“By their fruits ye shall know them” – perhaps: how good and bad works can deceive – the case of the Legion of Christ
Presentation 2012 Montreal at International Cultic Studies Association annual conference
The cultic studies field includes many cases in which the commendable actions of certain groups incline some observers to view the groups as good. Conversely, the blameworthy actions of certain groups incline some observers to view those groups as bad. Contrary to the well-known Biblical saying, however, the situation is often more complex and differentiated than it appears, and one cannot necessarily judge a group by its fruits, especially when one is not aware of all the fruits. The case to be explored is that of the Legion of Christ, a congregation within the Roman Catholic Church, and its lay sister organization, Regnum Christi. Former Legion priest, J. Paul Lennon, will discuss the Legion’s fruits, in appearance and in reality, and point out some bad fruits.
GOOD AND BAD FRUITS IN THE LEGION OF CHRIST CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS ORDER
By J. Paul Lennon, MA, STL.
Official Catholic Church Stance:
“The Legion of Christ Produces Many Good Fruits; therefore, it is a Good Religious Order Blessed by God.”
“Independently of the person of the Founder, the worthy apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and of the Association ‘Regnum Christi’ is gratefully recognized.”
[COMMUNIQUE CONCERNING FOUNDER OF LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2006 (VIS)]
“Naturally corrections must be made, but by and large the congregation is sound. In it there are many young men who enthusiastically want to serve the faith. This enthusiasm must not be destroyed. Many of them have been called by a false figure to what is, in the end, right after all. This is the remarkable thing, the paradox, that a false prophet, so to speak, could still have a positive effect.”[1]
The belief held by Pope Benedict XVI, by his Delegate to the Legion of Christ, and by the Leadership of the order can be formulated as followed: The Legion of Christ Produces Many Good Fruits; therefore it must be good.
In this brief presentation the author will describe some the Legion’s good fruits, explore them more in depth, and describe other, bad or ambiguous fruits, which the Legion produces. A brief collation of Scripture passages will direct the reader to the Founder of Christianity and the spiritual nature of fruits envisioned by Jesus and Paul. A soul-searching Christian philosophical discussion of the complexity of “by their fruits ye shall know them” from an Irish former Legionary living in Mexico follows. Finally, an active priest, former Legionary, will explain the fruits of Marcial Maciel, an endemic illness in the Legion of Christ system which appears to preclude true conversion and reform.
The Legion’s Good Fruits
- Rapid Growth in Members
The Legion of Christ (LC) is a Roman Catholic congregation of pontifical right, made up of priests and seminarians studying for the priesthood. It was founded in Mexico in 1941, by Marcial Maciel, who directed the congregation as its General Director until January 2005. (…) The Legion of Christ has priests working in over 22 countries, and had 889 priests and 2,373 seminarians as of December 31, 2010. In the U.S. it operates 9 schools (and assists at several others) and two of a small number of seminaries for teenage boys currently operating in the US.
Its lay movement Regnum Christi has approximately 70,000 members, and the youth branch ECYD has tens of thousands. The Legion has about 300 students in its own major seminary, Center for Higher Studies, in Rome, in varying stages of preparation to be ordained as Legion priests.
- International Training Center for Priests
The Jewel in the Legion’s Crown of apostolic works, from a Catholic point of view, is clearly the International Center for Priests in Rome, Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum[2]. This seminary accepts students from all over the world to provide them with training for the priesthood. To be approved by Pope and the Vatican to train priests in the heart of Christendom, Rome, is, perhaps, the greatest honor for a religious order; a fact that would not be lost on the Jesuits who traditionally had been the order of priest trainers. One of the Jesuits’ claims to glory was that for centuries they were the priest trainers par excellence… The Legion was seen –although not said- by many to supplant the Jesuits in being “the Pope’s Battalion”, his closest allies, and the ones entrusted with the training of priests.
“The growing student body of the Legion of Christ´s Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome began the school year with a clear message: prepare yourselves to take up the Church´s mission.
‘October marked the beginning of the ninth academic year for the Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. This year the Athenaeum has a student body of 1,600, divided into three faculties: theology, philosophy and bioethics. The Institute for Religious Sciences, which is associated with the Athenaeum, is in its third year and now has 700 students. This year it will offer courses in Pedagogy of the Consecrated Life as well as Vocational Ministry.
Cardinal Camilo Ruini, the Vicar of the Holy Father for the city of Rome and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, presided over the Inaugural Mass of the Holy Spirit and offered a keynote address for the new academic year.’”[3]
- Schools, Colleges, and Universities:
In Mexico, the Legionaries administer the Anahuac University Network. They operate centers of education (minor seminaries, seminaries, schools and/or universities) in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, Korea, Poland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, and the Philippines. In the U.S. they run 9 schools (and assists at several others) and two of a small number of seminaries for teenage boys currently operating in the US.[4]
All that Glitters is not Gold
1.1 Members Defecting:
To begin with, the numbers given above are self-reported by Legion of Christ leadership. Although these statistics may be “official” and appearing in the books of the Vatican Congregation (Department) for Religious (Orders), there is no guarantee that they are faithfully reported by Legion leadership. The Vatican exercises little if any oversight on reports submitted by the Legion. Statistics are not verified by independent sources and there is no access to Legion archives. The Legion, naturally, does not report “defections” either during training or after ordination. Numbers of exiting members can only be calculated anecdotally and come to the public’s attention only when there is a major “scandal” that is picked up by the media. The real question remains, how many Legionary students and priests leave the ranks every year?
It is hard to gather statistics on Legion defections as this was information that was always carefully controlled by Legion administrators and it was the custom that members left under cover of darkness and in silence, “in fear and trembling”. The writer calculates that in the past 5 years 100 of the 800 priests have left the Legion. Since 2009, departures have been more visible and some members have voiced their reasons for leaving. Such is the case of gifted Legionary priests such as Fr. Richard Gill[5], Thomas Berg, Stephen Fichter, James Farfaglia[6], et al. who have made successful transitions to the diocesan clergy. Some have strongly criticized the Legion system and explained their reasons for leaving. Fr. Gill’s analysis of the Legion made the headlines. Titled, Can the Legion of Christ be Repaired? it appeared on Sandro Magister’s blog as Legionaries, The Ten Questions of Fr. Richard Gill[7]. Reflecting on the first stage of Legion reform enacted by the Apostolic Delegate, Fr. Gill formulates ten probing questions about the essence of the Legion of Christ. They cast doubt on the possibility of reform for the Legion if it keeps its prevailing mindset and attitudes.
A big blow to the Legion was the defection en masse of over 30 “consecrated” female members of the Regnum Christi in 2011 to form their own new religious group, Totus Tuus[8]. Around that time, a former RC member revealed that “340 Consecrated Leave Regnum Christi in Three years, Why?” asks former member, Nieves Garcia[9].
