Pope John Paul II gives his blessing to Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legion of Christ, at the Vatican in a November 2004 file photo. The late pope once called Maciel “an efficacious guide to youth.”Beyond the Veil|  The Vatican has completed its first phase investigation into the Legionaries of Christ, a conservative order once lauded by the Church in Rome but then disgraced when it became known that its founder had fathered a child and molested seminarians.

The Vatican said Tuesday its five investigators have completed their initial examination into the Legionaries 120 seminaries, schools and communities around the globe, and that a final report would still take several months for Rome to complete.