In.

such a context, where everything is relative and nothing intrinsically evil exists, but only relative good and relative evil, people who have an inclination to such behavior are left with no solid footing. Of course pedophilia is first rather a sickness of individuals, but the fact that it could become so active and so widespread was linked also to an intellectual climate through which the foundations of moral theology, good and evil, became open to question in the Church. Good and evil became interchangeable; they were no longer absolutely clear opposites. > The Church was shaken also by revelations about the double life of Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of a religious congregation of priests, the Legion of Christ. Sexual abuse accusations against Maciel, who died in 2008 in the United States, had already been in place for years. Maciel s partner stated that she is the mother of two of his children. Some voices in Mexico now are claiming that the public apologies of the Legionar ies of Christ are not su cient, that the congregation must be dissolved. Unfortunately we addressed these things very slowly and late. Somehow they were concealed very well, and only around the year 2000 did we have any concrete clues. Ultimately unequivocal evidence was needed in order to be sure that the accusations were grounded. To me Mari cial Maciel remains a mysterious figure. There is, on the one hand, a life that, as we now know, was out of moral bounds - an adventurous, wasted, twisted life. On the other hand, we see the dynamism and the strength with Which he built up the congregation of Legionaries. Meanwhile we have had an Apostolic Visitation carried out and appointed a delegate who together with a group of collaborators is preparing the necessary reforms. Naturally corrections must be made, but by and large the congregation is sound. In it there are many young men who enthusiastically want to serve the faith. This enthusiasm must not be destroyed. Many of them have been called by a false gure to what is, in the end, right after all. That is the remarkable thing, the paradox, that a false prophet, so to speak, could still have a positive e ect. New courage must be given to these numerous young men. A new structure is needed so that they do not fall between the cracks but are guided correctly so as to be able to continue performing a service to the Church and to mankind. > The case of Maciel is unique, but in addition there are priests everywhere who either secretly or else with the knowledge of their religious community or even ofthe Church authorities are living in a quasi marital relationship. The scandal becomes that much the worse when children from those unions end up in orphanages while the Church pays for their support. That should not be. Anything involving lies and concealment should not be. Again and again in the history of the Church, unfortunately, there are times when such situations occur and spread, especially when they lie, so to speak, within the trend of the spiritual climate of the

time. This is of course also an especially urgent challenge us all. When a priest lives together with a Woman, one must examine Whether a real will to marry is present and whether they could build a good marriage. If that is the case, they must follow that path. If it is a question of a failure of moral will, but no real interior union is there, one must try to find paths of healing for him and for