Customer Reviews

Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II

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I lived in a rectory with Father Juan Vaca, a major character in this book, 15 years ago. He poured his heart out to me about the abuse he now describes and was wounded to the heart. Those who love the church love the truth, this book tells the truth. I hope it is a beginning of a cleansing of our church and the replacement of a sick clerical culture with true gospel values. We priests must demand integrity of our leaders, it is the only way to restore the good name of the church. I would like to thank the authors, and especially Father Thomas Doyle who have helped to bring the cleansing light of day to this dark moment in the history of our church. I couln't put it down.

It may seem strange that one of the subjects of "Vows of Silence" writes a review, but the book is far too important to pass up this opportunity. Besides, the Legion of Christ has front-loaded the net with its own reviews.
Apart from the information about me (Doyle),which is 99% accurate, the only inaccuracies being very minor, the immense value of this book is the fact that it courageously uncovers the dishonesty of the Legion of Christ and its sexually abusing founder/leader. Catholics from the Vatican on down to the pews are duped by this outfit. Berry and Renner dug deep into the inner workings of the Catholic Church's strange governing world and found corruption. Many people, lay and clergy, are not able to handle what they found, but find it they did. The Church, Catholics and secular society are much better off because of the honest and detailed rendition of the bizarre story of this cultish organization. If men and women of integrity look for reasons for the senselessness of the church's response to the sex abuse crisis, they will find some valuable and shocking answers in this book. The blindness and the denial of justice starts at the top. Thomas Doyle

I wish I had read this book earlier when the clergy abuse scandal was in the headlines. This "Tale of Two Cities" - that of God and that of man - could really have been entitled "A Tale of Two Priests." Jason Berry and Gerald Renner tell the story of two men of the cloth, Thomas Doyle and Marcel Maciel - one a lonely advocate for victims of sexual abuse, the other credibly charged with being a serial sexual abuser - and the surprising fate that the Catholic Church under John Paul II has reserved for them. The courageous pastor to the marginalized is himself marginalized, moved from assignment to assignment, each time farther and farther from centers of influence; the cowardly child molester receives accolade upon accolade and is all but canonized while he's still alive. Fortunately for both - and for all of us - there's a life to come with judgment.

This book is well-researched and clearly written. It deserves a wide readership.

As can be seen in some of the previous "reviews" of this book, the considered reaction of some to Mr. Berry's findings is: 'Kill the messenger!' This being the case, the following communiqué issued by the Vatican Press Office on May 19, 2006 is certainly germane to this book, and to the deprecatory comments about it posted here. This is excerpted from an English translation of the Italian original:

"In reference to news reports diffused concerning the person of the Founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the Reverend Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the Press Office of the Holy See communicates the following:"

"...[T]he then-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, authorized an investigation of the accusations [of sexual abuse against Fr. Maciel--O.H.]. In the meantime, the death of Pope John Paul II [a friend and patron of Fr. Maciel--O.H.] happened and the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as the new Pontiff."

"After having submitted the results of the investigation to an attentive study, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the guide of its new Prefect, His Eminence Cardinal William Levada, decided - taking account of the advanced age of the Reverend Maciel and his delicate health - to renounce any canonical process and to invite the Father to a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing every public ministry. The Holy Father has approved these decisions."<end quotes>

Res ipsa loquitur--"the thing speaks for itself".

While the strands of this narrative often get tedious - one wonders whether the authors were in too much of a rush to get their book out while the clergy sexual abuse scandals were in the headlines - the detailed allegations made by Berry and Renner against one of the most "revered" figures of contemporary Catholicism, Fr. Marcel Maciel, founder of the ultra-conservative Legionaires of Christ, are shocking. While "Nuestro Padre" ("Our Father") as he is blasphemously called by his devotees (victims?) has denied the charges, he has made no attempt to vindicate himself through a recourse to the judicial system. One is left wondering if Berry and Renner have uncovered something that ought to receive more attention and that their targets have chosen to ignore them rather than risk contesting the allegations. Every Catholic should read this book.

As a former Legionary, I'd like to thank the authors for a very professional, objective investigation of the Legion. Their book exposes the achilles heal of the Catholic Church: the arrogant disregard for victims of sexual abuse. The cultish, deceptive ways of this new Religious Order and her "saintly" founder are compared to a wonderful priest who sacrificed his career to aid these victims of a perverted clergy. The Catholic Church is at a crossroads similar to the early sixties. The prognosis isn't good for its very survival when a group like the Legion and its Regnum Christi Lay movement are hailed despite their deceitful fundraising and recruiting practices. If the root is rotten, can the tree florish for long? It's a must read for anyone who wonders why Organized Religion is failing and how out of touch the Vatican is especially with the American Catholic Laity. Some of our good Bishops are now becoming aware of the Legion's methodology and shallow spirituality and should be supported in their efforts to overcome the cover-ups of our current Pope and the Roman Curia!

Incredibly accurate. I am a former member of Regnum Christi for many years. It all rings too familiar. I am saddened to see how much harm the Legion of Christ has done, but I am relieved to see that it is finally coming to the surface in the United States.

Vows of Silence: The Abuses of Marcial Maciel, Founder of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi and kept quiet by JPII

is what I'd suggest! Otherwise, aside from some organizational difficulties probably arising from a book composed by two authors, Renner and Berry provide an excellent account of the problems facing the Legion of Christ due to its megalomaniac Mexican founder. Though it goes in depth into the struggles within the US Catholic Church with the pedophile or ephebophile (those attracted to post pubescent boys) scandal, its focus on accusations against Maciel are well researched and documented. The comparisons with the US problems serves to alert the reader that the cover up seems to be a tendancy within the entire Roman Church to not address such tender issues.

It is clear that Maciel has been able to get away with many crimes against his own seminarians, as well as hide some other character issues, because the Church's hierarchy supports such abuses.

Time for a change? I'd say, si!

Many books have been written about the horrendous sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church. But none has been quite like this one, portrayed as the story of abuse of power in the John Paul II papacy. More specifically, Authors Jason Berry and the late Gerald Renner show how an powerful pope refused to consider highly credible allegations that Mexican Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the cult-like Legion of Christ, was a blatant sexual abuser of young men. The pope protected him because Maciel was churning out convervative priests in the image and likeness of the pope and his bishops. Since this was written, the authors were vindicated; new pope Benedict forced Maciel to give up his public ministry. I was particularly interested in this book because the papal protection of Maciel was similar to how the pope ignored a growing clergy sex abuse problem in Catholic Ireland, presumably because Ireland practiced what he preached--a strict personal morality. I wrote about this in "An Irish Tragedy," describing how sex abuse by Irish priests helped cripple the Catholic church. The Legion of Christ is now in disarray after it was revealed that Maciel had fathered a child. In disarray? So is Catholic Ireland.

I picked up this book from a friend who is a former Legionaire. I am a practicing Lutheran who was curious about the sex abuse scandals (a media darling of a subject) that have been reported over the past several years. I recommend the book to anyone who is not Catholic. The book follows the lives of two devoted Catholics (although Father Maciel is devoted mostly to himself); the narrative requires no prior knowledge of church hierarchy or doctrine--though it would be helpful, I'm sure.
What I liked most about the book is its balanced view. It certainly indicts the church hierarchy with no apology, but it also mentions the fact that abuse is perpetuated by individuals and is wrapped up with a host of other social problems and evils. It offers some solutions, which are mostly hinted at rather than suggested outright due to the "reporter's" style of the authors. It does not appear to embrace the notion that there is one easy solution to the problem; it points out ways in which church officials could have prevented abuse and corruption in their ranks if they had dealt with these situations openly and honestly to begin with.