its “me” centeredness undermined a great deal of what you said.
I love the phrase “resident papalists,” and, yes, Jeff, you’re one with the look at the other guys argument.
The saga of Fr. Williams is just another peg to look on the Church as hypocriyical in do as i say.
And that goes up thje line on the issues of secrecy -today a report of a bishop defrocked for having pornography -while bishops who abused or enabled (except for Law who was semi/fuly promoted in Rome0 were not.
Do David G.’s point about how this was managed is quite germane.
Jim Jenkins: You’ve raised some important points.
You ask, “Why is the Legion of Christ NOT ALREADY suppressed???”
Because they talk the right talk.
In addition, Pope Benedict XVI and the officials in the Vatican have an exalted understanding of ordained priesthood.
I may be going off on a tangent, so please excuse me for the distraction.
I have noticed that the way the Legionary priests dress is quite spiffy and they do look as though they came out of central casting as Cathy Kaveny has pointed out. They all have with haircuts that look as though they might cost $400(?). In addition, all have hair prominently parted on the left side.
See: http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/legionari-di-cristo-legionaries-of-christ-legionarios-de-cristo-10285/
Now it is said that parting one’s hair on the left is an external sign of left brain activities, e.g., logical, linear thinking which are traditionally attributed to masculinity in our culture.” Hmm…
It would not surprise me at all if that is mandated dress code for that reason.
David Gibson:
You wrote; “Father Thomas Williams, in fact had at least one affair and fathered at least one child.”
Is there any evidence for that statement? is it rumor, hearsay?
Helen, not sure what you mean. Fr. Williams’ statement is here:
http://www.zenit.org/article-34788?l=english
He acknowledges the affair and paternity.
John Allen refers to the allegations of other affairs:
So how far it goes is not clear, but these things often follow a fire-where-there-is-smoke pattern, esp in the LC case. Whether the whole truth will be known may depend on how much the media digs or can dig.
David Gibson:
I was reacting to the term “at least”.
Gerelyn, I deleted your earlier comment because the association you were making was over the top. I had written you to explain, as a courtesy and to get your feedback, at the email address you provided. But that seems to be an alias of some sort and it bounced back. Until I can contact you I’m not going to have this discussion in the comboxes. Thanks. David
David, THANKS for explaining.
I can’t understand why clicking on my name brings up 00ooOO00ooOO000@yahoo.com. When I click on Account, it shows my e-mail address (correctly) as GerelynHollingsworth@yaoo.com.
I’ve gotten many e-mails from other posters, editors, contributors, without any problem. I don’t know how this happened today. (And why attempts to correct it don’t work.)
(You can also e-mail me through my web site: http://GerelynHollingsworth.com )
GerelynHollingsworth@yahoo.com
(I left out the h.)
Now clicking on my name is bringing up the right e-mail address. SORRY for all the posts and all the confusion.
I just viewed the video… Wow! What an imagination!
Narnia meets the Chbildrenb’s Crusade! I felt like singing “An army of youth” again!
There would be a Masters project at least on that experience!!!
Apprpriate for the “Legion of…???”
Gerelyn, many thanks. I’m not sure what happened — I’m technically maladroit — but I just emailed you directly. Feel free to carry on. David
“In addition, Pope Benedict XVI and the officials in the Vatican have an exalted understanding of ordained priesthood.”
Benedict has long been an agitator of the Legion, there is ample evidence that as prefect of the CDF he long harbored suspicions about the Legion, and was overruled by the papal household. If you’re going to attack people, at least get the targets right. Moreover, isn’t, in light of the sordid details, an “exalted understanding” of priesthood a welcome antidote?
Jeff Landry: I am well aware of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s role in investigating the Legion, as I’ve indicated else on threads at dotCommonweal.
Apart from that, I don’t know what you are taking umbrage at. Do you deny that Pope Benedict and Vatican officials have an exalted understanding of ordained priesthood?
My comment was carefully targeted.
I’m sorry, but I do not understand what you mean by your last sentence, so I cannot respond to it.
That summer camp pricing looks o.k., 6 nights $399. Is that Canadian $$$? If the Society for Creative Anachronism had a youth camp, this would be it. I wonder if they have a sister camp, and if so, what the girls do?
Irene
They do have a girl’s camp, Captivenia: http://www.captivenia.com
But there is no video at the site.
In addition to RC camp, note the so-called apostolic schools for boys in grades 7-12 who are interested in the priesthood; one in NH and one in Indiana.
http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/eng/articulos/categoria.phtml?lc=se-241_ca-984_ci-801&width=1024&height=768
Sickening. Why does a bishop allow such schools to operate in his diocese? Perhaps annual contributions explain it. Rome may be looking to rescue the brand to benefit from all those super-obedient priests who excel in fundraising.
What chance does a student at an apostolic school have to gain psycho-sexual maturity or indeed maturity of any kind?
dePaolis is hardly an aggressive overseer from what I have read. Indeed, “the regnant mindset among church authorities today” is gravely flawed.
