Lawyer distances himself from alleged children of Fr. Maciel, says money for silence unacceptable

Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 10, 2010 / 12:49 pm

Attorneys representing the alleged children of Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, have severed ties with them over their efforts to convince the religious congregation to fork over $26 million in exchange for their silence.

In a statement, attorney Jose Bonilla Sada said his firm would no longer represent the family in their lawsuit against the Legion founder. He explained that while he agrees the family deserves to receive legal compensation from the Legion, “We do not agree that the children have asked for money in exchange for their silence. That is unacceptable.”

A day after the accusations against the founder of the Legion were made public, the congregation released a letter written by Fr. Carlos Skertchly to one of the children, Jose Raul Gonzalez, on January 12. The letter revealed that Gonzalez was asking for $26 million in exchange for the family’s silence on the matter. Bonilla added, “It has been suggested that I was the one behind that money, which is false, and for this reason it is best to clear this up now and cut any ties with the aforementioned family.”

The lawyer then noted that recent public statements by both Blanca Estela Lara Gutierrez, with whom Fr. Maciel reportedly carried on an affair for three decades, and by her children Omar, Jose Raul and Christian Gonzalez Lara, differed "in some substantial points from what we had originally been told.”