The Legionaries of Christ Publish the Fourth Consecutive Annual Report: ‘Truth, Justice and Healing’

March 21, 2024 | Rome –As part of their ongoing commitment to victims of abuse by members of the Congregation, society and the Church the Legionaries of Christ published the “4th Annual Report: ‘Truth, Justice and Healing’ – 2023.” Since 2010, the Legionaries of Christ have been on a path of renewal. Four reports have been published to date. In 2019, they published the Report 1941-2019, a report of historical nature that collects and makes public all cases of abuse since the founding of the congregation. From 2021-2023, the Legion continued to publish an Annual Report: ‘Truth, Justice and Healing.’ The Annual Reports are published primarily for victims, giving an account of the steps toward the commitments that the Legionaries of Christ have made.

Last year, 2023, was a time of renewed commitment and reflection.

The Legionaries of Christ focused on listening to and understanding the needs of victims, ensuring that their voices guided their path towards healing and justice.
The Congregation took steps in implementing the Reparation and Support Program in the hope of offering some comfort and addressing the impact of the abuses more comprehensively.
Since 2010, the Legion has provided reparation and support to 41 victims of sexual abuse, 17 of whom received help after the 2022 guidelines were instituted.
In 2023, the Legionaries of Christ also initiated a commission to study the healthy exercise of authority within the Congregation to address the issue of abuses of power and conscience in a global and systematic manner. Currently, the Commission is working on framing this issue within the ecclesial framework, current culture, and the history of the Congregation to then formulate concrete proposals and measures.

As with the previous reports, the 4th Annual Report is structured into three main sections. The first section discusses the gradual progress that has been made, by the Congregation, over the past seventeen years toward a culture of zero abuse. The second section addresses the advances that have been made in 2023 toward the fulfillment of the commitments established by the 1st Annual Report: Truth, Justice, and Healing: 1) care for victims, 2) economic reparation and support for victims, 3) follow-up of ongoing canonical procedures, 4) impeding an investigation or grave negligence, 5) the accreditation process, 6) collaboration with external institutions and experts, and 7) abuses of authority and conscience. The third section looks at the work that is still needed, next year and in the years to come. There is still a long path to take in search of truth, justice, and healing for the victims.

All up-to-date case data, documents and reports, as well as contacts for institutional and independent reporting channels can be found on 0abusos.org.

Previous Annual Reports & Related Documents:

1st Annual Report – Territorial Communication

2nd Annual Report – Territorial Communication