The Pope said in his May 16 audience: “Work should not be an obstacle to the family, but should rather sustain and unite it.” It is interesting to apply that thought to the beginnings of a family Fr. Williams created with a woman and her (sic) child. He will take a year off from work to reflect as agreed with his work superiors. How that benefits his child is unclear. Maybe the Pope meant other families.
I would like to see the picture of Blessed John Paul II blessing Maciel used for the commemoration card issued at JPII’s canonization. Nothing captures his sanctity as this picture does.
Can the reason LC has not yet been suppressed is that it is still funneling $$$ to the Vatican? Is that why the Cardinal overseer kept the case under wraps when he found out about it last January?
Alan c. Mitchell:
“Follow the money.”
And this is our Church!
Helen
Regrettably, I think you are absolutely right.
“Captivenia” Is that church Latin for “captivity?”
Jimmy Mac;
You took the words out of mouth. Captivating grace? Sounds Jansenistic to me.
The militant look and imagery of Regnum Christi’s Arcatheos Boys Camp, whose website is given above in David Gibson’s first post, reminded me of an article by George Weigel, recently reprinted in our diocesan paper (where he has a column), but which originally appeared I think in First Things:
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2012/04/philip-ii-china-and-the-great-catholic-what-if/george-weigel
Perhaps some of you were fortunate enough to get it in your own diocesan papers. It has to do with Spain’s failure, after its conquest of the Philippines in the 16th century, to take the advice given it to move on and conquer China (no more than 8,000 conquistadors and a dozen ships needed). If they had, we would have a Catholic China today with great universities, and perhaps a Chinese pope.
Hard to know which is more impressive: Weigel’s nostalgia for Catholic wars of conquest, or his stunning ignorance of history. I dropped a line to First Things to say that while I don’t know whether it embarrasses them to print such things, it certainly embarrasses me to read it.
I wonder if this is the kind of thing which the boys of Arcatheos are being trained in.
Arcatheos used to be the more honestly named Camp Rivendell:
http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?id=29391&se=364&ca=198&te=782
That’s some pretty whacky stuff.
This is the time of year my friends are all in day camp hell, trying to figure out what to do with the kids for 12 weeks when the parents have only 6 weeks vacation combined.
A friend of mine once sent her daughter to “Primate Camp” where she spent a week learning about monkeys. I thought it sounded fine, but the now-teenage daughter uses it as an example of how strange she thinks her parents are.
I must confess, if the price were right, a “Medieval Times” camp would not be off the table.
When I spent summers at camp as a kid, life was very vigorous and competitive but peaceful in its way. In hindsight, that was because a majority of the adult counselors had just come home from fighting in a real war around the world. Every day and night, as at Arcatheos, they strove to implant the age-appropriate bits and pieces of virtue and “authentic manhood” in us, but I suspect that the idea of teaching youngsters by emulating warfare for fun never passed through a single one of their heads. Though still young men, they had gained some wisdom about priorities in life.
When we were in sixth grade, a cousin and I were chosen best altar boys in Rockland County, and the prize was two weeks at Camp Hayes in the Catskills. After the experience, I suggested that second prize be four weeks there.
David:
This is addressed to the “David” (no last name given) who commented at 1:22 pm
Possibly this next is not for me to say; surely Jim Jenkins is perfectly capable of defending himself. Still, I do want to say that in my opinion, your comment isn’t fair to him. You say you’re criticizing him on the basis of what he wrote. I’d say that criticism doesn’t stand up under scrutiny. Here are a few quotes from his comment:
Given those quotes, I’m baffled by your claim that “all I got” from the comment was that “it’s all about Jim.” I got the exact opposite impression; and I liked getting it, in the sense it tells us about another side of this person, Jim Jenkins, who’s been writing such strong comments on the blog over the years.
David:
Looking back at the previous comment, it now seems to me that I didn’t speak strongly enough. This isn’t a question of what “impression” you got, or I got, from Jim Jenkins’ comment. It wasn’t so ambiguous as to require us to draw a conclusion about it or have an “impression” about it. It was explicit, couldn’t have been more explicit:
And you call that “me-centered?” I don’t get it. So, too, with Jenkins’ “My personal needs now came in a miserable 4th or 5th place in life’s daily routine,” and his “Children are God’s way of turning our lives upside-down: giving us a chance at true humility because when parents are true to their calling they must now truly live their lives for others.” What could be clearer than that?
As a father of 5 sons and one daughter, I agree with Gene Palumbo that Jim Jenkins expressed very well what fatherhood priority means. Makes me wonder how many children David-no- last-name has.
“laying down your life for your children’ is more than scriptural .. it’s DNA based.. thanks to being created as we are in the Image of God. More ontologically meaningful too then some recently posted ontological notions on clerics.
Thank you to Gene Palumbo for his outstanding response about Jim Jenkins’ post on fatherhood.
Jim has written a very moving testament, which I shall save. That sensibility certainly seems contrary to that of Levada and Holy See US counsel Lena that Jim experienced when he was head of the San Francisco Review Board.
Maybe Fr Williams talked about “her” child to distinguish him or her from the children he has had with other women.
Maybe priests fathering children in secret is part of the Legion’s charism.
