Priests Formed by Con-artist Maciel capable of an Honest Life?

The Legion, aided by the Vatican, keeps churning out numbers of priests.

Are these 61 men, trained in Maciel methodology, up to the standards described by Pope Benedict in his 2010 year end address to the Curia. And, please, Your Holiness, Maciel and henchmen did not abuse boys because of lack of doctrinal orthodoxy and moral teachings; they reeked of these.  Do not overlook the psychological and mental health aspects of our priests; as Aquinas says, "Grace presupposes Nature; but cannot replace it"; they need to be healthy in body, mind, heart in order to be good priests. In this blogger's opinon They have to be honest, truthful, sincere and authentic men before they can be good priests, something that Legionaries are not trained to be!
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John Allen summary:

The Christmas address to the Curia is typically the moment in which popes take a look back at the year. The fact that Benedict spoke first about the crisis reflects just how long a shadow it cast over 2010.


Sound-bites from the pope’s speech have been widely reported, but to understand what Benedict was saying it’s important to bring the full context into view.

Reading the pope’s words, there can be little doubt about his personal anguish. He quotes at length from a 12th century vision of St. Hildegard of Bingen, which vividly describes how the “garment” of the church is “torn by the sins of priests.” The pope said the vision is directly applicable to current events.

“The way she saw and expressed it,” the pope said, “is the way we have experienced it this year.”

June 29, 2010, marked the close of a “Year of Priests” called for by Benedict XVI, and he situated his reflections on the crisis in the context of appreciation for the “great gift” of the priesthood.
“We realized afresh how beautiful it is that human beings are fully authorized to pronounce in God’s name the word of forgiveness, and are thus able to change the world, to change life,” the pope said.

“We realized how beautiful it is that human beings may utter the words of consecration, through which the Lord draws a part of the world into himself, and so transforms it at one point in its very substance; we realized how beautiful it is to be able, with the Lord’s strength, to be close to people in their joys and sufferings, in the important moments of their lives and in their dark times; how beautiful it is to have as one’s life task not this or that, but simply human life itself – helping people to open themselves to God and to live from God.”
Especially in that context, the pope said, we were “all the more dismayed” by revelations about priests who “twist the sacrament into its antithesis, and under the mantle of the sacred profoundly wound human persons in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.”

Facing that ugly reality, Benedict called for an examination of conscience about what went wrong, and offered a resolution to make things right.
“We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that has occurred. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life, to allow such a thing to happen,” he said.

Benedict vowed “to make every possible effort in priestly formation to prevent anything of the kind from happening again,” and also expressed his thanks both to those who work to help victims, and to “the many good priests” who exhibit humility and fidelity.

At the level of diagnosis, Benedict returned to a familiar theme, asserting that mistaken theories in Catholic moral theology in the 1970s helped make the sexual abuse crisis possible. By downplaying absolute good and evil and treating morality as a matter of weighing consequences, the pope said, those theories opened the door to justifying gravely immoral behaviour, including the sexual exploitation of minors.
As a result, Benedict called for renewed emphasis in moral formation on Pope John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor, which explicitly rejected theories such as “consequentialism” and “proportionalism,” asserting that some acts are always “intrinsically evil” and can never be justified.

Legion of Christ Flawed because Founder Flawed

[From soon to be released article]

The consecrated vocation is a participation in the distinctive divine gift of the founder’s spirituality.  As such, a member of consecrated life appropriately seeks holiness by imitation of a holy founder.  In the case of Miles Jesu, imitation of the founder produced personal paths of destruction.  Besides, Church authorities properly deposed the founder and denounced him as a bad example.  Accordingly, I suggest that Church policy not artificially prop up any institution of consecrated life that lacks a truly holy founder.  Otherwise, the members are deprived of an essential element of their consecrated vocation and a principle is established that invites unholy founders to flourish.

A.L.S

"Keeping the Nazi Party going after the death of Hitler".

Our Father, Fr. Maciel, celebrating Mass ever so devoutly

Found this on Dialogue Ireland. The Irish can get a bit wild from time to time, especially under the influence. Though in Spanish they say, drunks and children tell the truth:

"This shows the problem that the reform of the Order will involve. How do you create a spirituality in a context where the Founder is a total disaster? An inveterate liar and cheat. A serial abuser of women, youth and children. This would be like having a limpet mine attached to the Catholic Church. What ethos or charism would result in the Dominican or Franciscan Orders if such things happened to their founders? Spiritually and psychologically it is essential to close this order down and migrate the priests and lay organisation into other orders and associations. Or to use the analogy of banking. This bad bank needs to be closed down and allow a good bank to be constructed. It is interesting that over the years many good people like Paul Cullen who left found a half way house in the diocesan system. Now is a good time to set up a pastoral commission to effect this transfer. Keeping this Order open is the equivalent of keeping the Nazi Party going after the death of Hitler."

Commission for Rapprochment of Legion Victims to be set up

Mexico today Web page  comments a propos the Commission for the Reform of the Constititutions

The constitutional commission announced Thursday is one of several working groups to be established for the reform of the Legion. Also expected is a commission for economic affairs, and one for rapprochement with founder Marcial Maciel's victims.

Review of Constitutions, will it be Enough?

Official legion sources tell us that part of the Legion reform consisting in the Review of  he Constitutions has begun; at least it is announced, the members have been named, 2 advisors for Card De Paolis = 2 religious from other orders, and 4 LC priests, among them Fr Anthony Bannon, who re appears in the news after a hiatus...


Fr. Bannon, who has been called "The Nazi" by his confreres for his unsmiling face, stiff upper lip, and harsh ways, certainly a member of the "old guard", and no reformer as he is too invested in the modus vivendi he perpetuated and the life altering the decisions he made while a superior. Will Bannon be able to renounce Maciel/Bannon?

Me sees a terrible repetition of previous Vatican mistakes with the Legion
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CNA comments

Rome, Italy, Dec 10, 2010 / 01:42 am (CNA).- Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, the pontifical delegate to the Legion of Christ, has appointed the members of the commission which will oversee the revision of the constitution of the troubled religious congregation.