2.1. International Training Center for Priests
We should ask ourselves, with what right has the Legion of Christ set itself up as the training institute for Catholic priests. It is disconcerting to consider how the Vatican has allowed the Legion to attribute to itself such a mission. Where does the Legion get the training method that it imparts to is students? Where does the Legion get the wisdom to impart holiness to its seminarians, from around the world and to those in its own ranks? The spirituality of the Legion as a religious order would normally come from the example and writings of its founder. The example of the Legion founder has been totally discredited. The founder’s writings, the 12 volumes of the Letters of Nuestro Padre, have likewise fallen into disrepute. What was supposed to be the gem of the founder’s mysticism, Psalter of My Days, turned out to be plagiarized by Fr. Maciel from a Spanish freedom fighter in the 1940s. Through ghost writers Fr. Maciel authored Integral Formation of Catholic Priests[10] which is still available on Amazon.
The writer wonders whether that is the manual that guides the training of young adult students at the Legion run international seminary in Rome. The book presently figures as Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,035,792 in Books and the glowing description of Fr. Maciel and his works can still be read there. “This is a classic textbook for the formation of seminarians, currently used in over 20 diocesan seminaries in five nations. The fruit of Fr. Maciel’s 50+ years of experience in forming priests of the Church, Integral Formation of Catholic Priests is an insightful look at priestly formation for the clergy of today and tomorrow.” The author wonders whether Fr. Maciel’s methods may not be better described as “The Integral Deformation of Catholic Priests.” But Legion followers may be so dazzled by the appearances that they cannot see the irony.
Long time Legion critic, Jason Berry, reported on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 referring to the Legion’s own seminary:
“Center for Higher Studies: Rome Concentration Camp
‘The atmosphere in House of Studies is bizarre,” a Legion priest said glumly, sitting on a bench near the Tiber River, fearful of repercussions should his name be used. “Even now, the brothers (seminarians) have not been told about Maciel’s pedophilia. Their mail is screened and web access restricted.’
He considers the 320 seminarians ‘brainwashed. They read the letters of Nuestro Padre” — Our Father, as Maciel, touted internally as a future saint, was called. “Three years after the Holy Father punished him, they study his writings. Priests can spend time freely outside. The brothers are in a concentration camp.’”[11] We assume that things are different after the Apostolic Visitation ordered by the Vatican. Some notable defections have been reported and news leaking from the inside regarding the atmosphere of control and fear are disheartening.
3.1 From High Schools to Hotels.
In recent years, beginning with the Vatican’s censure of Maciel in 2006 but especially after revelations of his double and disreputable life, there has been a falling off in contribution to the Legion and decrease in the number of educational centers. REGAIN,INC webpage recently reported the “Legion is ending their role in the Sacramento area[12] following their decision in 2011 to close their only U.S Legion run university and their Immaculate Conception Apostolic School, a high school seminary in Colfax, California.” REGAIN asked: Why Is The Legion Closing Their Schools in the United States and Elsewhere?[13] “Why does the Legion have educational facilities? Were the schools in Sacramento and elsewhere established for a spiritual purpose to provide Catholic education? Or is it more likely that these institutions existed as a means to some end?” The article suggested the following explanation: “So if you look at the situation from a perspective of following the money the logical explanation for the Legion pulling out of an area is because they choose to remain in those areas where the profits are the greatest.”
This writer suggests that Legion schools, like their other “apostolates” are a means to less apparent ends: fundraising, visibility/image, and influence. For the order whose founder portrayed himself as “a friend of Pope John Paul II” image is a most important factor. The Legion tends to position itself -the term coined by Maciel survivor and Legion critic, Jose Barba, PhD, “iuxta-position”- close to the Pope, the Vatican, holiness, etc. This may explain why the Legion is now turning its attention to the Holy Land. The Legion administers one hotel in Jerusalem, The Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center[14] and is pouring money into another large hotel in Magdala in Galilee[15]. Let us be clear; the Legion is not necessarily investing its money. It is requesting donations to invest Catholics’ money in the hotel. The iuxta-positioning is clear. If the Legion can no longer associate itself with the Vicar of Christ, it will now associate itself with the land of Christ, portraying itself as a champion of peace in the Middle East and an educator of and host to pilgrims to the land of the Founder of Christianity.
The Legion’s Bad Fruits
Fr. Maciel’s accomplices
Of course, the first really bad apple was the founder, Fr. Marcial Maciel. Students of the Legion also ponder how Maciel could have lived such a corrupt life style for so long without help from others. Maciel was a master of deceit and control; apparently he controlled a circle of sexual victims and procurers. He also had a circle of those who abetted him and helped him stay in power for six decades. The Papal Delegate seems to have made a real blunder by not dismissing these accomplices. Such is the opinion recently expressed by very prestigious former Legionary, Fr. Thomas Berg, now Professor of Moral Theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York
“…First, he has chosen to leave multiple longtime and close collaborators of Maciel in positions of governance in the congregation. Second, and more disturbing, the Cardinal has chosen to forego a thorough and independent investigation into whether any present or former members of the congregation knowingly abetted Maciel.”[16]
Not so holy priests
The image of immaculate Legion priests suffered greatly with the revelation that the Legion’s knight in shining armor came crashing from his horse: a director, professor and author of books on moral theology, television personality, “Vatican analyst”, Legion spokesperson and apologist, Fr. Thomas Williams, had fathered a child as an active priest and he and his superiors had kept it for secret for over a decade. The very orthodox and formerly Legion owned National Catholic Register reported:
Legionary Priest Admits Fathering Child and Issues Apology
Father Thomas Williams is leaving public ministry for 1 year.
Father Thomas Williams, one of the most high-profile American members of the Legion of Christ, is leaving public ministry after admitting he fathered a child.
“A number of years ago I had a relationship with a woman and fathered her child. I am deeply sorry for this grave transgression and have tried to make amends,” Father Williams said in a May 15 statement.
“My superiors and I have decided it would be best for me to take a year without active public ministry to reflect on the wrong I have done and my commitments as a priest. I am truly sorry to everyone who is hurt by this revelation, and I ask for your prayers as I seek guidance on how to make up for my errors.”
He also apologized to members of the Legion and the Church, “since this scandalous news will damage them as well, at the worst possible moment.”
The identities of the mother and child have not been revealed.
Father Williams also said that he is with his family in Michigan and is being treated for a form of cancer [17].
Other Legionaries priests sex abusers?
Ever since the Legion revealed the disreputable life of its founder it has wished to repudiate him, attributing vices to him and maintaining that these vices were not transmitted to his followers. Recently allegations of sexual abuse by Legionary priests were reported to the Vatican which began –another- investigation into the Legion of Christ.
“VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is investigating seven priests from the troubled Legion of Christ religious order for alleged sexual abuse of minors – evidence that the scandal over the order’s pedophile founder doesn’t rest solely with him, The Associated Press has learned.
Two other Legion priests are being investigated by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for alleged sacramental violations, believed to involve abusing spiritual direction and other pastoral care to have inappropriate sexual relations with women.
The investigations mark the first known Vatican action against Legion priests following the revelations of the Legion’s founder, who was long held up as a model by the Vatican despite credible accusations – later proven – that he was a drug addict who raped and molested his seminarians.
The Legion, which is now under Vatican receivership, has insisted that the crimes of the Rev. Marcial Maciel were his alone.
But the Vatican investigation of other Legion priests indicates that the same culture of secrecy that Maciel created within the order to cover his crimes enabled other priests to abuse children – just as abusive clergy of other religious orders and dioceses have done around the world.”[18]
Devastation caused by the Legion’s Methodology
REGAIN, INC arose in the early 90s from the concerns of former Legionaries, their relatives and friends regarding the state of physical, psychological and spiritual disarray of active and departing members We do not have statistics but we can say that over the past twenty years there has been a steady stream of former members who feel they were mistreated, manipulated, and abused in various ways during their time in the Legion.
ReGAIN’s mission is to outreach, unite and support those touched or adversely affected by the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi Movement. Past and present members and all those who quest for justice and truth, resolution and healing are invited to join in this endeavor.[19]
ReGAIN has been the repository of many tales of woe, of wounded warriors seeking information, support and guidance as they recover from their Legion experience. While popes, bishops, and gullible Catholics have lauded the Legion, its methods, and its works, REGAIN has witnessed the devastation caused by Legion methods, spiritual directors and superiors who do not have the best interests of the members at heart. It has ministered to the angry and confused, to the disoriented and frustrated individuals and families who have been damaged. While admirers have watched the triumphal march of the Legion in the Church and in the world, we have scoured the beaches, salvaged shipwrecks, rescued survivors, and bound the wounds with our very limited resources. And the Legion has even punished us and tried to prevent us from carrying out our mission of mercy.
We have excavated the truth from under layers of lies, educating the public about the true nature of the Legion of Christ and its Regnum Christi Movement. It seems that contrary to St. Augustine’s teaching, the Legion has used people and loved things (money, wealth, and power); and all in the name of the Kingdom of God.
In the last few years a new, vibrant, well informed, and interactive blog keeps the public updated on the activities of Legion and Regnum Christi at http://www.life-after-rc.com/
Another webpage, in Spanish, also keeps the Legion honest: http://avlcrc.blogspot.com/
Damaging Effects Caused by Legion Training
In 2012 a group of young women who studied as the Regnum Christi Residential High School in Rhode Island have taken to the Internet. They describe their blog:
This blog is an account of the experiences of former Pre-candidates of the Regnum Christi Movement. Many of us suffered real mental, emotional and spiritual damage in our years at Immaculate Conception Academy (High School Boarding). We share our stories here to warn parents of the very real dangers of handing your daughters over to this flawed institution. What you see when your daughters come home for a week at Christmas and two weeks in the summer is not what happens the other 49 weeks of the year.
They were called “Pre-candidates”, that is, young female high school students preparing to consecrate themselves to the lay movement founded by Fr. Marcial Maciel. Some common damaging effects gleaned from reading the testimonies:
- Major Depressive Disorder with suicidal thoughts and attempts; Dissociation, etc.:
Letter from M.[20] to Apostolic Visitor Bishop Ricardo Watty in February 2010: Your Excellency:
I have been pondering this letter for about a week since I knew I would have the opportunity to present this letter to you, and my mind began to fill with ideas and emotions. I have written so many stories about the pain and suffering Regnum Christi left in my life, an anguish so severe that I tried to take my own life. I’m sure you don’t have time to read the screenplay that I created to express in story form what I went through as a member of the Third Degree of Regnum Christi. Or the 150 pages I wrote about my “vocation story” while I was recovering from my overdose. (…) Zero was my clinical depression before joining the Regnum Christi. During my second year, we were given MMPIs (the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and made to draw psychoanalytic images. Not surprisingly, I drew a weeping willow tree, a classic symbol of depression, and my MMPI scores were higher than I ever saw when working in a clinical practice. Seven is the number of days I spent under medications after my overdose while the doctors saved my life. My life was saved because as I was about to die from internal bleeding, I received a picture in my head that I could not die because there existed the possibility that I could have a family and a happy life as a writer. Because of that possibility, I was taken to the hospital.
- Emotional and Psychological Abuse at the hands of inept, cruel and manipulative “Spiritual Guides” leading to Severe Psychological Damage: Former Consecrated wrote[21]: I would like to share one thing with all the former pre-candidates, if you are trying to figure out why you were treated the way you were, I suggest you give up and remember the following – your formators had NO TRAINING WHATSOEVER on how to help you be a better person, how to respect your human rights, how to develop your personal talents or help you discern a vocation. The only training they were given was how to get you to comply with the ideals and discipline…(…) So, if you feel confused because you don’t understand why someone treated you a certain way well, this might be 80 or 90% of your answer. No one saw you as an END, only as a MEANS to benefit the Movement and enlarge the numbers for the consecrated life. M wrote: Two, the number of people I told about how suicidal I was as a consecrated: my spiritual guide and my Mom. My spiritual guide continued to emotionally abuse me by constantly picking on every weakness I had. My Mom told me that I probably had an illness called depression and it could be treated with medication and therapy. My spiritual guide was very angry and since my Mom knew I was unwell, they told me they had to send me home. In retrospect, that person was probably trying to follow the rules of the Movement, but they were harmful to me and left deep wounds on my psyche for many years that followed. Eight the number of years I have spent in psychotherapy recovering from the Movement, beginning at 3 times a week and gradually going down to once a week when I could hold off my depression that long.
- Anorexia Nervosa + Spiritual Abuse: One girl in our class was anorexic and the rest of the girls began to eat as little as possible. When she was in the hospital, I overhead the directress of the school telling the priest not to give her Communion unless she ate.
- Physical Illness deriving from mental cruelty: Ten – the number of pounds I lost when I got the rotavirus after telling my spiritual guide that I didn’t understand how the Movement would fulfill its mission if all we did was work in schools and she told me that I was talking like an enemy of the Movement. My directress ordered me to gain back the weight over the next months but I was so depressed I was barely able to chew food.