I’m happy to see Irene’s comment: I’m inclined to cut some slack to priests in relationships with consenting adults. That doesn’t scandalize me at all.
I won’t comment on the hypocrisy of the Legion, but the initial incident itself doesn’t scandalize me either. It does shock me a bit, as always when someone breaks a promise (even if I thought the promise was a bad idea to start with). But all it does is show an example of someone’s imperfection. It’s not scandalous. I wish the media were not telling the story as though it was as scandalous as sexual abuse.
I can imagine several possible positive consequences of such situations.
First, the people involved learn how weak they really are. They can no longer feel smug, confident that God is with them and they can do no wrong: instead, they have now joined the ranks of certified sinners. It might make them more compassionate towards other people who fail to measure up to moral expectations. It makes them more human.
Second, when Fr Williams became both a priest and a father, he found himself placed in an impossible situation. There is no good solution: all outcomes are deeply flawed. It’s a tragedy. Again, that ought to make him more accepting of people who find themselves in impossible situations and who choose a bad solution, when every solution is bad. There are enough Catholics who are currently in such a position (gays, divorced and remarried Catholics, etc.) that we need priests who can understand what it’s like. Fr Williams might now become one such priest.
According to his superior, Williams “has been a spiritual guide for many in the Movement.” (Zenit 5/16) One wonders if he often shares the wisdom with which he concluded his affirmation of the Church’s teaching on contraception in a recent interview. “… the Church has no police force. She does not chase down and punish Catholics who fail to live up to her teachings.” In his own case, he apparently forgot about the overriding force of nature. The “her child” suggests he still doesn’t understand it.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/297349/higher-office-interview?pg=5
“‘The report further alleged that Williams had a sexual relationship with the daughter of a prominent American Catholic personality.’ Dear God, let it be George Weigel . . .” (blogger at NCROnline :-)
I’m reminded: The higher ya’ rise, the harder the fall!
Claire, I fully agree with your last comments. Thank you.
Alan C. Mitchell —
Reuters has the “Grazie mille pro multis Euros” picture of JPII you may have had in mind.
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2012/05/16/catholic-order-knew-for-months-about-scandal-of-popular-priests-child-vatican-official/
Anybody for a “Thought Bubble” contest? What’s JPII thinking as Reverend Maciel presents himself to the Holy Father?
Thought bubble #1: “What gives? You brought more money last time.”
¡Jamón!
http://www.tienda.com/jamon/jamon_serrano.html?gclid=CJ7M7ZPnjLACFWLktgodLRTtqA
http://ca.renewedpriesthood.org/page.cfm?Web_ID=1267
@ Gene Palumbo & Carolyn Disco: More than just thanks for the kind words, thanks for being among those who “get it!” And, if anybody knows what growing into a good father is all about, it is super dad and grandpa Ed Gleason.
My contribution to the “Thought Bubble” contest: Add a sound track to archive video of Maciel kissing JP2′s ring: CHA-CHING!
Gerelyn:
¡Jamón!
And I think it’s nice to know what part of the pig a ham comes from.
Jim Jenkins, thanks also for your reflexions on being a father. They help me understand the enthusiastic embrace of fatherhood by some (not all) male friends.
“After the experience, I suggested that second prize be four weeks there.”
When I was young, there was a Catholic summer camp in Philly (Camp Neumann, maybe?) whose ads emphasized daily Mass attendance, first thing in the morning.
There was not a single 14 year old I knew who would have put daily Mass on their Summer wish list.
Irene: last summer and fall, I visited a number of colleges with one of my children. What was notable about the visit to my alma mater, Loyola in Chicago, was that the very first stop on the campus tour was the chapel. Although it is always dicey to predict these things, I’d think that the odds of this particular child’s shadow darkening the door of a church during the college years are pretty long. As with the ad for Camp Neumann, though, the target of the promotion was surely not the child but the parents :-)
OK, my thought bubble:
“Maciel, have you no shame?”
Joseph J. –
You may find an answer (No) to that question on p. 193 of “His Holiness/Sua Santita”, just published in Italy. The leaked secret Vatican document there is titled something like “Secrets known and unspoken of Marciel Macial” and is described elsewhere as a “clamorous confession”. Coming soon.
The present leader of the Legionaries of Christ has said he confirmed Williams’ paternity soon after taking office in 2005. He hasn’t minded very much Williams continuing his public show career. Perhaps it has been a good money-maker for the order, whose founder’s life set an example of mixing money and talk about morality, profitably.
Williams statement today includes the astonishing comment: ““I foolishly thought that I had left this sin in my past, …”.
http://www.thejournal.ie/head-of-legion-of-christ-admits-knowing-about-priests-child-seven-years-ago-459532-May2012/
The LOC May 15, 2012 clarifications say “The child is being cared for, as required by natural law…” Perhaps a passing natural-law expert will tell us what it says about child support, visitation, and, by the way, all that other stuff JIm Jenkins describes so superbly. Thank you, Jim.
http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/eng/articulos/articulo2.phtml?se=243&ca=703&te=475&id=36743&csearch=703