Bill Myszkier writes:
Thanks for continuing to post on the situation regarding the Legionaries of Christ. Some of the best coverage I have seen is being done by American Papist. Also notable is the blog by Ed Peters which you have referenced in your coverage. I would invite you to link again to this blog (http://www.canonlaw.info/blog.html) particularly the posts he made on 2/13/09 and 2/8/08.
As Ed mentions, the current Director General of the Legion is “stonewalling” when he says that he knows nothing about Maciel’s behavior except that he fathered a daughter. There has been no attempt to be candid about the results of the Legion’s internal investigation of Maciel. The reasonable conclusion is that he or other Legionary authorities have been complicit in covering up Maciel’s behavior perhaps over many years. This is supported by the post made by Tom Peters in American Papist (http://www.americanpapist.com/blog.html) dated 2/13/09, 7:00am. Here he quotes a spokesman for the Legion in Mexico as saying:Javier Bravo, spokesman for the Legionaries in Mexico ... revealed that, even before the death of Marcial Maciel last January 2008, the Vatican already had in its possession an ample documentation about the amorous affairs of Maciel. [He also said that] the Vatican was planning on making this information public, and indicated this to Father Alvaro Corcuera, successor of Maciel at the head of the Legionaries. {note plural "amorous affairs", again.}
Peters comments:“This is simply stunning news if it is true. It contradicts what the Legion has been saying that they found out first and went to the Vatican. It also contradicts the claim that the Legion spontaneously brought this information to its rank-and-file members.
For if the Legion's hand was indeed "forced" by an understanding that the Vatican was going to make this known anyway, then the Legion was actually granted permission by the Vatican to spread the news in their own way first (and we are witnesses to how that has worked out).”
The Legion has consistently tried to obfuscate the truth. Up to 2006 they said that Maciel was a saintly man and that his malicious accusers were trying to discredit him to attack the Church. Then when the 2006 communique (of Benedict XVI remanding Maciel to a life of penance) came out they continued to protest Maciel’s innocence and said that he would suffer in imitation of Jesus Christ for the good of the Legion and the Church. They were so certain of his innocence that they tried to defend the reputation of the Founder by bringing a civil suit against ReGAIN (http://www.regainnetwork.org/) which had for years been trying to expose the corruption. Now they claim that even though they knew him to be innocent (at the same time that they were trying to destroy Maciel’s critics) they initiated an investigation of their saintly Founder. They discovered that he was living a “double life” and discovered he had an illegitimate daughter dating back to about 1987.
He may have misappropriated funds to support his second family but apparently there was no record of it for all that time. Neither apparently was anyone aware of these misdeeds. Now it also seems that at least some of the cases of pederasty involving seminarians might be true but nobody in the Legion knew anything about them until just recently (in spite of the fact that the victims were continuing to clamor for justice). How is it that Legionary superiors were unanimous in affirming his saintliness over a period of decades? Sanctity for a religious implies “vita communis” and rigorous observance of the Rule. How can one lead a double (triple, quadruple…) life and not have anyone know about it?
The Legion has not apologized or tried to help the victims nor have they acknowledged the legitimacy of the ReGAIN criticisms or reimbursed them for the legal expenses and the pain and suffering that their members have endured. Now it appears (from Tom Peter’s post) that the Vatican had to pressure the Legion against their will into “investigating” and taking action.
In short, is there anything in the history of the Legion to suggest that it desires reform or help from the Holy See? In fact, just the opposite. The Holy See had to intervene unilaterally after 2006 to abrogate key sections of the Legionary Constitutions central to its charism (the first secret vow that prohibited a Legionary from criticizing his superiors).
If the past is any indication the Legionaries of Christ will lie, obfucate, and obstruct to maintain their present position much as Legion resisted the exorcism Jesus performed in the region of the Gadarenes.
I would be grateful if you posted this as a comment below your most recent blog on the Legion.
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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!