The committee will include two of the cardinal’s personal advisors, Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, S.J., and Fr. Agostino Montan, C.S.I. Four Legion priests will also be on the commission: Fr. Roberto Aspe Hinojosa, Fr. Anthony Bannon, Fr José García Sentandreu and Fr. Gabriel Sotres.

None of the Legionaries on the commission are from its current leadership, comments CNA, but I wonder what consolation that is when the most feared, Anthony Bannon, was chosen...
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The religious congregation is trying to recover from revelations that its founder, Fr. Marcel Maciel, sexually abused seminarians and fathered several children. The discovery led to questions—and an apostolic visitation ordered by Pope Benedict—about whether the charism and formation process of the order were affected by the founder.

Cardinal De Paolis was appointed July 9, 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI to oversee the renewal of the religious order

What do Catholic Women get out of the Regnum Christi?

borrowing from a life after rc commentary which a former RC leader tells me is spot on:

I think she is spot-on with the observation.
Please share this, if you wish.
Thanks. God bless!

COMMENT

Like I said, I had to get outside the bubble-- in a world where sane Catholics don't BELONG to groups that have had to be taken over by the Vatican.

And all the information is out there for the taking. Anyone who is still associated with RC is not being deceived by other people. If they are deceived, it's self-deception.

Most of the people I know who are still in acknowledge the problems but don't see why that should make them leave?

How can that be? Well, they must derive some benefit from RC membership which they think outweighs the risks and losses.

Here's what I think--

Before the scandal broke out into the international news, a lot of women loved being RC because it gave them a sense of accomplishment and purpose.

Diapers and dishes and laundry and cleaning and disciplining kids and cooking are all exhausting and time consuming, but you never GET anywhere. At the end of the day, you've worn yourself out and all you can say when you look around is "Well, it's not any WORSE than when I got up this morning....."

Meanwhile, if you organize a fashion show, run a girls club, go to a retreat, finish your prayer list, well, you have COMPLETED something. You can point to it and say "hey, I did that!" and unlike scrapbooking or cake decorating or quilting or any other hobby Moms traditionally take up, you can feel EXTRA virtuous, because you saved souls! In fact, it's NOT a hobby, it's a vocation... so you can neglect the kids and laundry for it without guilt--- while your novel just has to wait when the baby has the flu......

Anyway, if we assume that these 'positive strokes' are the main benefit for many in RC (Because if it was about spiritual benefits, you could pray and read the gospel and go to adoration WITHOUT being associated with Maciel), well, then we can see why they stay.

If running a fashion show is a big important job, imagine how much MORE important it is to be one of the people who 'saves' the movement! There will be meetings! Focus groups! Revisions! It's important work, to save the movement and keep it going!

Not like making tuna mac, washing the pots after, and then cleaning up the fecal matter that your not-yet-potty-trained three year old left in the middle of the dining room floor before the not-yet-walking one year old plays in it......

I mean, seriously, who wouldn't rather be working to save the 'Kingdom' so that it can save the Church?

Because, last time I checked, that's a LOT more glamorous than what most of us (i.e. me, with the 'Little-Mr.-poops-on-the-floor-instead-of-in-the-potty) are doing all day.......

Anyway, the point is that these people aren't stupid. And at this point, thanks to all the work Giselle, Vere, et. al. did bringing the cult to light, they're not ignorant.

They're weighing the costs and benefits and making a rational economic decision.

And, in these cases, mammon tends to win....

Pope and De Paolis Try to Salvage Legion

By now we have all heard about the Pope on condoms, and those of us who are interested in the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi Lay Institute -or whatever it is exactly- have been parsing the phrases that have appeared in the new book of Interviews with Pope Theologican Ratzinger re Fr Maciel and his Work; personally I have only read snippets and so I cannot form a full opinion.

But we have the gist of the Pope's idea, phrase, that although Maciel was a false prophet, the Legion and Regnum Christi are basically wholesome.

With all due respect -and with the audacity that comes from knowing that the Pope is not talking ex cathedra and therefore could be mistaken- some are questioning Joseph Ratzinger's logic:

"A false prophet can do the work of God". This appears to fly in the face of elementary Biblical Theology

According to my limited knowledge, false prophets were those who tried to find an easy way to Salvation, a short cut, one might say, a magic formula...."Just do this and God is pleased, you are saved"...

Another aspect of false prophets was appearances,  falsehoods, 'glittering images'...and that definitely sounds like the Legion of Christ

Could the Pope and his envoy -Apostolic Delegate- continue to be deceived by the glitter of holiness...As the Iranian jeweller said to me the other day: "That is not real gold; that is just dipped in gold. If it were real gold it would cost a lot more!"
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Vatican Could Botch Legion Reform Again 50 years Later!

Reviewing an old article on REGAIN focusing on Maciel's multiple vices we find testimony from Original Vatican Investigators from the 1950s. This evidence flies in the face of the Placatory Remarks by Apostolic Delegate, De Paolis, in his 2nd letter to the Legion.

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[quote]

In the mid-1950s the Vatican suspended Maciel as superior general while it sent visitators to investigate charges against him. One of the visitators, a Carmelite friar named Anastasio Ballestrero of the Most Holy Rosary, sent a report recommending serious restructuring of the Legion as well as the removal of Maciel. Fr. Anastasio writes:

"[Pg. 15] Fr. Maciel, with whom I had hardly met, began to defend himself in an animated manner, without my even mentioning the accusations, indicating that he was well informed about everything while at the same time accusing Fr. Ferreira and especially [Brother] Domínguez of falsehoods and ambition. . . (Translators’ Note: Ferreira and Domínguez had submitted scathing written affidavits to ecclesiastical authorities which were highly critical of Maciel.)

