A young man that was sexually abused by his father, who was the founder of a Catholic religious order, is the subject of a priest abuse lawsuit, as reported by the Associated Press for Google News.
A Connecticut judge refused a ruling to dismiss claims of negligence aimed at the priest's order: the Legionaries of Christ.
J.R.G., of Mexico, claims that his father, the now-deceased Rev. M.M., abused him and that the religious order failed to protect him when they knew of his proclivity for abuse.
J.R.G. also accused the order of covering up M.M.'s decades-long history of sexual abuse, and, for covering up for other priests as well.
Judge Grant Miller, of the Hartford Superior Court, in dismissing some parts of the lawsuit, has allowed the charge of negligent supervision to proceed. The judge stated that J.R.G.'s allegations were enough for the order to have foreseen future harm.
The ruling was made on August 30.
New Haven-based attorney Joel Faxon represents the plaintiff. He said that now his client is free to press for more evidence. Faxon stated, "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."
Jim Fair, the U.S. spokesman for the Legion, said that that the order was also pleased with the ruling, but he could not comment any further while the case is pending.
M.M. died at age 87 in 2008. After founding the order he received praise from the Vatican, and then-Pope John Paul II, for the Legion's conservatism, fundraising and recruiting skills.
The order's favoritism by the Vatican allegedly changed last year when a Vatican-led investigation resulted in discovering that M.M. had committed "objectively immoral actions" in a "life devoid of scruples and authentic religious meaning."
The Vatican found M.M. guilty of crimes based on a "system of power" he had created -
using silence, deceit and obedience. M.M. later lived under an alias that allowed him to continue abusing children.
J.R.G. filed his lawsuit in July 2010. He alleged that the Legion knew, or should have known, about abuse allegations involving M.M. that began back in the 1940s.
His abuse included both children and seminarians.
B.L.G., J.R.G.'s mother, said that she was 19 when she became involved with the priest. M.M., 56 years old at the time, told B.L.G. that he worked for an international oil company, was a private investigator and a CIA agent.
As M.M. used an alias, B.L.G. did not discover who he really was until she read about him in a 1997 magazine article. By that time the couple had two children together and had adopted one other.
She alleges that M.M. abused two of their three children.
Unfortunately, there are many allegations of sexual abuse that can stem from a church or a religious order. If a member of the clergy abused you, contact a personal injury lawyer today!