New Orleans, USA - Kingdom of Christ followers say they were shocked by revelations the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the U.S. religious group's late founder, led a double life.
Jim Fair, a Chicago spokesman for the Catholic lay group, officially known as Regnum Christi, said 200 Kingdom of Christ families in parts in Louisiana have been experiencing a wide range of emotions since Maciel was accused of having a daughter, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Sunday.
"You know the Kubler-Ross stages of grief -- anger, denial, depression and so forth? We've got all those bases covered all at once," Fair said of Legion of Christ reports that the priest has a daughter in her 20s.
Fair estimated there are nearly 9,500 Kingdom of Christ families in the United States.
The recent allegation by legion leaders comes years after the Mexican-born priest, who died in January 2008 at age 87, was accused of sexual abuse in a 2004 book.
"Vows of Silence," penned by New Orleans writer Jason Berry and journalist Gerald Renner, alleged Maciel had sexually abused nine former Legion of Christ seminarians when they were youths. Berry also produced a documentary about Maciel bearing the same name.
The Times-Picayune said Degollado denied the abuse allegations and was supported by the legion.