My First Communion came from an abuser. Now ’mandatory reporter’ laws must be used to protect Catholic youths. From OZY reporter Nick Fouriezos: Potted plants, the tightness of my shirt collar and the air of celebrity. That’s all I remember from the day of my First Communion. As a second grader, I was supposed to wait until spring. But my mom changed the special day for one reason: So I could receive the holy sacrament from Fr. Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ, who was speaking at a November conference at the Georgia World Congress Center. My school, founded by his religious order, celebrated a birthday mass for him each year, and costumed female students would perform a traditional Mexican dance in honor of his heritage. Maciel was the closest thing to a rock star we had, and after I received my First Communion from him, I bragged about it to my friends for years. But almost a decade later, we learned the truth: Maciel was not “a living saint” but a rampant child abuser. He died as the highest-ranking priest ever to be disciplined over sexual abuse allegations. And in light of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report released Tuesday, which showed more than 300 “predator priests” were credibly accused of abusing more than 1,000 child victims, it’s worth asking again: What can be done? | 