He is very concerned that New Zealand and international reporting around the Pandora Papers has painted a picture that is untrue, and while he is no longer in New Zealand he was born here and has a strong affinity to the country.

"I am truly sorry for the negative impact the trusts have created in New Zealand and especially sorry for any damage to the Church's reputation in Aotearoa. I hope things can be resolved", he told CathNews.

Cleary said it is simply not true that the Legionaries operate three trusts, in fact, they only operate one, the Retirement and Medical Charitable Trust (or RMCT).

The RMCT trust is receiving trust only, used to provide medical care for Legionaries and support elderly members in retirement.

Cleary told CathNews that claims the RMCT trust was established to hide money from sexual abuse settlements is simply untrue.

Cleary was forthcoming about the AlfaOmega Trust and Salus Trust.

However, says they were not established by the Legionaries of Christ but independently, by families.

Quick to clarify, Cleary said both the AlfaOmega Trust and Salus Trust, while established by private individuals, are also the family of a priest of the Congregation who wanted to donate money to Legion and where necessary provide loans so that the elderly members can be looked after and Legionnaires' health needs promptly attended to.

These statements and others to follow, run counter to what was published in the ‘Pandora Papers'; a recently published probe by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

"The 'Pandora Papers' publications have falsely attributed them to the Congregation, although the Legionaries of Christ have clarified this information to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists", reads a statement on the Legionaries of Christ website.

Wanting to clarify the Canon Law surrounding the priest's actions, CathNews spoke with a Canon Lawyer who confirmed that religious may receive money and gifts, but they are not permitted to benefit from them.

In her opinion, and from what she knew of the situation no Canon Law has been broken.

Further distancing themselves from any role in the AlfaOmega and Salus trusts, the Legionaries of Christ say on its website, it has "has no knowledge of the bylaws governing the AlfaOmega Trust and the Salus Trust, which establish who their board members are because they were not created by the Legionaries of Christ.

"The Congregation has never controlled their funds, their terms, their operations, or their investments.

"Nor does the Congregation determine the destination of their funds in any way, even though the trusts were created by a Legionary priest and his family members.

In a further distancing move, the Congregation denies the media claim that all three trusts have the same directors adding that, "The RMCT trust (created by the Congregation) has a board of directors, made up of members of the Legionaries of Christ, which rotates periodically by statute, according to the positions they hold in the Congregation."

The Pandora journalists also allege the Congregation has hidden $295 million through complex financial mechanisms such as trusts and offshore (New Zealand) accounts.

It is a claim the Legionaries also flatly refute.

What is true, they say, is Legionaries sold properties as part of their commitment to pay the debt it incurred around sexual abuse.

In another alleged serious inaccuracy, the Pandora journalists also reported that the Retirement and Medical Charitable Trust was created in 2010, only a few days before then-Pope Benedict XVI announced that the Vatican would take over the order's management.

The implications surrounding hiding money are clear.

But, in a statement to CathNews, Cleary, said he cannot reconcile the Pandora journalists' account with the fact that the RMCT remained inactive until it received its first funds around 2015.

Another elephant in the room is why New Zealand.

Cleary confirmed that there has never been a Legionary community based in New Zealand, saying the Legion's outreach to New Zealand started in Dunedin only in the 1990s.

"The Legion supported and offered spiritual guidance through the Regnum Christi movement to several laypeople, and have been strong supporters and strong benefactors for the Dunedin diocese," he said.

He said the Congregation chose New Zealand because financial environments in Mexico, where the Congregation is primarily based, and in Rome are less than transparent.

"The Legion chose New Zealand because the country is professional, reliable, cooperative and serious".

Cleary said New Zealand always features in the top group of nations with the least corruption and the trust remains in New Zealand because the new regulations make New Zealand even more attractive.

In a statement to CathNews, the Director of Communication for Legionaries of Christ, Fr Aaron Smith, confirmed, "The RMCT has complied with applicable NZ tax regulations, international accounting laws and auditing standards."

A 2014 review of the Legion's finances found no irregularities. Still, the "Paradise Papers" published by ICIJ in 2017, revealed an intricate web of offshore accounts connected to the order.

