Tag Archives: Marcial Maciel

News, Politics, Government

RI high court asked to overturn Legion will ruling

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Lawyers contesting the will of a widow who gave some $60 million to a secretive and disgraced Roman Catholic religious order are trying again to have their case heard, filing court papers in an attempt allow the woman’s niece to sue.

The papers, filed Wednesday with the Rhode Island Supreme Court, argue that Mary Lou Dauray has the right to intervene in the estate of her late aunt, Gabrielle Mee, a devout Catholic who gave most of her money to the conservative religious order the Legion of Christ. Mee died in 2008.

The lawyers seek to overturn a ruling by Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein, who threw out Dauray’s lawsuit last year, saying she had no standing to sue. But he said at the same time that evidence existed that Mee was unduly persuaded to give the Legion her money and detailed how the Legion slowly took control of her finances as she became more deeply involved in the movement.

A church investigation determined that the Legion’s founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel, sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children. The Vatican took over the order in 2010 and Pope Benedict XVI ordered a wholesale reform.

Dauray’s lawyers have said that Mee was defrauded by an order whose leaders orchestrated an effort to hide its founder’s misdeeds from her aunt. Silverstein said in throwing out the lawsuit that some of what was before the court raised a red flag because Mee transferred millions to “clandestinely dubious religious leaders.”

In Wednesday’s filings, Dauray’s lawyers argue that Dauray is legally interested in Mee’s estate and that Mee’s most recent will was obtained by fraud and undue influence by the Legion.

Silverstein said in his opinion in part that Dauray disavowed her interest when she said during a deposition that she didn’t want anything for herself from Mee’s estate, but instead wanted it to go to charity. Wednesday’s filing argues that comment should not have been taken as Mee disavowing her interest.

The Legion must file a response with the court by early August. The order has not studied the filing yet but expects to prevail, said spokesman Jim Fair.

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News, Politics, Government

RI records spotlight double life of Legion founder

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Unsealed documents in a Rhode Island lawsuit brought against the Roman Catholic order Legion of Christ describe allowances made for the order’s founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel.

The Vatican took over the Legion in 2010 after determining that Maciel had sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children by two women.

The documents, unsealed Friday, include testimony from the Legion’s former second-in-command who said he discovered Maciel had fathered a daughter in 2006, but never confronted him about it and didn’t share the news with the broader membership.

The lawsuit was filed by a relative of a woman who gave $60 million to the Legion. A judge has said the relative didn’t have standing to sue.

The documents were unsealed at the request of The Associated Press and other media.

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Documents of disgraced Legion of Christ released in Rhode Island

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Documents related to a disgraced Roman Catholic order called the Legion of Christ were released to the public Friday amid a legal battle over an elderly widow’s bequest of $60 million to the organization.

The Associated Press, The New York Times, the National Catholic Reporter and The Providence Journal sought to unseal the documents. A Superior Court judge agreed but gave the Legion time to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. The Rhode Island Supreme Court on Thursday declined to delay the documents’ release.

Pope Benedict XVI took over the Legion in 2010 after a Vatican investigation determined that its founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel, had lived a double life: He sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children by two women. The pope ordered a wholesale reform of the order and named a papal delegate to oversee it.

The will of Gabrielle Mee, who died at age 96 in 2008, is the focus of the lawsuit. Mee’s niece, Mary Lou Dauray, had alleged that Mee was defrauded by the Legion and unduly influenced by its priests into giving away her fortune. Her late husband was a onetime director of Fleet National Bank, which has since been absorbed by Bank of America.

Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein ruled in September that Dauray could not sue, but he noted there was evidence that Mee had been unduly persuaded to change her trusts and will and give the Legion her money. Dauray’s lawyer, Bernard Jackvony, said Friday that the documents being released show an orchestrated effort by higher-ups at the Legion to get Mee’s money and cover up Maciel’s misdeeds.

The Legion says its actions surrounding Mee and her estate were appropriate and honorable. It says it did not exert undue influence over her decision-making, and that the gifts she gave to the order were made of her own free will.
Among the documents being released are depositions given by top-ranking leadership of the Legion, including the Rev. Anthony Bannon, who was once Maciel’s deputy, and the Rev. Luis Garza, current head of the Legion’s North American operations.

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RI ruling means release of Legion of Christ docs

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Documents related to a disgraced Roman Catholic organization called the Legion of Christ could soon be unsealed and available to the public following a decision Thursday by the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

The state’s high court issued an order declining to delay the release of the sealed documents, which are related to a lawsuit contesting the will of a woman who left $60 million to the Legion. The Legion had argued that the records should remain under court seal because their contents could taint a future jury.

The documents could be available as early as Friday.

The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Providence Journal and the National Catholic Reporter had asked a Superior Court judge to unseal the documents, saying there was no justification to withhold documents that could shed light on the Legion’s operations. Last month, the judge ordered the documents to be unsealed, but he gave the Legion until Friday to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

Depending on how the documents are stored, some could be available Friday, according to Joseph Cavanagh, the attorney for the media organizations.

“Our issue is to find out exactly what records are there and in what format,” he said.

In a statement, the Legion said it was “disappointed” that the documents are being unsealed. Legion spokesman Jim Fair said the Legion wouldn’t fight to keep them under seal any further.

“There are yards of documents,” Fair said. “It’s done. They’re public. This ends the debate.”

The Legion, founded in Mexico City in 1941, calls itself a religious congregation of pontifical right and says its mission involves “extending the Kingdom of Christ in society,” according to its website. The Vatican took over the Legion in 2010 after determining that its late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, had sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children by two women.

The Legion, which has facilities in Rhode Island, has faced other complaints, including one from a Connecticut man who claims to be Maciel’s son. Another Connecticut man has alleged the Legion used predatory means to persuade his ailing father to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the Legion says it doesn’t pressure anyone to make a contribution.

The will of Gabrielle …read more
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