The Maciel/Legionaries thing is a mess. You can read a pretty comprehensive article about it here (click). Maciel founded an ultraconservative religious order called the Legionaries of Christ, and they've been a pain and an embarrassment to the Catholic Church since their very beginning. Maciel hasn't got off scot-free - there have been periods when he has been suspended for investigations - but nobody has been able to pin anything solid on him.

The evidence linking Pope Benedict or Pope John Paul II to any sort of "coverup" is very weak. They did allow Maciel and his Legionaries to continue to exist in the Catholic Church, and that's very distressing to me - but no crime.

-Joe Offer-