- Mind Control[22]: Number Twenty Six – July 26, 2002, the day I flew home from Monterrey, Mexico so suicidal I could no longer think clearly, but so integrated into what being consecrated meant that I could not help myself from recruiting members on the airplane. One hundred and fifty – the number of Aspirin I took on Sept. 11, 2003 when I could no longer bear the thought that happiness could never be mine as I was not good enough to be a consecrated (member of the Regnum Christi).
- Pre-mature Recruiting: Number Nine – 9- the age at which they began to recruit me. Please note that I was not at an age in which children have yet developed complex reasoning. Thirty – the number of students that were in the 6th grade class I gave Spiritual Direction to in Monterrey as we started to recruit them to consecrated life. I feel guilty as I remember their names and their faces and afraid of what the Movement might have done to them in their futures.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: 2,921 – the number of days in 8 years. How many nightmares I estimate that I have had since leaving consecrated life as symptoms of Post-traumatic stress disorder. I have one that I remember about once a week, so it would be safe to say that I have one every night during the other dreams that I don’t remember….
- Ignorance regarding Sex and Interpersonal Relationships leaving members ignorant, immature, and ill equipped for real life: Former Consecrated wrote: One thing I still can’t understand is that there was never any sex ed.! Perhaps this is why so many have had difficulties with sentimental relationships, emotions, dating and even husbands. Maybe you got that education later on – lucky you! Some left their home at 14 or 15 and went back at 18 or in their 20s. During that time many of your friends had their hearts broken, got sharper at dating, lost naiveté and had helpful experiences regarding sexuality (some not helpful at all ha-ha-ha). And then the ex-pc arrives home and the whole guy thing gets complicated, she does not know how to handle it. I find the lack of sex ed. at the PC and even 3gf life to also be one of the “damaging” aspects, even if we didn’t clearly notice it. Some 3gf suggested to higher superiors to include some books on sex education during formation years. The answer was no, it was “imprudent” because, what if they got aroused while reading that information? (yep, my jaw dropped too when I heard the answer).
9.Rejection of one’s cradle Faith (of the Catholic Church): I still believe in Him…(…) However, I cannot ever return to a Church that knew about the horrors within the Movement and chose to ignore it for more than fifty years, long before I ever would have joined, and could have prevented me from ever suffering what I did. I cannot return to a Church where the Pope praised the Movement and Marcial Maciel so many times in public, which was crucial to my entering and believing in it, when the evidence about the group was so craftily being hidden. It is too late to win me back to the Church, but if you act quickly and deftly, you may still be able to save the faith of others.
- Spiritual Pride and Judgmental-ness: Frances[23] writes: It’s been absolutely amazing and eye-opening to me to think back to the insane life that was the PC. Yet, there we were, tucked back in there, us Russian Princesses and Nuns of Narragansett, better than our peers because we had chosen to give our lives to God. Those other mere mortals were living flamboyant and sinfully pleasurable lives; because wasn’t life all about sacrifice and self-denial? For a group that preached “universal Christian charity” it’s amazing to think how much we judged any and all who weren’t doing exactly as we were. “Oh, she must not be generous with God, she is going HOME”. “Oh did you hear? So and so had fun/danced/got pregnant/etc. etc.” Seriously?! Who were we to judge or say what God’s will was for someone else? We were better somehow for giving our lives to God, others who were called to vocations such as marriage were lesser beings, not capable of the love and devotion we chosen souls were capable of. The hubris of those thoughts disgusts me even as I write it.
- Loss of Humanity and Freedom
Frances states: How is it that 80 girls could live so close together, do absolutely everything together for years, and yet know so little about each other? I think we were only allowed to speak a total of about 30 minutes a day, maybe less. The rest of the time we walked about like drones, taking in what we were told we could take in, nothing more, nothing less.
The very essence of what it means to be a human, to have the freedom to choose was taken away and put inside the tightest of boxes: the schedule. Every minute of every day was planned out, to the point that if you got constipated, good luck. Your free time didn’t allow enough time to remedy that problem.
I remember one year after final exams, going outside and yelling FREEEEDOOMMMM (Brave-heart style) with a couple other PC’s. We earned an intolerably long lecture about the inappropriateness of such behavior. We were teenagers, for Christ’s sake.
Forgiveness and Healing
Another, well liked, former member of Regnum Christi, Nieves Garcia, has her own Spanish language blog, granito de verdad con amor[24], grain of truth with love.
No amount of good works can justify the bad works that have been done and continue to be done. In her testimony as a former member of the Regnum Christi looking back over her twenty seven years in the Movement:
Once truth comes to light, it behooved us to review our way of life. When we did this, many of us realized that we, too, had done harm to others. Hundreds of good fruits do not justify bad fruits. We are human beings; we are not things, vegetables, “sacks of potatoes.” To justify evil by the amount of good fruits produced is to accept evil as a means to a good end.
I lived 27 years in this institution. I, too, have done harm to others without wanting to. And I ask forgiveness. But I cannot continue to deceive. What I want is for us to become aware, ask forgiveness, and open ourselves to the grace of conversion. We have to change. People are not numbers or the fruits of my harvest; they are human beings loved for who they are by God, and they deserve total respect. It is about service, not about appearances. God knows the reality: “Don’t let you left hand know the [good] works your right hand is doing.” Only in a state of humility will God bless those who love and serve others unselfishly.
There have been good fruits. Great! But we should never do harm to anyone, ever; much less in the name of God.
Nieves Garcia.[25]
The Teaching of Sacred Scripture
What Jesus Said
Matthew 7:17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Cross References:
Matthew 7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Matthew 12:33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
Matthew 12:35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible helps to understand the mystery of Fr. Maciel
“So every good tree – As the thorn can only produce thorns, not grapes; and the thistle, not figs, but prickles; so an unregenerate heart will produce fruits of degeneracy. As we perfectly know that a good tree will not produce bad fruit, and the bad tree will not, cannot produce good fruit, so we know that the profession of godliness, while the life is ungodly, is imposture, hypocrisy, and deceit. A man cannot be a saint and a sinner at the same time. Let us remember, that as the good tree means a good heart, and the good fruit, a holy life, and that every heart is naturally vicious; so there is none but God who can pluck up the vicious tree, create a good heart, plant, cultivate, water, and make it continually fruitful in righteousness and true holiness.”
And from JesusWalk
Luke 6:43-45
[43] “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. [44] Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. [45] The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
What St. Paul Teaches
In Galatians, chapter five (13-26), Paul lists seventeen things as “works of the flesh” and nine things as “fruit of The Spirit”. He says that flesh and Spirit are in conflict. And he urges us to live by The Spirit and not by the flesh.
