A turf war

On May 20, the Legionaries of Christ issued a news release stating that the "Holy See" had informed them that "at this time there is no canonical process underway regarding our Founder, Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC, nor will one be initiated." Subsequently, the Catholic News Service and other press agencies quoted the Vatican Press Office as confirming the statement.

That news startled some observers, since an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican agency charged in 2001 by Pope John Paul II with responsibility for reviewing cases of sexual abuse of minors by clergy, traveled in early April to New York and Mexico City to collect testimony from alleged victims. Those efforts by Msgr. Charles Scicluna, the Promoter of Justice within the congregation, suggested that a preliminary investigation was underway.
[...]
In fact, however, the communication came from the Secretariat of State, the department that handles papal diplomacy and acts as a coordinator for the work of other Vatican agencies. It came in the form of a fax, which was unsigned but bore a seal from the Secretariat of State indicating official status. Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State, is a longtime supporter of Maciel and the Legionaries of Christ.

What this means is that the statement did not come from the Vatican agency that ultimately has responsibility for deciding Maciel's fate. Officials of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have refused to make any comment on the recent news reports, but a senior Vatican official told NCR May 25 that the congregation has made "no statement" on the Maciel case, even to the Secretariat of State.

The official stressed this does not mean that there eventually will be a canonical case against Maciel, merely that the agency charged with making that decision has not yet communicated its intentions. Given the preeminence of the Secretariat of State within the Vatican, at a minimum these recent developments suggest there are grave doubts within the Holy See about proceeding.

Read the complete article New Legionaries intrigue: Statement on Maciel not issued by agency responsible for sex abuse cases from National Catholic Reporter.

I'm sure you all read Amy Welborn over at open book, so you've seen this already (*bows to Amy*).

In the statement quoted by John Allen from the Legion of Christ, their spokesman stated that the Legion didn't really distinguish between agencies in the Vatican and they assumed that the Vatican was speaking as a united body.

As a political science degree-holder and a student of government, I'd have to say that guy is either extremely naive or extremely incompetent (or a bald-faced liar). Any bureaucracy has its share of robbing Peter to pay Paul and the Holy See is no different in its day-to-day operations. As Allen points out, Sodano the Secretary of State is a supporter of Maciel and there at least can be no doubt now that he is pulling his weight in an effort to see Maciel off the hook. As to Sodano's motivations, who can say?

As for the CDF, it has been pointed out that the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith has been given the sole power handle sex abuse cases, with only the Supreme Pontiff himself overlooking their activities. As the Holy See spokesman said over the weekend, it was the CDF and its investigator who are the ones making the final determination on the investigation of Maciel, not the Secretariat of State and certainly not the Legionaries of Christ.

I may be wrong, but I'd say there's an ugly little turf war going on here and the only one who's going to stop it is Benedict himself. May God be with hin in reining in some cardinals.