"[Pg. 16] In response to the specific accusations regarding violations of the sixth [commandment], I have not received confirmation of anything. But it is worth mentioning the fact that, as has been already noted, the founder has complete control over [spiritual] direction in matters of purity and that he made a declaration, unsolicited, assuring me that none of his religious had ever committed a single sin of this nature [against purity].

"[Pg. 18] Conclusions:
"1. The Institute in question, in spite of the appearance of splendor and grandiosity, is in reality very fragile in its legal and spiritual structure. Additionally, it lacks mature and experienced personnel who can guarantee the level of development expected.
"2. The group of young novices and students, who make up nine tenths of the institute, have become fanaticized by the founder and his enterprise. However, this group is substantially healthy and shows good will. There is some hope of its being able to free itself of this fanaticism, although this appears doubtful."
His suggestions and remedies were as follows:

"1. In order to reduce appearances to the limits of reality:
"a) [Install] the seat of administration in Mexico

"b) The Apostolic School and the Novitiate exclusively limited to Mexico

"c) A prohibition ad nutum S. Sedis [under the direction of the Holy See] from admitting new students into the Apostolic School and the Novitiate

"d) A prohibition . . . against new foundations

"2. In order to guarantee more effective control over the Institute:

"a) Appointing someone from the Mexican episcopate with a special mandate to conduct oversight and provide assistance

"b) Naming a Superior General from outside the institution, but who belongs to a modern institution with an affinity for structure and spirituality. . .

"3. Fr. Maciel should be removed from his office on the basis of his exclusive and sole responsibility for the multiple serious legal irregularities and for the abuses committed in his administrative capacity. Keeping silence on the other matters seems prudent for reasons both internal and external, at least for the time being. The irregularities and abuses by themselves provide sufficient legal reasons for proceeding. [page 19]

"4. After a penance of a month of [spiritual] exercises, the priest in question should be obliged to live in a house in Mexico under the supervision of a bishop appointed by the Holy See. The Superior General should prohibit him from making trips of any sort and from interfering in the affairs of the Institute.

"5. The current constitutions should be radically modified with particular attention to the goals of the Institute and to the abolition of three vows.

"6. Finally, it would be desirable to discreetly notify, at the appropriate time, the Mexican episcopate and the Spanish ordinaries [bishops], as well as other interested prelates. Even more delicate is decision regarding how best to inform the Spanish Government.

"7. In the matter of granting secularization [Ed., i.e. return to diocesan priesthood out of religious life in the Legion] to the current vicar, Fr. Ferreira, I believe it would be opportune to do so, especially considering that there is absolutely no possibility of his being able to govern or to be of further use to the Institute.

"Rome, February 11, 1957

Vatican Cannot Reject Sociopath's Charisma (Path to Holiness)

From the Original Catholic Encyclopedia*:

"Charismata. — The Greek term charisma denotes any good gift that flows from God's benevolent love (charis) unto man; any Divine grace or favor, ranging from redemption and life eternal to comfort in communing with brethren in the Faith (Rom., v, 15, 16; vi, 23; xi, 29).
The term has, however, a narrower meaning: the spiritual graces and qualifications granted to every Christian to perform his task in the Church: "Every one hath his proper gift [charisma] from God; one after this manner, and another after that" (I Cor., vii, 7 etc.).
Lastly, in its narrowest sense, charisma is the theological term for denoting extraordinary graces given to individual Christians for the good of others. These, or most of these, are enumerated by St. Paul (I Cor., xii, 4, 9, 28, 30, 31), and form the subject-matter of the present article. They are: "The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, the grace of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, interpretation of speeches" (I Cor., xii, 8-10). To these are added the charismata of apostles, prophets, doctors, helps, governments (ibid., 28)."
In the case in question, does the Legion/Regnum founded by Father Maciel possess a special God-given gift to bring souls to holiness, build the Church/Kingdom of Christ in the world?

Does the Legion of Christ and its affiliated Regnum Christi Lay Movement possess a Charism, a special gift from God to lead people to holiness/Jesus/God?

Could the degenerate founder have possessed such a gift and passed it on to his creation?

Could God have given this gift to the Order and the Movement despite the sinful life of the Founder?

The debate has raged over the past decade and became exacerbated after Maciel's double life was revealed by the Legion of Christ in 2009; the previous allegations of pedophilia, misuse of funds, a luxury life style of jets and hotels, plus tyrannical leadership had not been enough to have Catholics and his followers question the Founder's Holiness. Breaking his vow of celibacy by having heterosexual relations and engendering children seems to have finally convinced Orthodox and/or Conservative Catholics of the Legion Founder's Depravity.

Everyone then accepted that Maciel was a scoundrel. Narcissist and Sociopath [specifically, Anti-social Personality Disorder] diagnoses were introduced to explain his decades of double, triple, and quadruple lives.

Could a Sociopath have a religious charism and could he transmit this to a religious order that he founded?

According to Cardinal designate Velasio de Paolis he could, he can, he did. With all due respect, this interpretation seems to be justified by passages from the Apostolic Delegate's 2nd Letter to the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi Movement.

3. The charism of the Legion


Another very delicate question is that of the charism of the Legion. The absence of a distinction between constitutional norms and norms of law has perhaps hurt efforts to specify the charism. But it seems undeniable that it is sufficiently clear and precise; and it is also more than ever for this time. There is the need to reflect and study this in depth.

I would like to mention just one aspect. Our current culture is secularized, infected with immanentism and relativism. Such a mindset is the hallmark of the culture of our times and of those who today shape opinion or are considered the drivers of culture. It is a matter of culture and therefore a matter of leadership, i.e.: of those who hold the reins of society in their hands. We have before us a society that no longer evinces personalities of Christian and markedly Catholic cultural depth. At the same time, we know that the faith cannot be pushed back merely to the private level.


If today’s society is to be Christianized, it needs people capable of assuming responsibility for the society of tomorrow, and who are formed in schools and universities. It needs priests, consecrated people, and committed lay people, all well formed. It needs apostles for the new evangelization.


