Top Catholic Priest Accused of Sexually Abusing His Own Sons - ABC News

Pope John Paul II blesses Father Marcial Maciel at the Vatican in November 2004. For years, Maciel, a Mexican priest who founded the Catholic order known as the Legion of Christ, seemed to have powerful connections within the Vatican that allowed to him to weather accusations of pedophilia, drug abuse, and misuse of funds. But Maciel was removed from active priesthood by John Paul's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, in 2006. With growing questions about Pope Benedict's role in the Catholic church's handling of sexual abuse allegations, and with the Legion of Christ now admitting its founder was a pedophile, there is renewed attention to how the Pope, as Cardinal Ratzinger, dealt with the Maciel case. (AP Photo)

Father Maciel and a group of Legion seminarians surround Pope Pius XII during a visit to Rome in 1950. Macie, wearing glasses,l is behind the Pope's right shoulder. Father Maciel started the Legion of Christ in Mexico in 1941 when he was not yet 21 years old. The Legion currently has more than 750 priests, as well as 70,000 followers in its affiliated lay organization, Regnum Christi. Maciel was legendary for his fund-raising skills. (ABC News)

A prominent Catholic priest, praised by Pope John Paul II as "an efficacious guide to youth," Father Marcial Maciel, sexually abused not only young seminarians under his control but also abused his own children, according to a lawsuit filed today in Connecticut by a man who claims to be Maciel's son.

Exclusive interview reveals secret life of priest who founded Catholic order.

In an interview to be broadcast Monday evening on ABC News Nightline, the priest's son, Raul Gonzalez, 30, says he thought his father worked for the CIA or an international oil company, until he saw the priest's picture in a 1997 magazine article detailing allegations of sexual abuse.

"My mom said, 'Is that you?' and my dad said, 'No, it's not me' and my mom said, 'Yeah, it's you,'" recalled Gonzalez in the interview, conducted by Jason Berry, an investigative journalist who first reported on widespread sexual abuse by Maciel at the Legion of Christ and writes for the National Catholic Reporter.

The Legion of Christ has acknowledged that Father Maciel fathered at least one child as a priest.