Sources

• Religion News
• Supplied: Statement and phone conversation
• Legionaries of Christ
• CathNews New Zealand

The Mexico based Legionaries of Christ used the trusts in a complex financial arrangement that held assets in four continents, according to an analysis by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

At the same time, the order is facing lawsuits by victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests.

The collaboration, codenamed the Pandora Papers, has revealed the hidden offshore financial dealings of an array of wealthy and powerful figures, including 35 country leaders, hundreds of politicians, 133 billionaires, celebrities, and sports stars.

The ICIJ identified three New Zealand-registered trusts connected to the Legionaries of Christ in documents from Asiaciti Trust. Asiaciti is a Singapore-based corporate services provider that was one of 14 professional firms whose confidential internal records were exposed in the Pandora Papers.

The first trust, known as The Retirement and Medical Charitable Trust (RMCT), was established in New Zealand July 6, 2010. This was just three days before Pope Benedict XVI asked Italian Cardinal Velasio de Paolis to oversee a reorganisation of the Legionaries of Christ and its lay, branch Regnum Christi.

The use of foreign trusts is not illegal or necessarily tied to tax avoidance or money laundering, and the Legionaries of Christ deny any wrongdoing.

However, when the Legionaries of Christ trusts were established, New Zealand was a popular destination for people seeking to hide money offshore using trusts.

New Zealand foreign trusts were promoted to international clients to hold assets confidentially without paying tax in a jurisdiction that did not carry the stigma of a tax haven.

The disclosure rules were tightened in 2017 following the 2016 release of the Panama Papers, another global financial investigation. This investigation raised questions about whether New Zealand had been too loose in policing overseas money flowing through its legal structures.

A spokesperson for the Legionaries of Christ denies the religious order controlled the trusts that made the investments. They only admit to having control over the RMCT, which received all the profits. They assert that it is incorrect to describe them as responsible for the movement of funds.

However, under an elaborate structure, they hid companies under other companies to hide that the beneficiary of all of those businesses was their own religious order.

The network of trusts and subsidiaries set up by priests and businessmen close to the congregation moved as much as $295 million across four continents.

Two companies based in the United Kingdom were in charge of commercial operations. Their cash flow came from interest-free loans made by AlfaOmega Trust and Salus Trust.

These two trusts were opened in New Zealand by the longtime financial planner of the Legion, Luis Garza Medina, and two of his brothers. The end beneficiary of the scheme, and which received the profits, was a third trust created by the religious order.

A review of leaked documents by ICIJ shows deep connections to the Legion in all three trusts, which share the same New Zealand address and have the same trustees managing them.

The Legionaries of Christ was founded in 1941 by a charismatic Mexican priest named Marcial Maciel. Over the next several decades, the order expanded internationally and established influential connections in the Vatican and elsewhere.

In 1997, reports emerged in the American press of allegations that Maciel had abused boys and young men training to be priests.

In 2006, the Vatican investigated nearly 100 abuse allegations against Maciel. As a result, it removed Maciel from ministry, ordering him to adopt a "life of prayer and penitence".

Maciel died in 2008, and in 2010 the legion's website acknowledged as factual the "reprehensible actions" by Maciel, including sexual abuse of minor seminarians.

Sources

NZ Herald

National Catholic Reporter

El País

Business Desk

BBC

The booklet, promoting a pilgrimage centre in the Holy Land, was written by Legionary priest Fr Juan Solana.

When the level of offense taken at the comparison between the saint and Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado was pointed out to him, Fr Solana issued an apology.

"The passages in question suggest a comparison between Mary Magdalene and Legion founder Marcial Maciel, which clearly is inappropriate and poorly chosen," he wrote.

"I was trying to make a point about compassion and forgiveness in light of the Legion's history, but realise now that my words were awkward and suggest a reverence for our founder that we clearly reject. Again, I'm sorry for any hurt this has caused," he said.

Fr Solana added that the Legion will cease distributing the booklet containing the reflection in question.