Works Of The Flesh(Self-indulgence) Fruit Of The Spirit
- Adultery 1. Love
- Fornication 2. Joy
- Impurity 3. Peace
- Sensuality (lewdness) 4. Patience
- Idolatry 5. Kindness)
- Witchcraft 6. Goodness
- Hatred 7. Trustfulness
- Rivalry (discord) 8. Gentleness
- Jealousy 9. Self-control
- Anger
- Quarrels
- Disagreements
- Heresies
- Envy
- Factions and malice
- Drunkenness
- Orgies and all such things”
Fruits, Good and Bad, are Spiritual and come from the deep Heart of a Person
Biblical Commentary
Scripture: Mark 7:14-23
14 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”
Meditation:
Where does evil spring from and what’s the solution for eliminating it from our lives? Jesus deals with this issue in response to the religious leaders’ concern with ritual defilement — making oneself unfit to offer sacrifice and worship to God. The religious leaders were concerned with avoiding ritual defilement, some no doubt out of fear of God, and others out of fear of pleasing other people. Jesus points his listeners to the source of true defilement — evil desires which come from inside a person’s innermost being. Sin does not happen. It first springs from the innermost recesses of our thoughts and intentions, from the secret desires which only the individual soul can conceive. God in his mercy sent his only Son Jesus to save us from our sins. But to receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Only God can change our hearts and make them clean and whole through the power of the Holy Spirit. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God through his Word and Spirit first brings it to light that we may recognize it for what it is and call upon his mercy and grace for pardon and healing. The Spirit of truth is the Consoler. The Spirit gives us the gift of the truth of conscience and the gift of the certainty of redemption in Jesus Christ.
When Cain was jealous of his brother, Abel, God warned him to guard his heart: “Sin is couching at the door; it’s desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7). Do you allow any sinful desires to couch at your door? We do not need to entertain or succumb to sinful desires or thoughts, but instead, through the grace of God, we can choose to put them to death rather than allow them mastery over us. The Lord is every ready to change and purify our hearts through his Holy Spirit who dwells within us. His power and grace enables us to choose what is good and to reject what is evil. Do you believe in the power of God’s love to change and transform your heart?
“Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart and my will that I may I choose to love what is good and to hate what is evil.”
The Fruits of the Legion of Christ,
Christian Philosophical Considerations
By Former Legionary of Christ
Alexander Anderson Greville,
Managing Director
Acorde Advisors AG
To affirm that the fruits (i.e. good works) of a person or institution are sufficient proof of their inherent goodness is questionable.
The Gospel admonition that “by their fruits you shall know them” does not refer exclusively to good works done or achieved, but to the whole human action involved in this achievement. To dissociate results from the manner in which they were obtained, or the true intentions behind these actions, is simplistic and could lead to mistaken conclusions, even in the secular arena. There is no doubt that certain dictators, for example Napoleon or Mussolini, had lofty intentions and glorious achievements, but at what cost in human freedom and human lives?
Ethical, moral and more so Christian behavior does not consist in a sort of tally where one adds up the good and bad works of an individual to come up with a positive balance and conclude that good was done. Indeed, on the contrary, in the Catholic vision this balance could be almost entirely negative, i.e. bad, and yet merit salvation for the individual. This contrasts with the Calvinist interpretation which assigned enormous importance to earthly success (“good works”) as a visible sign of an individual´s eternal salvation, and is perhaps the source of the much-touted “Protestant work ethic”.
In relation to the “fruits” of a person or institution there are two aspects to be considered before concluding that they are “good” or “bad”.
Firstly, the intention: the great philosopher, Emmanuel Kant, said that an action is good, ethically speaking, only on condition that it is totally disinterested, i.e. nothing else is desired but good itself. If there is any ulterior motive, whatever it may be, then the action is not truly moral. This is called “purity of intention” in the religious sphere. In the case of Marcial Maciel and the congregation he founded, the Legion of Christ, one cannot deny that many good works have been attained, yet there are elements present which give the impression that the intentions behind these achievements could have been tainted. Specifically, and based on well-documented anecdotal evidence and facts, one could raise questions such as: were they motivated by monetary gain (?), by a desire for notoriety; growth in the number of adherents as an end in itself (“empire-building”)? by a desire to gain influence and power in the Church and in civil society? We know that many, if not most, of Fr. Maciel´s followers did not have such obscure intentions and are truly inspired individuals, yet we are not talking here about individuals, but about an institution, so these followers of Maciel may have been unwitting accomplices to these tainted goals, and the end result, the “fruits”, were not truly good. Integrity may be present in most of the individuals but was and is not a hallmark of the institution itself.
Secondly, and related to the first point, what means and methods were used to achieve these fruits or “good works” (?). If any form of coercion was employed such as peer pressure, excessive manipulation, overly-zealous recruiting techniques, reminders of dire personal consequences for not complying with God´s will, or whatever, this equally distorts the original intention and invalidates the morality of the whole process no matter how good the outcome has been: the fruits are partially a product of something other than the pure, unencumbered desire for the glory of God.
Unfortunately, there is documented evidence of more obscure methods deployed by the Legion of Christ in pursuit of its goals: questionable practices such as inordinately generous gifts to senior members of the Roman Curia; falsification and/or substitution of documents submitted to Church authorities to expedite approval of the congregation´s constitution; disregard for Canon Law regarding important aspects of religious life such as spiritual direction and confession; an unwillingness to submit to the normal Church procedure for the female members desiring to consecrate their life to God ( i.e. approval by, and a vow of obedience to the local bishop ). Above all, the invention of vows designed to quell any internal criticism, however constructive and positive, of the institution´s directors, totally in contempt of Canon Law in the matter, and of the dignity of human reason and freedom. Many of these devious practices have now been abandoned, but one wonders if the culture of manipulation which inspired them remains.
Finally, if we were to accept that the “fruits” of an institution such as the Legion of Christ were indeed proof of its inherent goodness, would it withstand a more rigorous scrutiny and come out with a highly positive balance? Opinions on this may differ, but one could indeed question the abnormally high rate of attrition within the ranks (i.e. defections), many of whom left the congregation with serious trauma, or the many who stayed and were ostracized by Fr. Maciel for daring to disagree with him. Worst of all, the many who were victimized by his sexual proclivities, both inside and outside the congregation. What kind of internal governance, or non-governance, would allow a senior member of a religious institution, even its founder, to carry on a hidden life of drug abuse and sexual deviancy for fifty years without ever questioning and much less censuring such conduct (?)
We would also have to take into account the enormous reputational damage inflicted upon the Catholic Church by this scandalous behavior, and which is now casting a shadow over the life of the beloved and respected Pope John Paul II, not to mention the feeling of shock and deception produced in so many of the founder´s followers. Such considerations are impossible to quantify, but they should certainly be borne in mind in any evaluation of the institution in question, such that a highly positive balance is not a foregone conclusion.
