Holy See on the completion of the apostolic visition of the Legionaries of Christ

The Vatican has released a statement on the Apostolic Visitation of the Legionaries of Christ.  Here is the coverage by Vatican Radio.  Below is a video news report from Rome Reports.

(01 May 10 – RV) Below we publish a Vatican Radio translation of the Press Office Statement released Saturday May 1, at the conclusion of a two day meeting in the Vatican on the outcome of the Apostolic Visitation of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ:



1. On the days April 30 and May 1, the Cardinal Secretary of State chaired a meeting in the Vatican with five bishops in charge of the Apostolic Visitation of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ (Bishop Ricardo Blazquez, archbishop of Valladolid, Msgr. Charles J. Chaput OFM Cap., Archbishop of Denver, Mgr. Andrella Ricardo Ezzati SDB, Archbishop of Concepción, Mgr. Giuseppe Versaldi, Bishop of Alexandria; Mgr. Ricardo Watty Urquidi, M.Sp.S., Bishop of Tepic). It was attended by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.
One of the sessions took place in the presence of the Holy Father, to whom the Visitors presented a summary of their report, which had been previously submitted.

During the visitation over 1,000 Legionnaires were met in person and hundreds of written documents were examined. The Visitors have visited almost all the religious houses and many of the works of the apostolate directed by the Congregation. They heard, orally or in writing, the opinion of many diocesan bishops of the countries where the congregation operates. The Visitors also met several members of the "Regnum Christi" Movement, although it was not the subject of the visit, especially men and women religious. They have also received considerable correspondence from laity and family members of the Movement.

The five Visitors testified to a sincere reception and a constructive spirit of cooperation shown them by the congregation and individual religious. While acting independently, they have reached a widely convergent evaluation and a shared opinion. They testified that to having met a large number of honest and talented religious individuals, many of them young, who seek Christ with genuine zeal and offer their entire lives to spread the Kingdom of God


2. The Apostolic Visitation was able to ascertain that the behaviour of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado has caused serious consequences in the life and structure of the Legion, so much so, to require a journey of profound re-evaluation.

The serious and objectively immoral behaviour of Fr. Maciel, supported by incontrovertible evidence, at times constitutes real crimes, and manifests a life devoid of scruples and of genuine religious feeling. The large majority of Legionaries were unaware of that life, particularly because of the system of relations created by Fr. Maciel, who had skilfully managed to build up an alibi, to gain the trust, confidence and surrounding silence and strengthen his role as a charismatic founder.
Not infrequently the lamentable disgracing and expulsion of those who doubted his upright conduct, and the misconception of not wanting to harm the good that the Legion was doing, had created around him a defence mechanism which made him untouchable for a long time , thus rendering knowledge of his real life difficult.

3. The sincere zeal of the majority of the Legionaries - which also emerged from the Visitation of the congregation houses and their many works, and which is appreciated by many - led many in the past to believe that the charges, which gradually became more insistent and widespread, could only be slander.
Therefore the discovery and knowledge of the truth about the founder resulted in surprise, dismay and deep sorrow among members of the Legion, as clearly evidenced by the Visitors.

4. From the results of the Apostolic Visitation it has emerged clearly, among other elements:
a) the need to redefine the charism of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, preserving the core truth, that of "Militia Christi", which characterizes the apostolic and missionary action of the Church and which is not identifiable with efficacy at any cost;
b) the need to review the exercise of authority, which must be conjoined to the truth, in respect of conscience and to develop in light of the Gospel as an authentic ecclesial service;
c) the need to preserve young people's enthusiasm of faith, the missionary zeal, the apostolic dynamism, through appropriate formation. Indeed, disappointment about the founder could call into question the core of this vocation and charism that belongs and is specific to the Legionaries of Christ.

5. The Holy Father would like to assure all Legionnaires and members of the "Regnum Christi" Movement that they will not be left alone: the Church has a strong desire to accompany them and help them in the path of purification that awaits them. It will also mean sincere confrontation with all those who, inside and outside the Legion, were victims of sexual abuse and of the power system devised by the founder. It is to them, at this time, that the thoughts and prayers of the Holy Father go, along with his gratitude to the many who, even in the midst of great hardships, had the courage and perseverance to demand the truth.

6. The Holy Father, in thanking the Visitors for the delicate work which they competently carried out with generosity and deep pastoral sensitivity, assured them that he will soon indicate the modalities of this process of accompaniment, starting with the appointment of a Delegate and a Study Commission on the Constitution.
The Holy Father will send a Visitor to the Regnum Christi Movement, in response to insistent requests from consecrated members thereof.

7. Finally, to all Legionaries of Christ, their families, committed lay people in the Regnum Christi movement, the Holy Father renewes his encouragement during this difficult time for the Congregation and each one of them. He urges them not to lose sight that their vocation, which originated from Christ’s call and is animated by the ideal to witness his love to the world, is a true gift from God, a treasure for the Church, the indestructible foundation on which to build their personal future and that of 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!

Legion of Christ News - Breaking

American Papist, Tom Peters has a couple of posts and several links with an update on the Legion of Christ visitation, and more.

Go read these posts:

• Breaking: Abp. Chaput, other Legion visitors appointed by Vatican (full details added)
• Text: Letter from US Legion Territorial Directors to Members (has more links embedded to further updates)

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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!

The Legionaries of Christ will undergo an Apostolic Visitation

I'm short on time again. So, I give you over to Tom Peters, whose coverage of this topic has been stellar.

