Mexican Catholic Leader Accused Of Sex Abuse Dies

Nine men have in recent years accused Maciel of molesting them while they were in a seminary in the 1940s-1960s.

The Mexican founder of an ultra-conservative Catholic movement who was accused of child abuse and sanctioned by the Vatican has died aged 87, his Legionaries of Christ group said on Thursday.

Marcial Maciel died of natural causes in the United States on Wednesday, the Legionaries said on their Web site. Maciel founded the group in 1941 and it now operates in 40 countries.

Pope Benedict ordered Maciel to retire to a life of "prayer and penitence" in 2006 after years of allegations that he had sexually abused boys and young men.

Nine men have in recent years accused Maciel of molesting them while they were in a seminary in the 1940s-1960s.

Maciel repeatedly denied the charges and the claims decades later came too late for authorities to pursue a criminal case.

"I never engaged in the sort of repulsive behavior these men accuse me of," Maciel said in 2002.

The Legionaries of Christ group was for long valued by the Vatican as a zealous army of God that still draws in new recruits when other orders are flagging.

But Maciel's accusers have described their seminary life as a brainwashing experience with Maciel portrayed as a saint.