The point of this essay has not been to deny or minimize the many good achievements in the human and spiritual spheres of the Legion of Christ. Yet an excessive contemplation of the “fruits” or good works of this institution runs the risk of blinding people to the possible existence of a fundamentally flawed orientation in the pursuit of these latter, the use of questionable means and methods and a cavalier attitude toward the institution´s egregious failings, leading to the conclusion that change is not necessary: “why should we criticize or change our ways?, we are vindicated by our good works!”
CAN THE LEGION OF CHRIST BE REPAIRED?
By Former Legionary,
Fr. Richard Gill, Church of St. Lawrence O’Toole, NY[26]
Just over a year ago, I decided that in good conscience I could no longer continue as a member of the Legionaries of Christ, and took action to incardinate in the Archdiocese of New York as a diocesan priest. The revelations about the sordid double life of the man who began the Legion of Christ, the late Fr. Marcial Maciel, are widely known. His lifetime of deviant sexual behavior, corruption, abuse and deception of several popes raised serious questions about how any valid charism could be transmitted by such a man. Those questions still remain largely unresolved. Although the Holy See has made an extraordinary effort and large investment of personnel to reform the Legion over the next several years in the hopes of saving it, a group of Vatican investigators referred to him as “a man without religious sentiment” and the Holy Father himself called Maciel a “false prophet”. It is no exaggeration to say that Marcial Maciel was by far the most despicable character in the twentieth century Catholic Church, inflicting more damage on her reputation and evangelizing mission than any other single Church leader.
What weighed on me even more than the scandals of Fr. Maciel however, was the manner in which the current superiors of the Legion, once they knew of the scandals, had failed to act, or acted in ways that consistently misled the membership. They sought to maintain an external unity at the expense of trust, honesty, needed reforms, and transparency. In the aftermath of the revelations about Maciel, they led a systematic effort to deny and minimize the facts about Fr. Maciel and thus revealed a profoundly disturbing attitude of paternalism toward their own religious. It was as if the priests and religious had no right to know of serious matters that affected their future, their freedom, and the commitment of their lives to the Congregation. I came to recognize that this pattern of activity was fruit of an internal culture Fr. Maciel had created and which would be extremely difficult to change, even with the assistance of the Holy See.
I write now as an outsider observing what is going on, but obviously I retain a great interest in the Legionaries with whom I served for 29 years. The Legionaries in my generation and afterwards were idealistic young men who saw in the Legion a great force for renewal of the Church and for collaboration with Pope John Paul II in the new springtime of evangelization. What we signed on for, motivated by true zeal and youthful hope has turned out a devastating demonstration of the human side of the Church, leaving many disillusioned beyond measure. I sincerely hope the project of reform will succeed, as I know from experience the Legion is populated by many very talented, intelligent, enterprising and holy priests who have much to offer the Church if properly channeled.
Despite efforts to move forward with a sense of normalcy, the situation within the Legion is a complicated and divided one. Approximately 70 priests of over 800 have abandoned the congregation. Among those who remain some passively hope the Vatican will simply dictate to the Legion the way forward. Others sincerely desire reform, but deeply distrust in the current superiors. Superiors discouraged open discussion of the issues involved citing the need for charity and forgiveness toward Maciel. There remains great deal of ignorance about what happened and how the scandal lasted over so many decades. Obedience, grounded in the idea that for the Legionary a superior represented the will of God, has become for many a tense and uneasy labor. Many have come to realize that the dynamic spiritual leadership needed in such a crisis has been, and continues to be severely lacking.
Vocations have dropped precipitously in places like the United States. Fundraising operations have been severely impacted which has led to decisions to sell a number of valuable properties and off-load important apostolates so the Legion can service its extensive debt payments. Much the same is true of Spain, where vocations have been very weak for some years and now the Legion is also faced with severe financial strains and finds itself forced to sell schools and other assets to support operations.
Cardinal De Paolis, named Delegate of the Holy Father last July has moved slowly up to now on the process of reform, which is still in its beginning stages. In a conference given to the Legionaries in Rome January 3, he outlined a process of revision of the Legion’s Constitutions by a commission of his assistants and several Legionary priests. De Paolis has insisted that this work be deliberate and extend over the course of three years, to cover in 2011 the “identity and spirituality” of the Legion, then in 2012, the formation system, and in 2013, the government and administration of the Legion. Presumably after that there will be time for redaction, and approval by a special General Chapter convoked for the purpose and final approval by the Holy See. It seems the process will extend out into 2014 or 2015 at least.
On the first of February, the Legion announced the establishment of a five person “Outreach Commission” charged with the task of hearing complaints from victims of Maciel and making recommendations to Cardinal De Paolis. Soon there will be another commission appointed to study with the finances of the Legion. A fourth area of work is that of the Apostolic Visitation to the consecrated men and women of Regnum Christi currently underway with Bp. Ricardo Blázquez of Spain.
De Paolis has insisted that every Legionary participate in the process of revising the Constitutions, and that it be done in a spirit of fraternal dialogue and respect. It is difficult to exaggerate the enormous paradigm shift this represents for Legionaries, since the Constitution of Maciel was understood to express the will of God in detail. Card. De Paolis has overturned that belief of Legionaries and is asking them to take responsibility for reshaping the Legion under his guidance. With Fr. Maciel completely discredited in De Paolis’ eyes and in no way a point of reference for the future, the new form the Legionaries will take is anyone’s guess.
The approach of Cardinal De Paolis demonstrates a great deal of thought has gone into the process on the part of the Vatican. An attempt last year by the Legion’s superiors to rush through for his approval a revised version of the Constitution was quickly rejected. There is much to be said for a longer timeline to make the reforms needed, as he is dealing not with mere legal technicalities to have the Legion conform better to Canon Law, but a thoroughgoing change of the internal culture. Such change, in any organization that is seventy years old and numbers thousands of members, requires time, reflection, and assimilation.
Despite these positive signs several difficulties do seem apparent with the Cardinal’s current approach, namely:
- The Legion as a “work of God”
In his letter to Legionaries October 19, 2010 which marked the beginning his concerted work, he called the Legion a “work of God”. He did not explain in what sense it was a work of God, or how God uses such a man as Maciel. It seemed a point he took for granted. One major difficulty with that concession is that for loyal “macielistas”, it is a phrase pregnant with meaning. Because for Maciel himself, who called the Legion a “work of God” incessantly, it meant that every detail of the Constitutions and Norms were inspired by the Holy Spirit and could not be called into question. Such a premature concession of language was a serious mistake, making it harder for Legionaries to understand there are things that are gravely defective in the structure and the spirituality Maciel left behind as his legacy.