*Breaking: Pope Sends Apostolic Visitors to the Legionaries of Christ* AmP (and a very hot topic with over 230 comments as of this posting)

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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!

Guest Comment on the Legionaries of Christ

A friend, and Grotto-goer, who is currently out of state, emailed me the comment below for my blog, and has given me permission to use his name. He originally asked me to put it in the combox of this post on the Legion of Christ, but his format and links would have been lost, or I would have had to go through much time to re-link things there. Also, fewer hits find the post once a few days or a week has passed.

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.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Legion of Christ: Should the Vatican intervene, or should the Legion seek the Vatican's help?

I have not commented much on the news about Legion of Christ Founder, Marcial Maciel, whom we recently learned, fathered at least one child who is now about 20 years of age.

This has brought upon the order a great scandal, and gives some credibility to accusations that Fr. Maciel was a predator who preyed upon some seminarians. Maciel was suddenly swept into a life of prayer and pentitence,without explanation, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and died about a year ago.

Fr. Thomas Berg, LC wrote a letter to members of the LC apostolic movement, Regnum Christi that has been widely circulated since it was published February 8th. An anaylsis of Fr. Berg's beautiful letter by Dr. Germain Grisez, Flynn Professor of Christian Ethics at Mt. Saint Mary's is available at AmP.

I have not commented on this topic because I am an outsider who knows only what has been reported by others. This however, has not prevented me from looking at some of what I am seeing and pondering it all from a spiritual standpoint.

I do know ex-Legionaries and people who have ex-Legionaries in their families.

The examples I've seen in Fr. Jonathan Morris, LC and Fr. Thomas Williams, LC on television have left me with a favorable opinion of LC priests.

Before I go any further, I need to get some points out of the way....

Point One: Judas was a man with a vocation, called by God to be a priest. But, God gave to Judas, as he does with all of us, a free will. We don't judge the Church based on what Judas did. the apostles did not use Judas' behavior as justification to ignore what Jesus taught. Scripture reveals that Judas did not repent. Rather, he hung himself in despair. Had he sought forgiveness, it would have been given him. We do not know if Maciel confessed and repented of all of his sins or not. He has gone on to the Just Judge from Whom nothing can be hidden. I seriously hope that he did confess and repent.

Point Two: Each priest, whether diocesan, or religious order has a right to be judged not by the order in which he resides, but as an individual. If we judged priests based on their order, then one of the greatest Jesuits, John A. Hardon, SJ, would also have to be judged based on the strange teachings of certain Jesuits who engage in outright heresy. This amounts to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Point Three: I'm tired of people using the "priest sex abuse scandal" to judge every priest. A 2002 news article about a report on priest-sex abuse compared data to that of sex-abuse by school officials. Over a 9 year period, there were 290,000 cases of school official abuse were reported vs. 11,000 cases of priest sex-abuse over a roughly 50 year period. Clearly, there is a double standard and rampant stereotyping in the media and in blogs. Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University concluded:

"the physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests."

Think about all those priestly roles you see on TV and how they are portrayed nowadays. Compare that to how Hollywood treats school officials!

A path of humility for Legion of Christ leadership

Some are calling for the Vatican to intervene because confidence in the LC leadership to do a proper self-audit is low and many questions are swirling as to whether it can continue as is. It is said that Maciel's photos have been taken down in LC buildings. But, it is not soo easy to "remove" him from other things within their structure.

There are many questions by a broad and public audience as to whether anyone knew about the founder's double-life, when they knew it, and how they may have aided him, etc. Questions loom over the heads of leadership with people wondering how they can possibly do any kind of investigation...... of themselves and those close to them. While there is a possibility that Maciel, and the kind of structure that he organized, enabled him to keep things hidden from everyone, others aren't so sure. Or, shall we say, that it is a justifiable thing to want to rule out. Only an outsider can give people the assurance that the investigation was full and proper.

In thinking through this (as a secular Carmelite), it would seem to me that we ought not look to the Vatican to intervene. Rather, we should enter an intense period of prayer that LC leadership does the right thing and seeks help from the Holy See. This is a path of humility, especially for the Legion, given it's secretive reputation.

Next to surrendering one's life, nothing can be greater than surrending one's will. For leadership to surrender their will by opening themselves to outside help, they obtain an opportunity to practice the obedience they so cherish.

What does obedience have to do with anything?

Obedience is a gateway through which only the Holy Spirit and holy Angels may pass. It serves also as a barrier for the Angel of Darkness whose pride is much too great to permit passage. Obedience is also a pathway of grace. The pain of not getting to do things your way, is an excellent, God-pleasing offering.

What is the future of the Legion of Christ? Only the Holy Spirit knows at this point. The best way to find out is for the LC to enable the Holy Spirit to do His work. Often times this happens through others. Surely, many graces will accompany such an act of humility - to seek help.

It will also go a long way in healing the wounds of scandal and mistrust. If after short time the Legion does not seek help, I pray that Vatican will step in for the good of all involved.

As for the rest of us, if you really want to do something about this situation, go to Adoration. There are a good many innocent people - all victims in one way or another, of the sins that one man probably thought were relatively hidden. Pray for the recovery of any victims of physical sexual abuse, especially that their faith is not lost. Pray for the innocent priests and lay people suffering now from the sins of their spiritual father. Pray for the repose of Maciel's soul, as well. Charity and mercy are not things we extend only to those we like and love.



Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!