Continue reading

In April, Pope Francis will beatify on the same day both Popes John Paul II and John XXII.

Each represents contrasting styles and records as Bishop of Rome: John XIII who convoked the Vatican Council and opened up the Church; John Paul II who stiffened and straightened the Church when some thought it was out of control.

From his opening words as Pope, Papa Francisco has cut a very different path to that of John Paul II and his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis engaging, direct, simple and accessible approach has been quick to demonstrate a leadership style which is more inclusive.

And, along the way he has quietly but emphatically faced the Church in a fresh if not new direction.

But what a backlog of issues the Church has to face.

With two simple observations - one to journalists in the plane on the way from Brazil and the other in his long interview with the Jesuit magazines last year - he has personally managed to defuse sex and homosexuality as obsessive topics of Catholic focus.

50 years of issues

However, the Church has virtually 50 years of unaddressed issues and reforms that need to be addressed:

Clericalism, the restructuring of ministry and the ticket into the clerical culture at heart of so trouble for the Church - celibacy - which Pope Paul VI prevented the Vatican Council from considering;

The weak grasp of human biology reflected in the Church's sexual ethics;

Centralism and careerism in Church administration;

The horrifying blight of sex abuse on the credibility of the Church on any moral issue;

The outdated nature of the church's legal processes; And perhaps the biggest issue,

the exclusion of women from positions of decision making significance.

That's where the inclusion of Pope John XXIII in the beatification ceremonies next month becomes the clear indication of the style and direction of his term as Bishop of Rome.

The canonisation of two popes

John XXIII cause for canonization had been languishing. Pope Francis dispensed with the usual process and simply declared, as he can, John XXIII to be worthy of beatification.

Fans and devotees of John Paul II had started the chant for his canonization at his funeral - "Santo Subito".

Prominent among those leading the chorus were the now discredited Legionaries of Christ.

John Paul's affectionate but irresponsible protection and negligent sponsorship of the Legionaries founder, Marcial Maciel, remains the black spot in his pontificate. But the beatification wheels were turning for John Paul II and it seemed difficult to derail the plans of John Paul's cult members.

As all leaders know, managing change requires that the leader take the majority of the community, organization or nation along with him or her as the changes unfold.

Pope Francis has already indicated how he wants to address these and other tense issues in the life of the Church - with open discussion, inclusive participation in the conversation and a process that will reach conclusions.

That is why he called the Extraordinary Synod on what all pastors in many countries know is a matter of acute pastoral tension - serving and including the divorced and remarried in the Church community.

Pope Francis, learning from his mistakes

As Jesuit Provincial in the 1970s, he was widely seen as a self willed and domineering figure.

Divided as the Jesuits in Argentina were, he did little more than antagonize many with his style.

But he has learnt from that failure.

At the heart of Jesuit governance is the good working relationship and openness needed between the leader and his subjects.

After failing as Provincial, Jorge Mario Bergoglio had another opportunity to learn how to govern when he became Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

There, his approach was to be decisive only after extensive and inclusive engagement and consultation with those involved in or affected by the decision.

Such processes mean change will only come slowly.

But to govern effectively, Pope Francis needs to govern inclusively, as reflected symbolically in this joint beatification next month.

Why is Pope Francis twinning the two popes?

He is defusing tensions while at the same firmly leading in a positive direction - defuse the cultists by beatifying John Paul II yet underlining what Pope Francis really wants: a return to the spirit of Vatican II as the animating spirit of the Church.

That's why John XXIII got fast-tracked.

Faction ridden as the Vatican in particular and Church in general really are, Francis has to take with him as many as he can from all factions as he helps the Church face the reality of its challenges and respond constructively.

The documented turning point of his life after failure as Jesuit Provincial occurred before a picture in a German church of Our Lady, The One Who Unties Knots.

To do what he plainly wants to do, Our Lady will have to be working overtime.

- Fr Michael Kelly is executive director of UCANews. Used with permission.

The six foreign language news editors, Karna Swanson, English; Gisele Plantec, French; Inma Alvarez, Spanish; Mirko Testa, Italian; Alexandre Ribeiro, Portuguese; Tony Assaf, Arabic, announced "… with deep regret our decision to leave the agency after many years of service to the Church and to all the agency's readers."