The past must guide us in taking our place in the present. The Church shaped the past and contributed to a Christian vision of life, through monasteries, universities, studies and culture. The Church reaffirms this when she speaks of the new evangelization and launches a new Dicastery for the new evangelization. I believe that the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ finds its place to serve the Church precisely in this area. And this brings good hope for the future.
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* Charismata in Original Catholic Encyclopedia

Brief Intro/Comment on De Paolis Recent Letter

the blogger did not post the letter of  Arch -to be Cardinal- De Paolis believing it was already available on other sources, including the official Regnum Christi page, etc.
He wanted to read it carefully and attempt an informed commentary

For now let me refer you to a brief intro/commentary on the REGAIN page

Spero News has the following [with video of De Paolis] on Legion of Christ Reconstruction
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Fr. Evaristo Sada [Monterrey] still General Secretary of the Legion of Christ

Jim Fair says:

18.10.10 at 10:14

Let me clarify this. Fr. Sada is the general secretary of the Legionaries of Christ. He holds this office since 1992 to the present. From 2007 onwards he also was the "assistant of the general director for the apostolate", but some months ago Fr. Jose García Sentandreu was named for this post. So the position of Fr. Sada as general secretary has not changed, he just handed over an additional responsibility he used to have before.

Evaristo Sada Out of Leadership at Legion of Christ ?

Not Resigning Superiors of Legion of Christ..but Changing the Guard



this is the latest from the official blog of the Regnum Christi, one of the new and ever evolving web pages of Fr. Maciel's order.

So, that's the way it is on Saturday, October 16, 2010

Ah, but you have to read all the article to the end. The writer mentions that some

changes have occured [note euphemism/spin]


as in a few Territorial Directors have been removed and


Fr. Evaristo Sada is no longer the Secretary General....


correct me if I am wrong. Maybe he continues as Secretary General or General Secretary....the article said:

"the new assistant to the general director for the apostolate recently arrived. This responsibility used to fall to Fr Evaristo Sada"

How Fr. Maciel Made a Baby

    
                                            That's me, not the person of interest, stupid!

......
Bro. X.... left the Legion in July 2009. At that time, the religious did not have any information about the sins of MM. (His spiritual director,

 Father William Brock, in Salamanca, Spain), told him that one day MM had made a mistake; he had taken too much beer -yes, he actually told him that- and somehow fathered a child...

[blogger's comment: Fr. B did not describe how some naughty woman got Fr.  Maciel's pants and his/her chastity belt off; but you can be sure she took advantage of Fr. Maciel's naivete...]

He left, to some extent,  because of me [writes the witness narrator]. I had been in contact with his family which was very upset over the MM scandal. For a long time they were already "fighting" against the Legion to get more freedom for their son... and felt betrayed. But since he joined the Apostolic School, Siliberto was under the control of the cult... and was always justifying the LC.

Regnum Christi to be Investigated by Archbishop Blazquez [video]

As previously revealed, Ricardo Blazquez, archbishop of Valladolid, Spain, who already investigated the Legion, has been appointed "Apostolic Delegate" to the lay Movement founded by Fr. Marcial Maciel called Regnum Christi

Click underlined and watch video

My friend Mons Brian Farrell, one of Vatican Commissioners to Legion; Blazquez to Reform Consecrated RCs

My other friend, Jack Keogh, passed on the news that Brian, who joined the Legion the same day as myself, July 1st, 1961 -see the Our Father Maciel, who art in bed bestseller- has been named one of the 4 commissioners to reform the Legion. Another is Jesuit, and the other two canon lawyers familiar with the Legion.

bishop Blasquez of Valladolid, Spain, who did such a good job during the investigation, has been named to lead reform of the Regnum Christi Movement. [all their leaders speak Spanish, the Legion's official language -Maciel spoke only Spanish]. 

Farrell's appointment could be key. Nobody like insider Brian would know the Modus Operandi of the Legion.

It is this blogger's opinion that the Legion and Regnum will not be reformed by decrees but by reform of the Modus Operandi [PRAXIS] inherent and ingrained into Legionaries of Christ from the moment they are recruited. There is a obtuseness and ruthlessness about the leadership that will not go away with Chapter Generals -they've had them under Maciel to rubber stamp his plans, to circle the wagons, to stifle dissent, and to keep the cronies in place -Corcuera, Sada, and Garza being notorious examples...

Apostolic Delegate has Not yet Begun -Beware of LC Pre-emptive Strikes!

According to this recent article -translated/paraphrased/commented by and courtesy of A.L- the Apostolic Delegate has not really begun his work.

He has only been in the preliminary stages, meeting and getting to know the key players.

http://sdpnoticias.com/sdp/contenido/2010/09/22/4/1121308#new

This article in Spanish appeared 09/22/10. It says the pope greeted the legionary theology and philosophy studnets who were at the general audience in St. Peters square and said he was praying for them. He used the term "mis amigos legionarios" - my legionary friends, and encouraged them in their studies.
The article says that a high-ranking LC has explained to them that De Paolis has not begun to exercise his authority yet. It confirms that he has met the LC superiors a handful of times since July and indicated he allowed the vocational campaign and ordinations for this year to continue as normal. Besides that he has only given general guidelines to the LC cupula and has not yet entered into specifics.

De Paolis has announced (no source given beyond LCs speaking to the newspaper) that he will take up his position in full at some point this month of September, and this has not yet happened - at least not up until a few days ago. I suppose that is when the paper last spoke to their insider source.

It goes on to mention the frustration of LC members and cites Fr. Peter Byrne's letter. It thinks that the frustration is because De Paolis has not taken stepped into his role quite yet.

This would explain the recent campaign for control: business as usual - which has been shown in the talk by Luis Garza in Monterrey and the thing written by Kramarz in the LC internal "magazine". I believe this to be a pre-emptive strike

It also mentions something startling - a high ranking LC has revealed that they are removing all public images of maciel and that this is an order from above to all legionary centres and colleges etc but they CANNOT make members remove personal photos or pictures of maciel by decree. He admitted a tolerance towards simple pictures and photos of maciel because they are part of the history and cannot be denied.

