Legion of Christ must be thoroughly investigated

Pope Benedict XVI should realize that his 2006 decision to let Father Marcial Maciel Degollado retire to live a life of prayer and penance, and let it go at that with the hope that Maciel would fade in memory after his death, is no longer sufficient.

Father Maciel should be denounced for the totality of the harm and the evil he has perpetrated on others. There should be no doubt that the Legion of Christ has operated for all of its existence as a religious cult and as such should be suppressed. There should be a thorough investigation of the leadership in the Legion.

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien is rightly concerned about the deleterious influence of this group.