Such language also sidesteps what is a serious issue at the core of the scandal: in what sense there is a valid “charism” to the Legion of Christ. Simply asserting it is from God does not make it so; even it is said by the Papal Delegate. What is needed is an explanation of how a valid, approved charism in the Legion can exist despite Fr. Maciel.
What is also needed is a clarification of precisely what that charism consists in. During the lifetime of Fr. Maciel there were various versions at various points in time, due to shifting expressions given by Maciel himself: such as “formation of leaders”, “most effective action”, “Gospel charity”. It was always rather embarrassing that Legionaries could never really agree on what their charism was; much less explain it to others. To put it gently, the Legion needs to admit it has lived with great ambiguity on this question.
Hopefully this issue will be the subject of long prayer and open, honest discussion and discernment on the part of the Legionaries. Experts in Church history, theology, and canon law need to be consulted widely.
- Investigation into the origins and history of the scandal
A second difficulty occasioned by Cardinal De Paolis was the apparent decision to put aside calls for a fuller investigation into the whole Maciel scandal than what was accomplished by the Apostolic Visitators in 2009-10. Their investigation consisted largely in interviews with current Legionaries and was focused on identifying irregularities in the lifestyle of the Legion. It did not directly address the facts surrounding Fr. Maciel, or his history of abuse of minors or his maintenance of at least two mistresses and three children, nor the financial irregularities his lifestyle created. The Cardinal has made it clear on more than one occasion his task is that of overseeing reform efforts rather than in further forensic work.
The broader issue is the need for the truth to be brought to light about the history of the Legion and Maciel. Neither the Legion nor the Vatican has done a thorough investigation that provides answers to questions such as:
How is it possible that Fr. Maciel was re-instated as Superior General in 1959, after having been suspended for 2½ years during a Vatican investigation into his conduct? The accusations against him back then have all turned out to be true. He was allowed to return and carried on with more abuse and further immoral lifestyle, even fathering children as he continued as Superior General until 2005.
How did he manage to obtain a Decree of Praise for the congregation from Pope Paul VI in 1965?
What is behind the practical disappearance of Maciel from the Congregation for nearly a year in the late 1970’s? Why did other leading Legionaries do nothing? As it turns out, during that period, one of his children was born. Maciel would regularly disappear for weeks or a month with no one raising any questions.
How could he have carried on a double life, fathering at least three children from two mistresses over decades with no one noticing or colluding with him?
While it was commonly known among Legion superiors that he rarely said Mass or the Breviary, or went on retreats, why did no one notice these red flags? Why did no one see this as indicative of a weak spiritual life as they would for anyone else?
How was it that the Constitutions of the Legion, which now are recognized to have serious flaws and conflicts with Canon Law and are under revision, were approved in 1983 under Card. Pironio, former Prefect of the Congregation for Religious?
How could such a man have gained access to Pope John Paul II and mislead him over the course the years as well?
How can one explain the consistent defense of Maciel by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, former Vatican Secretary of State, and Cardinal Franc Rode, former Prefect of the Congregation for Religious, and their encouragement of the Legionaries to hold him in esteem, even after the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had censured him with the approval of the Holy Father in in 2006?
What does it say about the internal culture of the Vatican that while Maciel was being praised at his 60th anniversary in 2004 by Cardinal Sodano, he was being investigated by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith?
How is it that the Superiors of the Legion could promulgate among members a different version of the Statutes of Regnum Christi than the one approved in 2004 by Cardinal Rode?
Unless the mystery of Fr. Maciel, what he did and how, is adequately clarified, many will question the adequacy of any reforms. There will remain the questions of how the Legionaries and officials of the Holy See were so taken with this man, and why did no one within the congregation ever raise objections, and if they did, why they were ignored. What was it about the Legion’s internal culture that made it possible for otherwise very intelligent men to be so deceived? And it is also hard to see how the Vatican will be able to learn the necessary lessons from the Maciel debacle in order to make its own internal reforms and avoid a repeat of this sort of tragedy in the future.
- The Question of Accountability
A third weakness in the current approach is the apparent lack of concern for holding individuals accountable for their role in keeping secret from Church authorities what they knew of Maciel’s behavior, or if they even collaborated with Maciel by formal cooperation in those crimes. This is certainly a complex area, given the psychological and spiritual power Maciel exercised over so many people. The May 1 Vatican communiqué states that the great majority of Legionaries were unaware of the double life of Maciel, as it was well hidden. But some Legionaries who were members since the 1940’s and 1950’s have admitted knowing of Maciel’s abuses or his drug addiction and yet they promoted the cult of the founder to younger Legionaries who took their stories of the heroism of Maciel as Gospel truth. Now we know those stories were largely inventions of Maciel and others. There is a pressing need for the true history of the Legion to come to light, and to hold accountable those who distorted the truth and misled generations of younger Legionaries, not to mention the Holy Father and the whole the Church.
There is an additional group of private secretaries and personal aides who, over the years, traveled with Maciel, organizing his trips and providing him funds for his activities. This group must certainly share in some of the responsibility for hiding the perverse life of Maciel from the rest of the Legionaries and Church authorities. One should not rush to assign blame, but it is perfectly reasonable to have a full investigation and hold people personally accountable.
- Need for new leadership
Cardinal De Paolis, now more than eight months into his tenure as Papal Delegate, has yet to dismiss a single major superior from office. For the most part, the same group of superiors who were appointed by Maciel and who presided over the attempts to cover for him in the aftermath of his condemnation by the Holy See in 2006 are still at the helm. Naturally, the culpability of each one is different and one must not generalize too much about them.
Yet as long as that group remains in power, few members of the hierarchy will place much confidence in the Legion. A common sense objection to keeping them in power is simply that some had to know, or should have known, of Fr. Maciel’s lifestyle. If they are guilty of the former, they should be removed for fraud. If the latter, they should be removed at least for incompetence.
Dismissals will be needed to restore some measure of confidence in the Legion. The same can be said for restoring the confidence of those Legionaries who remain and hope for reform. For most who have abandoned the congregation, loss of trust in the leadership has been the primary reason.
- The Limitations on Real Dialogue
Cardinal De Paolis has called for sincere and frank discussions among Legionaries of the issues before them. There are signs that such dialogues are beginning, and a spokesman for the Legion recently said they would begin in earnest during February and March on the local and territorial levels.
However, old cultures die hard, and it is common knowledge within the Legion that strongly dissenting voices are still regularly marginalized. Some members of the Congregation have been transferred to remote outposts, others threatened. Superiors are still concerned to keep dissidents from organizing themselves.
One of the more controversial practices of the Legion has been the extensive review by superiors of all written correspondence, both mail and electronic. The Legion recently began to install in all computers very aggressive industrial spyware to monitor all email and internet traffic of the membership.