I am not sure if he means photos of LCs with Maciel or who the "they" are that referred to - the LCs or the photos?

Ironically the Legion can decree that they have no photos as part of LC poverty also they don't need to decree it - surely LC obedience was not based on decrees?!

Legion Schools in Mexico experience Financial Crisis

Monterrey, Mexico - Schools run by the Legionaries of Christ in cities such as Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City are in a state of economic crisis due to a lack of students according to Fernando González, a researcher and religious affairs expert.

Adding to the student enrolment crisis, these institutions have been freed from centralized control, leaving it up to each school to try to survive by its own means.

“I have heard here and there that in some areas of the country the schools have begun to suffer financially, and they have even begun to talk of establishing a policy in which each legionary school would have to be self-supporting.”

The researcher and psychologist reports that previously all the schools operated under a centralized administration, but that now this system has been abandoned in a attempt to allow eacheducational institution to control its own finances in an effort to survive.

“The crisis stems from parents’ fears about the wager that legionary schools presented in the past - that if you bring me your children, I will give them a formation which would place them among the country’s economic and political elite. Suspicions quickly began to arise that this was not true,” according the the researcher from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). 

When expectations of having prestigious social connections as a result of being in a legionary school were shattered, says the author of the book “Marcial Maciel and the Legionaries of Christ; Unpublished Documents and Testimonies,” the order’s schools  began to experience a crisis. 

Fernando González claims that, despite the credibilty problem the Legionaries of Christ are experiencing as a result of the scandals involving pedophilia and children secretly conceived by the order’s founder, the late Marcial Maciel, there is still a affluent segment of the population that continues sending its children to these schools “as if nothing had happened.”

He adds that the removal from power of the so-called “legionary leadership” continues apace after the decision by Pope Benedict XVI last January naming a commissioner to be in charge of the congregation’s finances.

Fernando González, who was in Monterrey giving a seminar on research and psychoanalysis in the department of psychology at UANL, adds that the Legionaries of Christ have embarked on a sort of “refounding” which will be reflected in a “reduction of personnel” in the top leadership.

He indicates that, after the forceful measures taken by the pope to reorganize the congregation, prominent Mexicans such as Lorenzo Servitje and Ricardo Salinas Pliego have radically changed their attitude in regards to the level of respect they previously lavished on the order’s founder.

The fact that Servitje would acknowledge that one of his daughters drafted a letter offering apologies for her initial stance of unconditional support for Maciel  will have repercussions in the business community because it deals with one of Mexican Catholicism’s most emblematic figures from the private sector,” says the academic.

This stance, he adds, indicates a search for a “politically correct position” after the decisions taken by Pope Benedict XVI to reinstate discipline in the order, and to remove from power the top leadership inherited from Marcial Maciel.
Javier Sepúlveda

Active Legionaries question the "Official Version" of Vatican Investigation [1] Inside the Legion,

The Trastevere Blog in Spain seems to be the outlet for some Spanish speaking Legionaries who want to tell the world what is going on inside the Legion. This blogger simply passes on a translation of some August postings he found. These posts are the only information we have of what is going on inside the Legion -besides the official bulletins from the LC High Command. It seems not all Legionaries blindly believe what comes down to them from on high.

