Legion of Christ Had Knowledge of Rev. Thomas Williams Child? (VIDEO)
Rev. Thomas Williams of the Legion of Christ has admitted that he fathered a child. The Legion has also apologized not acting sooner in regards to the situation.
The Legion of Christ is a religious order made up of over 889 priests. It was originally founded in 1941 by Marcial Maciel, who was later suspended after he was charged with being a pedophile. New scandal now further rocks the religious institution.
Rev. Thomas Williams, an American moral theologian and former superior of the Legion's Rome general office, admitted Tuesday to having a previous relationship with a woman that resulted in her giving birth to a child. While Williams did not reveal the identity of the woman or child, he claimed the incident had happened "a number of years ago."
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The incident comes only a week after the Legion of Christ admitted that seven of its priests were under investigation for sexually abusing minors.
Williams, however, is one of the most prominent priests within the organization and has served as the face for the institution in recent years. The Legion has also admitted to having prior knowledge of the incident, although they failed to act on it.
"A number of years ago I had a relationship with a woman and fathered her child," Williams said in his public statement. "I am deeply sorry for this grave transgression and have tried to make amends … I am truly sorry to everyone who is hurt by this revelation, and I ask for your prayers as I seek guidance on how to make up for my errors."
The Legion also issued a statement in apology according to the Associated Press, but they failed to state whether they had previous knowledge of the incident.
"In a statement, the Legion said it was sorry it hadn't acted 'earlier and more firmly' to remove the Rev. Thomas Williams from his very public ministry as a spokesman, author and high-profile television personality. It said it took responsibility for the lapse, but didn't admit when Williams' superiors knew of the existence of his child," AP News reported.