It is not clear to what extent the Cardinal is aware of these practices, but on more than one occasion he has intervened to stop the superiors from certain unjustly transferring members who raise objections. However, in his recent letter it was clear he did not want to get caught up with supervising every move of the current leadership, and instructed the religious with complaints to take them up with the Legion superiors rather than with him. But without easier access to Cardinal or to his four assistants, many Legionaries will feel helpless before possible abuses of power and inhibited in speaking out.
Another consideration would be to bring into the dialogue in those who have left the Legion due to the scandals. Their perspective from being long time loyal members who felt compelled to leave in past years could add objectivity and free the Legion from a too narrow approach to the issues.
- The difficult question of culture
Finally there is a serious question understood by most Legionaries not from Latin-American countries. That is the extent to which, for lack of a better term, a “Latino mentality” pervades the Legion. That mentality manifests points of tension with European and Anglo-Saxon approaches to living the Catholic Faith. Most international congregations allow a good deal of diversity in expression and customs. Yet with Maciel’s obsession with uniformity and unity throughout the world and one set of rules for all, the national and cultural differences were played down. The tension was never seriously confronted, or even acknowledged.
However, the tragic blunders and deception in dealing with the scandal expose the fact that the largely Mexican leadership was much less concerned with getting to the facts, exposing them to the light, letting the truth be known plainly and dealing with the consequences. Culturally, Latinos tend to be more tolerant of misconduct, corruption, and dishonesty. And it is now clear they did not feel the members of the congregation actually had a right to know the truth about the founder’s lifestyle and kept it hidden. While Maciel was in power, it was considered simply a byproduct of a strictly hierarchical order, but now it rubs many as a gross form of paternalism.
It is no accident that the Legionaries most outraged by the leadership tend to be the Americans and Spaniards, the two largest nationalities after the Mexicans. Vocations have plummeted in both countries, as they have in the rest of Europe. In terms of defections to the diocesan priesthood, the great majority have been Americans and Spaniards. The Legion which once prided itself on its internationality faces the very real possibility of being reduced to a mainly Mexican order.
It is time to face up to the fact that much of what Maciel proposed as “inspired by God” was more the baggage of his own culture’s limitations and defects.
Finding a way to give autonomy to the various territories, de-emphasizing the notion of “monolithic unity” so championed by Maciel, and injecting a healthy concern for truth and accountability may seem like obvious goals, but if they are possible, they will mean dramatic changes in the life and culture of the Legion of Christ.
Another possibility would involve creating a radically different form of the congregation, less centralized and more autonomous for the United States, where it could take on a more American style of openness and transparency. Although it would have been unthinkable as long as the mindset of Maciel prevailed in the congregation, it would hardly be the first time that the Holy See has recognized the need for flexibility and autonomy in a religious order that needs to work in different ways in different countries.
Such a solution might put the Legion in the United States in a position to gain the confidence of the Church once again and offer a value contribution to the Church, something the Holy Father so obviously desires.
Conclusion
No one knows at this point if the extraordinary interventions of the Holy See will bring about a strong renewal of the Legion. Most orders that manage to successfully reform themselves do so after a period of decline by returning to the founding charism and principles of the inspired founder. In the case of the Legion, the founder was a “false prophet”, and therefore that is not an option.
The future of the Legion, if it is to survive and flourish, will depend on finding within itself outstanding spiritual leaders who can, with the help of the Holy See and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, take the very good things the Legion does have and articulate a new charism and a new vision for the future.
It is painfully ironic that Maciel himself made this point a major theme of his writings and conferences to Legionaries, namely, that the future of the Legion depends on the spiritual leadership of its cofounders. Legionaries would regularly pray a special prayer for the “authenticity and fidelity of the cofounders”. He intended those future spiritual leaders be scrupulously faithful to his “inspiration” and his Constitution. But those spiritual leaders must now rise up and create a very different Legion than the one Maciel envisioned.
Unless that leadership arises, the Legion faces serious decline and extinction or a long period of drift without a clear sense of mission and with little influence. What are needed are courageous leaders who can break free from Maciel and forge a new path forward.
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1346646?eng=y
[1] Benedict XVI, (2010), Light of the World, Ignatius, p.39
[2] The Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum) is an educational institute of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. It is sponsored by the Legionaries of Christ and the lay ecclesial movement, Regnum Christi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Athenaeum_Regina_Apostolorum
[3]http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?id=1843&se=364&ca=119&te=782
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Christ introduction.
[5] http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/01/prominent-american-priest-fr-richard.html
[6] http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=42925
[7] http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1346646?eng=y
[8]http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?se=360&ca=234&te=782&id=36107
[9] http://exlegionariescom.blogspot.com/2012/04/340-consecrated-leave-regnum-christi-in.html
[10] http://www.amazon.com/Integral-Formation-Catholic-Priests-Marcial/dp/0965160130
[11] http://exlcblog.blogspot.com/search?q=concentration+camp
[12] http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/26/4517790/legionaries-of-christ-ending-their.html
[13] http://www.regainnetwork.org/article.php?a=47246213
[14] http://www.notredamecenter.org/index.phtml
[15] http://www.magdalacenter.com/default.asp?langID=2
[16] http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2012/06/the-legionrsquos-scandal-of-stalled-reform
[17] http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/father-thomas-williams-admits-fathering-child-and-issues-apology/
[18] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/catholic-church-sexual-abuse-scandal_n_1508668.html
[19] http://www.regainnetwork.org/category.php?c=245671671
[20] http://49weeks.blogspot.com/2012/06/ms-story_21.html
[21] http://49weeks.blogspot.com/2012/06/former-cosecrated.html?showComment=1340497261723#c4175394566851995972
[22] The term has been popularized in the anti-cult movement by Steve Hassan as in: Combatting Cult Mind Control: http://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113;
An Amazon review clarifies: First of all, in response to those reviewers who argue that “all religions practice mind control” and “Hassan is against freedom of religion,” I would like to point out that Hassan states very plainly that just because a group is not mainstream does not make it a cult. He provides very detailed, specific criteria as to what makes a cult (including deception, attempts to isolate people from their friends and family, refusal to let members leave, and pronounced control of information), and also includes a handy checklist of questions to ask potential cult recruiters, including “Does your group practice deception?” “Is your group considered controversial and if so, why?” and “Tell me three things you don’t like about your group and your leader.” As Hassan states, legitimate organizations will be honest about their motives, and members of legitimate organizations should be able to discuss their group’s failings as well as its strengths. Hassan is not out to demonize religion in general, nor (as he states) are all cults necessarily religious in nature
[23] http://49weeks.blogspot.com/2012/06/francess-story.html
[24] http://www.granitodeverdadconamor.es/
[25] http://exlegionariescom.blogspot.com/2012/04/good-fruits-and-bad-fruits-of.html