****

Our correspondent in Ireland, translated some interesting posts by two current LCs on the Trastevere blog over the past month. All the posts are in chronological order as they were posted and are by the LC priest who identifies himself as Misterioso, except one post by un sacerdote legionario ("a legionary priest")..  The original Spanish follows the translation, which is by no means perfect. Also included is an attachment of the translations as a txt file. http://blogs.21rs.es/trastevere/2010/08/12/legionarios-de-cristo-sobre-las-consagradas-la-autoridad-y-la-transparencia/#comments Misterioso // [August] Ago 14, 2010 at 02:08  . "... We would have liked to have seen some news about the Apostolic visitors in the Information Bulletins that we get by email in the Legion of Christ. I would have really liked to have seen the interview that the visitor gave to the the Apostolate Community in Leon, Guanajuato [Mexico] where he opened the Legionaries eyes, urging them to learn and inform themselves about all the was happening in the Legion because in a short time reform would come. Well, I was told that only a few days afterwards the Territorial Director of this region visited them to literally "repair the damage of the apostolic visit." I think that he himself received the damage as he left beleaguered and some more by his visit to the community. My respect and my acknowledgment of their bravery to those priests and brothers in that community. I am to understand that only three months later they changed the Territorial Director [for another]. Draw your own conclusions." Nada que ver, la verdad qué fallo tan garrafal. Ya hubiéramos querido que en los boletines informativos que mandan por correo electrónico en la LC hubiera salido alguna noticia sobre los visitadores apostólicos. Me hubiera encantado que hubiera salido la entrevista que hizo el visitador en la comunidad de apostolado de León Gto. donde les abrió los ojos a los LC’s, diciéndoles que se apresuraran a conocer e informarse de todo lo que pasaba en la LC porque en poco tiempo vendría la reforma. Pues me contaron que a los pocos días el DT de ese territorio fue para literalmente, “resarcir el daño provocado por la visita apostólica”… Y creo que el daño se lo llevó él, pues salió vapuleado y un poco más de esa visita a la comunidad. Mis respetos y mi reconocimiento por la valentía de estos sacerdotes y hermanos de esa comunidad. Pues me enteré que no pasaron ni tres meses cuando cambiaron a este DT… Saquen sus conclusiones Misterioso // [August] Ago 14, 2010 at 02:38  "I would like to share something that has just happened only a few minutes ago so that this respectable public give me its opinion: Yesterday an LC priest who works in the recruitment drive for minors ... that is to say he recruits boys for the Apostolic school [Legionary minor seminary], a friend of mine, spoke to me somewhat surprised and annoyed, and he gave me some frightening news: The yearly planning [literally programming] meetings usually take place in Cotija, birthplace of the Founder [Marcial Maciel]... Last year there were many complaints from many of the vocational recruiters saying that they didnt feel comfortable [being in Cotija] ... for obvious reasons. Much less when they made visits to Maciel's museum and tomb... It was announced, to the peace of mind of all, that as of next year the meetings would take place in the retreat houses in Chapala, Guadalajara. All were  happy about this. Oh, Surprise! - just a few days ago they received an email from the Territorial Directors saying that for reasons of space the meetings would be once more in the Michoacán region [implies the town of Cotija, which is in the state of Michoacán]. What do you think about this? I smell a rat, as they say. On the other hand, it sounds logical to me: these vocational promoters or recruiters practically live in the streets because their work brings them in contact with the world, families - contacts, as they call them. Some promoters have left the Legion after all that has happened, others have refused to recruit vocations, and many, many have become aware of the truth before the Leadership Cadre [cúpula] announced Maciel's abuses. Will it be that they will have reprogramming, reformatting and brain washing sessions? It will be interesting to know the content of these meetings. Patience friends, all in its own time. Greetings and my prayers for you.!" Quisiera compartir algo que me acaba de suceder hace unos minutos para que este respetable público me dé su opinión: Ayer me habló entre sorprendido e indignado un amigo sacerdote LC que trabaja en una gira vocacional de México para menores… es decir que recluta niños para la Apostólica y me dio una noticia escalofriante: Las reuniones anuales de programación se tenían normalmente en Cotija, tierra natal del fundador… El año pasado hubo muchas quejas de parte de muchos promotores vocacionales que no se sintieron a gusto… Obvias razones. Mucho menos cuando hacían sus visitas al museo y a la tumba de MM… Habían dado el aviso para tranquilidad de todos de que a partir de este año serían en una casa de retiros que se encuentra en Chapala, Guadalajara. Todos contentos. Oh sorpresa, han recibido hace unos días un correo de parte de las DT’s diciendo que por motivos de espacio se tendrán dichas reuniones nuevamente en tierras michoacanas… ¿Cómo la ven? Dicen en mi pueblo: “Me huele a chamusquín…” Por otro lado, me suena bastante lógico: estos promotores o reclutadores viven prácticamente en la calle porque su labor es de contacto con el mundo, familias, contactos como ellos lo llaman. Hay varios promotores que después de todo lo sucedido han salido de la LC, otros que se han negado a reclutar vocaciones, y muchos, pero muchos que se han enterado de la verdad antes de que la cúpula diera el aviso de los desmanes de MM. ¿Será que tendrán sesiones de formateo, de reprogramación y de lavado de cerebro? Sería interesante saber el contenido de estas reuniones. Paciencia amigos, todo a su tiempo. Un saludo y mis oraciones. ============= Un sacerdote legionario // [August] Ago 16, 2010 at 14:26  "...The approval of the constitutions and many official things in the Legion are sincerely a mystery, a mystery of manipulation and dirty-work between Maciel, the cúpula [Leadership cadre] of the legion] and the Holy See. For example, in the Legion we were never shown a copy or indeed the original of the acts of Canonical Erection and of the Canonical Approval of the Legion, two very important documents. But when you know the scurrilous history in which these documents were elaborated you ask yourself if the really exist, including the Canonical Erection which was expressly prohibited by the Holy See. Maciel knew this prohibition yet went forward and obliged his Bishop uncle to retract said act, hiding what he already knew: prohibition by the Holy See to erect the congregation and thus it was made. Maciel told this [to us] mockingly, as a victory on his part over his enemies (always Jesuits) who worked in the Holy See and who, according to him, had it out for him...this man [Maciel] did everything underhand [por abajo?], wrongly, outside of what the Church has stipulated. All the approvals were through abnormal channels, the constitutions by paying Pironio and blackmailing JPII, the Statutes by paying Sodano and taking advantage of JPII's illness, going in contrary to what various cardinals had been saying about the approval [of the statutes], among them Ratzinger who was completely opposed [to the approval]. Afterwards, Maciel saw itas a victory over everyone... these documents were never passed through the established channels in the Curia, knowing that it would be impossible to approve them because of the infinite number of anomalies against and trampling on the freedom of conscience and of the person which they contain. On the other hand, the reality is that right now there is a strong persecution going on inside the congregation, nobody can dissent - except to the outside [Tr. unsure about the translation of: sino para afuera]. There are many of my companions who are truly suffering humiliation and incomprehension from their superiors, who are beating them down [literally sinking] psychologically... this is very delicate, that they continue to control the thoughts and the liberty of all, there is great manipulation and pressure on the inside." Comparto muchos puntos de vista arriba mencionados. La aprobación de las constituciones y muchas cosas “oficiales en la Legión” son sinceramente in misterio, misterio de manipulación y trabajo sucio entre Maciel, la Cúpula y la Santa Sede. Por ejemplo, jamás se nos ha enseñado en la Legión una copia o el acta misma de la Erección y de la Aprobación Canónica, dos documentos importantísimos. Pero cuando conoces las historia