175 children were abused by Mexican priests

[[MC]Ronin[MC]]

The organization has acknowledged the crimes of its members

For nearly 80 years, 175 children have been sexually abused by priests belonging to the Legionnaires of Christ, an internal report said.

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The founder of the ultra-conservative Mexican branch of the Roman Catholic Church, Marsial Massiel, has sexually abused over 60 children, and it has been confirmed that a total of 33 priests have committed sexual assaults against minors since 1941, the document said.

The findings of the report were written by a committee set up in June and extend from the founding of the group in 1941 to December 16, 2019.

"Most of the victims were adolescent boys between the ages of 11 and 16," said a statement published on ceroabusos.org.

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The report notes that 18 of the 33 abusers were still part of the organization, but said they had been eliminated from public-service tasks.

Fourteen of the 33 clergy were victims of the legionnaires themselves, which, according to the report, emphasizes the existence of "chains of violence" in which "the legionnaire's victim becomes an aggressor over time."

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Ceroabusos also notes that a 45-casualty "recovery and reconciliation" process is underway, while acknowledging that the process will still be extended to others.

In 2006, Martial Maciel, who died in 2008, was ordered to retire for the rest of his life in prayers and repentance by Pope Benedict XVI, after years of allegations that he had sexually abused boys and young men .