A Rhode Island court has cleared the way for a lawsuit against the
Legion of Christ, alleging that the order used fraud and undue influence
on a wealthy widow to become her sole beneficiary.Americans United for Life (AUL) charges that Legion officials conspired to ensure that Gabrielle Mee removed the pro-life group from her will. AUL had been promised 10% of the Mee estate, the suit argues, before the widow altered the terms of her will to give everything—valued at about $60 million—to the Legion.
The suit is the 2nd challenge to the Legion’s inheritance of the Mee estate.
A niece of the widow had argued that Gabrielle Mee would not have given her entire estate to the Legion of Christ if she had been aware of the scandalous double life led by the group’s founder, the late Marcial Maciel.
That suit was dismissed, with the court ruling that the niece lacked proper standing to challenge the will.