truculenta en la que fueron elaborados dichos documentos te cuestionas si realmente existen, incluso la Erección Canónica la prohibió expresamente la Santa Sede, Maciel conociendo dicha indicación, se adelantó y obligó a su tío Obispo a redactar dicha acta, ocultando lo que ya sabía: prohibición de la Santa Sede para eregir la congregación y así se hizo. Maciel contaba esto con sorna, como una victoria de él frente a sus enemigos (siempre jesuitas) que trabajaban en la Santa Sede y que según él le traían ganas… este señor hacía todo por abajo, mal, fuera de lo que la Iglesia tiene estipulado. Todas las aprobaciones fueron por causes anormales, las constituciones pagando a Pironio y chantajeando a JPII, los Estatutos pagando a Sodano y aprovechando la enfermedad de JPII, en contra de lo que varios cardenales habían dicho sobre esta aprobación, entre ellos Ratzinger que se opuso rotundamente. Después Maciel lo vio como una victoria frente a todos… nunca pasaron estos documentos por los causes establecidos en la Curia, sabiendo que no era posible aprobarlos por la infinidad de anomalías y atropellos a la libertad de conciencia y personal que tienen. Por otro lado, la realidad es que actualmente hay una fuerte persecución al interno de la congregación, nadie puede disentir, sino: para afuera. Hay muchos compañeros míos sufriendo realmente la incomprensión y humillación por parte de los superiores, que los hunden psicológicamente… esto es lo más delicado, que siguen controlando el pensamiento y la libertad de cada uno, hay una fuerte presión y manipulación al interno. ============ Misterioso // Ago 23, 2010 at 03:56  "From Cerro de la Silla [Monterrey, Mexico, the mountain in the shape of a saddle overlooking the city of Monterey, Mexico], precisely where, every year, the directors of Integer and the LC General Administration Cúpula meet. [It is implied that the author is in Monterrye]. The car park will be full of cars of the latest model(Mercedes Benz, BMW, people carriers) and the food has to be of the highest quality... In fact they choose one of their own for no other reason than to check the food. If they don't like it, they change it [I’m unsure if the mean they change the catering company or they change the undertaking], because they have a demanding palate... ... the themes in the talks and conferences will be among others: Growth, development of the LC and RC, statistics about numbers [I believe this to mean the numbers important to the legion: number of members/new members and donations/money], new perspectives on the current difficult situation... Desde el Cerro de la Silla, efectivamente como todos los años se reúnen los dirigentes de Integer con la cúpula LC de la administración general. El estacionamiento estará lleno de puros coches último modelo (Mercedes Benz, BMW, Camionetas) y la comida deberá estar de primer nivel… De hecho, ponen a uno de ellos exclusivamente para revisarla. Y si no les gusta, cambian de empresa pues son de paladar exigente… Añado un poco más de información a tu post. Los temas de las ponencias o conferencias serán entre otros: El Crecimiento, El desarrollo de la LC y RC, Estadísticas de números, Nuevas perspectivas ante la situación difícil actual… si tienes algo más, ay nos avisas… Un saludo. =============== Misterioso // Ago 24, 2010 at 01:42  "...may God help us grasp all of this situation and act with decision and firmness. We cannot be satisfied with the spiel that for the good of charity we have to avoid making rash judgments about all those who surrounded Maciel: this is the recommendation from our Major Superiors. I believe that it is essential, necessary, and urgent to render evident those who knew about his misdemeanors and turned a blind eye or participated in them... Imagine how much confidence we feel when those who were his secretaries arrive at our centers giving conferences and talks. All they do is regret the damage that Maciel did..." M&G, Dios nos ayude a asimilar toda esta situación y actuar con firmeza y decisión. No podemos quedarnos con el rollo de que por el bien de la caridad hay que evitar hacer juicio temerarios sobre aquellas personas que rodeaban a MM: esa es la recomendación de nuestros superiores mayores. Creo que es totalmente indispensable, necesario y urgente que evidencien a quienes sabían y se hicieron de la vista gorda o participaron de sus fechorías… Imagínate con qué confianza nos sentimos cuando llegan a nuestros centros dando conferencias, pláticas quienes fueron sus secretarios. No hacen sino lamentarse de todo el daño que hizo MM… =========== Misterioso // Ago 24, 2010 at 01:42  "There are many closed Priests who do not want to even listen. Two months ago a woman who was a candidate to be assistant of the director of a section [of RC] in the north [of Mexico] told me that she offered the director a copy of the Luis Garza conference [a secret recording of a conference which he gave to consecrated women of RC] and he answered: "don't give me anything that could damage my vocation more". They resist seeing, and as you say, it is very difficult to nudge LCs like this. Change has to come from above. Nevertheless, our work [towards change?] is being done. Believe me, it is much easier to open the eyes of the younger LCs than the older ones or those who have a place of governance. ... Not only are they [dissenters?] isolated and their permission to confess is removed, but also they change their work or their apostolate... I myself have heard the superior of my centre say in Community Directives [a periodical community activity where the rector or his delegate corrects specific faults observed within the community from simple things like: "no one should drink directly from the garden hoses" to more controlling aspects of community life] "Fathers, I remind you that only the ordinary [appointed] confessors can hear confessions from the members of the community, and during the course [of the year] the extraordinary confessors, when they should turn up. (It is worth mentioning that this year we haven’t had a visit from extraordinary confessors). They still make you confess with [go to confession to] the priests they want you to confess to... There is an LC priest who had to give up his holidays this year because they forbade him to tend to the novices in dialogue [spiritual direction] because he was not a spiritual director and if you ask me where he is now, they have just changed his apostolate because he had not stuck to this order from his Assistant for Religious Life in spite of a various warnings... He is blessed now because he is no longer under the jurisdiction of this Assistant for [un]Religious Life, because if were of the Religious Life, he would follow canon law and I doubt he follows it..." [I understand this topic to be about LCs requesting direction or confession from any LC priests around them and LCs being chastised for confessing or giving spiritual direction to those that request if of them when they are nor authorized to do so, i.e. that confession and direction are still very controlled.] Asalterio, tienes razón en tu post de Ago 23, 2010 at 07:02. Hay muchos padres cerrados que no quieren ni escuchar. Hace dos meses me decía una señora que estaban postulando a ser la asistente del director de una sección del norte que le ofreció una de las conferencias de LG y le respondió: “No me dé nada que pueda dañar más mi vocación…” Se resisten a ver y como tú dices, es muy difícil dar codazos con LCs como estos. El cambio tiene que venir desde arriba. Sin embargo nuestra labor la estamos haciendo. Créeme es mucho más fácil abrir los ojos a los LCs jóvenes que a los vejestorios o quienes ocupan un puesto de gobierno. Por otro lado, clama el cielo cuando te enteras de noticias como la que diste en tu post de Ago 23, 210 at 15:55. No solamente los aíslan y les quitan los permisos para confesar, sino que los mueven de trabajo o de apostolado… Yo mismo he escuchado cómo en los avisos ha dicho el superior de nuestro centro: “Padres, les recuerdo que pueden confesar a los miembros de la comunidad únicamente los confesores ordinarios, y durante el curso, cuando vengan los extraordinarios” (cabe decir que este año no hemos tenido la visita de estos padres extraordinarios…) Todavía te obligan a confesarte con los que ellos quieren…Hay un sacerdote LC que tuvo que sacrificar sus vacaciones este año porque le habían prohibido atender a los novicios en diálogo pues él no era director espiritual y si me preguntas dónde está ahora, lo acaban de cambiar de destino porque no había acatado esta orden de su asistente para la vida religiosa a pesar de varios avisos… Dichoso él que no está ya bajo la jurisdicción de este asistente de “vida no religiosa”, porque si fuera de la vida religiosa, seguiría el Código de derecho canónico y dudo que lo siga…

