J, Paul Lennon, former LC (1961-84), LPC Counseling
Me, the dissident; one of many, so I am not totally alone.
But as I see the Legion of Christ grow
-if not progress- I now have some serious soul searching to do.
What to make of my thirty-year crusade on ReGAIN to reveal what I believe to be the true nature of the Legion of Christ? A prodigious business venture disguised as a religious order.
Have I been wrong to preach the spurious nature of the Legion of Christ Catholic Religious Order approved by popes and Vatican authorities?
Have all my efforts been in vain?
Has my unstinting support of Maciel’s sexually abused seminarians -now in their eighties- and their humiliation and abandonment been worth nothing, as the Legion juggernaut goes triumphantly trundling along?
Have the successors/accomplices of Pedophile Founder, conman, manipulator and consummate liar, Fr. Marcial Maciel, aided and abetted by unwitting popes and corrupt Vatican authorities – notice I do not say “The Catholic Church” of which I am a faithful member- ultimately prevailed..
What to make of the 5,000 dissident former members on Facebook’s Spanish language “Legioleaks” page? Are they just more disgruntled old men like me?
What about the many counter testimonies and studies regarding the Legionaries of Christ, in Spanish, French and English, that have been written over recent decades?
(See appendix in: A Naïve and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of Christ: https://www.amazon.com/N%C3%A4ive-Sentimental-Dubliner-Legion-Christ-ebook/dp/B083GJP6RW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=328GJ19PE8MIP&keywords=A+Naive+and+Sentimental+Dubliner+in+the+Legion+of+Christi&qid=1682696073&s=books&sprefix=a+naive+and+sentimental+dubliner+in+the+legion+of+christi%2Cstripbooks%2C122&sr=1-1 )
There are thousands more like me, throw-aways and walk-aways of the Legionaries of Christ since the foundation in 1941. Many with broken faith, shipwrecked in the spirit, who do not know what to make of God, Jesus, Church after our harrowing experiences. Would that Holy Mother the Church caste an understanding glance in our direction. But, no matter, I believe Jesus does. The Carpenter’s son from Nazareth, the Rabbi who sang the Beatitudes, who eschewed the path to success, prosperity, and triumph, and doggedly stuck to His thankless mission, knowing that in the long run…
No! You haven’t wasted your time. You have helped many understand what happened to them & warned many others that their gut was right. If you’ve saved one person & helped one family, none of your efforts have been in vain. STAY AWAY from the LC!
Margaret, I may not have acknowledged your kind message. It is now approved and should be visible on the page. We must be strong like an oak (quercia) to fight against the current. Pope Francis has taken a hands off approach to the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi Movement, for the most part. I still believe there are certain cult-like features present in the order and movement. What can you expect when it was thought up by a totally depraved individual with no spiritual life or moral tetherings (words of the last three popes), a manipulator and conman. They are still struggling to find their “charism” and I believe the training system is still very flawed. No doubt there are some holy priests in the Legion, but many are disillusioned and the Legion is not able to control them like it was during Maciel’s lifetime.