The ultra-conservative Legion of Christ on Saturday accepted the pope's decision to appoint an interim leader for the order, whose late founder Marcial Maciel was disgraced after abuse scandals. "The Legionaries thank the Holy Father and embrace his provisions with faith and obedience," the Legion said on its website after the Vatican announced it would launch "a journey of profound restructuring" of the 69-year-old order.
It also thanked "the hard work and dedication" of the five bishops who conducted a nine-month probe into the order and reported to Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday.
A Vatican spokesman said the pope would name an interim leader for the Legionaries within weeks, in a major shakeup at a time when the Church faces intense pressure to crack down on abusers in its hierarchy.
The Mexican-born Maciel, who died in the United States in January 2008 aged 87, was accused of molesting eight seminarians and secretly fathering children.
Without addressing concerns that the church hierarchy was aware of and covered up Maciel's misconduct, the Vatican on Saturday condemned the Legion founder's "very serious and objectively immoral actions confirmed by incontestable testimonies..."
The US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said it was "disappointed that the Vatican refuses to admit its own complicity in concealing Maciel's crimes."
"The Vatican's lengthy cover-up and foot-dragging, and now its disingenuous denunciation of Maciel, is every bit as 'immoral' as the horrific child sex crimes by Maciel himself," the group said in a statement.
SIC: SMHAU