"Legion of Crisis" Sunday Busines Report, August 22, 2010

US based Irish reporter Niall Stanage penned the following article  under the title

Legion of Crisis

Sample quote:

When the organisation finally admitted in March that Maciel had been involved in ‘‘reprehensible actions’’, they also argued that their earlier defence of the founder had been sincere, since the allegations ‘‘conflicted with our experience of him personally and his work’’.



Those denials were met with scepticism in some quarters. ‘‘These people were handpicked by him," Paul Lennon, a Dublin born former legionary, tells The Sunday Business Post.

Lennon, who left the order in 1984 and has subsequently become one of its most prominent critics, says: ‘‘There were never any kind of democratic or semi-democratic decisions made when Maciel was around."
Pope Benedict just last month revealed the identity of the man who would lead a de facto Vatican takeover of the order.
Archbishop Velasio De Paolis will be the pontifical delegate for the legionaries.

De Paolis Pally with Legion! [plus a little translation]

[Anonymous asked me to translate more; today, Thursday, August 19, 2010, I edit from Nags Head NC]

I was complaining about the Apostolic Delegate cozying up to the Legionaries and 'not getting it' regarding how to reform them. I cite a recent posting on the Internet as painting a benign picture of De Paolis intervention.

IMHO He initially got off on the wrong foot with a very friendly first homily to the community in Rome about a month ago telling them not to worry about anything...

A recent posting on Legion-friendly Ex Legionarios de Cristo, Ex Legionaries of Christ blog states, quoting NOTIMEX that he has confirmed ordinations for December, approved the list of candidates and approved other Apostolic endeavors.

Please Note Carefully below: "Legion sources confirmed to Notimex that..."

So, perhaps we need to confirm with another source. But, it is not looking good for Arch Velasio de Paolis

==========
16 de agosto. Delegado Apostólico aprueba los candidatados, cursillos de verano y ordenaciones.

Original source:
http://sdpnoticias.com/sdp/contenido/2010/08/16/4/1097513

"Ratifica comisario papal ordenaciones de nuevos Legionarios de Cristo

Por Andres Beltramo Alvarez.

Corresponsal Ciudad del Vaticano, 16 Ago (Notimex).

- El comisario pontificio para los Legionarios de Cristo, Velasio De Paolis, decidio ratificar las ordenaciones de nuevos sacerdotes de la congregacion, las cuales se llevaran a cabo el 24 de diciembre proximo en Roma.

[Translation of final paragraph]
Legion sources confirmed to Notimex that one of the Apostolic Delegate's first decisions was to keep in place all the vocation promotion processes, accept new novices, and to ordain a group of deacons to the priesthood.
Fuentes de la Legion confirmaron a Notimex que una de las primeras decisiones del delegado apostolico fue mantener inalterados todos los procesos de promocion vocacional, aceptacion a nuevos novicios y elevacion de diaconos a la dignidad de presbiteros"

Legion/Regnum Virus will Mutate and Grow if Apostolic Delegate does not get it right!

George Weigel's Prophetic Article "Next Acts in the Legionary Drama"
from May of this year deserves a re-reading -together with the comments-

Many of us who have followed the Maciel/Legion/Regnum drama/controversy for years would agree with his suggestions and wishes. The cautions from George and from the readers are prophetic IMHO; if the Apostolic Delegate does not take them into account he will jeopardize the efficacy of his mission, the Legion/Regnum Christi Virus will mutate, develop, grow stronger and spread

Future Archbishop Joseph Tobin, New Vatican Appointee on the Legion of Christ/Maciel

Please note that Our Father... and Our Father Maciel.. have identical content; only the title was changed to avoid offending some potential readers

excerpts of Q/A with John Allen NCR

Another high-profile project in which the congregation has been involved is the visitation of the Legionaries, which led to the appointment of an apostolic visitor. Do you expect to play a role in that?


The visitor has a pretty complete set of faculties to deal with the situation, but I imagine that at some point he’ll make recommendations to the congregation. I’m sure the dicastery will want to stay informed.

As you know, a house of cards has been constructed in the media and elsewhere to portray Benedict XVI as somehow uncaring or soft on clerical sexual misconduct, but it has to answer the point that one of the first things he did as pope was to deal with Maciel. That action spoke volumes, because I had been in Rome and I saw the incredible clout Maciel had. The fact that Benedict did it, and did it quickly, was a clear signal that the pope is serious about correcting this thing.

Theologically and spiritually, I think the Legionaries face enormous challenges, given how much religious life tends to stress the person and the inspiration of the founder.

Are you aware of any precedent for these kinds of revelations about a founder?

No, I know of no other experience like this. Theologically and even affectively, it’s a massive blow, given the regard that people in religious communities have for their founder. In the Redemptorists, we often talk about St. Alphonsus Liguori as "Our Holy Father," and I know the Dominicans talk the same way about Dominic, or the Brothers of the Christian Schools the same way about Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. I honestly don’t know what you do about it. I know there’s support for the Legionaries in Rome, so it will be interesting to see how this is done. I certainly don’t feel any schadenfreude about what’s happening ... I know it’s terribly painful.