Thursday, December 17, 2009

"Legion will not be dissolved but heads will roll"



Bishop Ricardo Blázquez, Bishop Giuseppe Versaldi, Archbishop Ricardo Ezzatti, Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bishop Ricardo Watti
(top to bottom, left to right)


Coinciding with news of Investigators meeting in Rome,  Religion Digital, a large Religious Webpage based in Spain, chimed in with the following Spanish language article on 12/17/09

The Holy See will be particularly hard on the "Maciel Case"


Investigation of Legion of Christ will conclude in March. The Order will not be dissolved but some will be removed from office.
 
The gist of the article by Jesus Bastante [which is neither endorsed nor contested by the blogger] follows

-Visitators will hand in their reports in mid-March, 2010,  and will cease in their functions. It will be up the pope [editor: the Holy See, Vatican] to decide what is to be done.
-The order will not be dissolved but heads will roll
-The present Legion leadership is trying hard to distance itself from Maciel because of Benedict's zero tolerance for pedophiles. The pope is very disturbed by what he is learning about Fr. Maciel's life and the coverup by other superiors.
-The seminaries will be profoundly restructured
-Many top leaders will be asked to resign, including Alvaro Corcuera the present General Director

------------------
[Original Spanish]

La Santa Sede será particularmente dura en el "caso Maciel"

La investigación a la Legión de Cristo concluirá en marzo. No se disolverá la orden, pero sí habrá destituciones

Los cinco visitadores nombrados por el Papa para investigar los escándalos acaecidos en la Legión de Cristo finalizarán su misión el próximo mes de marzo, una vez entreguen sus informes definitivos ante la Santa Sede. Así lo confirma el secretario de Estado de Su Santidad, Tarcisio Bertone, en un escrito remitido al director general de la Legión, Álvaro Corcuera.

A mediados de ese mes, los cinco prelados designados, Ricardo Watti, obispo de Tepic (México); Charles Chaput, arzobispo de Denver (EEUU); Ricardo EzzatAndrello, arzobispo de concepción (Chile); Giuseppe Versaldi, obispo de Alejandría (Italia) y Ricardo Blázquez, obispo de Bilbao (España), entregarán sus informes al Santo Padre, y terminarán su función.

Entonces, será Benedicto XVI el que decidirá el futuro de la orden fundada por Marcial Maciel. En una estrategia de última hora, los actuales responsables de la Legión están tratando de desvincularse por completo de la figura de su fundador, conscientes de que, en la situación actual, el Papa ha declarado "tolerancia cero" con todo lo relacionado con la pederastia y los abusos a menores.

El "caso Maciel", pues, será tratado con la "máxima dureza" por el Vaticano, según han indicado a RD fuentes romanas, que no quieren que aflore, ni por asomo, un escándalo similar a lo acaecido en la Iglesia de Irlanda.

El Papa está visiblemente afectado por todo lo que se ha ido conociendo acerca de la vida del fundador de la Legión de Cristo, así como de la responsabilidad no sólo de Maciel, sino de muchos de sus colaboradores, que ahora tratan de evadir su responsabilidad alegando desconocimiento y pidiendo perdón.

Todo parece indicar que no habrá disolución de la orden, pero sí una profunda remodelación en sus seminarios -que siguen siendo vivero de vocaciones-, en su estructura organizativa y en los votos que los legionarios hacen en el interior de su congregación. También se espera la destitución de muchos de sus líderes, comenzando muy probablemente por su actual director general, Álvaro Corcuera, a quienes muchos acusan de haber "instigado" el silencio en torno a Maciel durante muchos

Monday, December 14, 2009

Investigators meet in Rome while Legion Ordains 59 new Priests in Triumphalistic Ceremony


Ordination at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy


Apostolic Visitors of Legionaries of Christ gather for first evaluation


Rome, Italy, Dec 4, 2009 / 04:44 pm (CNA).-

The five bishops taking part in the Apostolic Visitation of the Legionaries of Christ are meeting at the Vatican for their first evaluation.
The meeting is being held today and Saturday at the office of the Vatican Secretary of State and is being led by Archbishop Fernando Filoni, Substitute for General Affairs.
The five bishops present at the meeting are Bishop Ricardo Watti Urquidi of Tepic, Mexico; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, United States;  Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Concepcion, Chile; Bishop Guiseppe Versaldi of Alexandria, Italy; and Bishop Ricardo Blazquez Perez of Bilbao, Spain.
Officials said media reports of an emergency meeting between the bishops that supposedly took place in October were completely false.
Earlier this year on March 13, the Superior General of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Alvaro Corcuera, announced the decision of Pope Benedict XVI to carry out an Apostolic Visitation of the order, which began on July 15.

=====================

On December 4, Investigators met in Rome to present their first findings to the Vatican. This did not prevent the Legion from going through with its triunphalistic ordination at St Paul Outside the Walls on December 14, 2009

LC/RC...Official article
Bishop Brian Farrell, LC., presided at the ceremony. His homily is interesting as he indirectly mentions the present Investigation as a "cross" that the Legion is bearing.