"After years of fruitful collaboration with the Legionaries of Christ, we disagree with the decision of the congregation to underline the institutional dependence of the agency on the Legion. The initial vision of Zenit was never to make it a service of a particular congregation, but rather of the universal Church. This has been the spirit with which we have worked throughout the years, and we could not betray this spirit now. We warmly thank all our readers for their loyalty and support throughout the years, and we hope to be able to continue to work for the Church and for all those who seek the truth, in another manner, but always with the same spirit."

Last week, Zenit's founder, Jesús Colina resigned citing the disagreement on "administrative transparency" with the Legion of Christ and the affair involving the founder of the Legion of Christ, the late Mexican priest, Marcial Maciel - who the Vatican established to be a paedophile, a drug addict and who had fathered a number of children with various women.

"Father Marcial Maciel's conduct and the way in which the congregation informed us of this, concealing important facts, has often led to us not carrying out our duty of providing information that is in line with the Pope and the Holy See's vision, fully."

Established 14 years ago as an independent agency seeking to report on "the world seen from Rome," Zenit has established a strong presence on the Internet, with daily editions in seven languages.

Colina was appointed a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications by Pope Benedict XVI, and has received the Path to Peace Award from the Path to Peace Foundation, which works in close collaboration with the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations.

In an exclusive interview from Rome with Catholic News Agency, Colina explained the details behind his departure.

What are the reasons for your resignation?

The current chairman of the board at Zenit, Legionary priest Father Oscar Nader, requested I take this step based on the view that as a person linked to various Catholic communications initiatives, I do not offer the clear idea of the institutional identity of Zenit that the Legionaries of Christ wish to communicate from now on.

How do you explain this decision?

Well, in reality I think this decision is the culmination of a gradual mutual loss of trust which began several years ago. The manner in which the Legion of Christ hid the information about Fr. Marcial Maciel, which was discovered bit by bit by the press, caused a breakdown of trust in this institution on the part of the director of the news agency.

I understand the difficult situation in which the superiors of the Legionaries of Christ found themselves. Now in public statements they have said they already had proof of Fr. Maciel's different lives for years before his death. Nevertheless, despite the statement issued by the Holy See in 2006, they continued to present him as a role model, even at his death and after his death.

Read Full Story: CNA

The lawsuit by Jose Raul Gonzalez Lara claims Legionaries of Christ failed to protect him from their founder and known pedophile Fr Marcial Maciel.

It also accuses Legionaries of Christ officials of covering up for decades known sexual abuse by Maciel and other Legionaries priests.

While dismissing some parts of the lawsuit, Hartford Superior Court Judge, Grant Miller allowed others, making it easier for Gonzalez to press for more evidence.

"It allows the floodgates to open up in terms of access to documents of the Legionaries of Christ and our ability to use international treaties to subpoena people within the Vatican, including very high-ranking officials," attorney for the plaintiff, Joel Faxon said.

A spokesman for the Legionaries of Christ said the Legionaries were pleased with the ruling but in light of the circumstances did not want to comment further.

In a twist emerging form the story, Gonzalez claims he is also Maciel's son.

Gonzalez's mother, Blanca Lara Gutierrez, has said Maciel led a double life, had two children with her, adopted another, then sexually abused two of the three, Associated Press reports.

Lara Gutierrez said she was 19 when she met the priest, then 56, who passed himself off as "Jose Rivas," an employee of an international oil company, a private investigator and a CIA agent. She said she didn't discover his real identity until 1997, through a magazine article.

Maciel enjoyed the favour at the Vatican under former Pope, now Blessed John Paul II, who admired the order's conservative profile, ability to fundraise and attract vocations at a difficult time in the Church's history.

A later Vatican investigation concluded Maciel had committed grave and "objectively immoral actions" that constituted true crimes in some cases, and showed a "life devoid of scruples and authentic religious meaning."

Sources

• Hartford Courant
• Associated Press
• Image: RMF 24