Luis Garza Medina is a Roman Catholic priest of the Legion of Christ who previously served as its Vicar General, Territorial Director of North America, and Spiritual Director in Manila, Philippines. Medina currently resides in Monterrey, Mexico.
Biography
Garza was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. He has a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University. He entered the Legion of Christ in 1978.
Garza was Vicar General of the Legion from 1992 until 2011. In 2006, Garza investigated serious charges of sexual abuse of minors by Legion founder Marcial Maciel, which were later verified.[1]
Garza left the post of Vicar General in 2011 in order to take up the role of Territorial Director for North America.[2]
From 2014 to 2016 he was a local apostolate coordinator of Everest Academy in Manila, Philippines.[3]
His older brother Dionisio Garza Medina is the CEO of Tenedora Topaz. His younger sister Roberta Garza Medina is the editor of Milenio magazine in Mexico City.[citation needed]
Controversies
In a civil lawsuit that was later dropped, Garza was listed among the accused of alleged sexual abuse of teenage boy in the early 1990s.[4] Following up on these accusations, the Legion of Christ carried out a canonical investigation entrusted to an independent investigator who concluded that "the accusations against Father Luis Garza were not credible," and that he should be "free from suspicion and should not be restricted in any way in the exercise of his priestly ministry."[5]
Garza was named in the Pandora Papers, where it was reported that he had $300 Million in trusts in New Zealand under his name.[6]
Notes
- ^ "Former Legionaries: Fr. Garza is part of the solution, not the problem". Catholic News Agency. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- ^ David Kerr (July 15, 2011). "Father Luis Garza steps down as Vicar General of Legion of Christ". Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- ^ "Luis Medina Garza Biography". Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "New Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Legionaries Of Christ". The Hartford Courant. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ https://legionariesofchrist.org/7295-2/
- ^ "As Catholic order fought sex abuse claims, secret trusts devoted to it poured millions into American rental properties". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
External links
- Regnum Christi announcement of Garza's appointment to head North American Region
- Vatican Insider article on Garza's resignation
- Jason Berry "How Father Maciel Built His Empire" National Catholic Reporter Apr 12, 2010
- Jason Berry "Did Second Most Powerful Man at Top Catholic Order Sexually Abuse Teenage Boy?" The Daily Beast November 5, 2016
- Spencer Woodman "As Catholic order fought sex abuse claims, secret trusts devoted to it poured millions into American rental properties" Miami Herald October 5, 2021
- "Fr. Luis Medina Garza Biography"
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