"Thus far, we have only completed the process of preparation." Who Understands Cardinal De Paolis?

 

Chapter Members attend a mass celebrated by Cardinal Velasio De Paolis at the Legion of Christ's Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. The mass marks the opening of the Legion of Christís General Chapter, the month-long meeting where theyíre going to approve new constitutions and elect a new leadership, thus ending a Vatican's three-year reform experiment. Photo: Andrew Medichini, AP

Lo and behold, Cardinal De Paolis announces on January 8, 2014, on the threshold of the Legion General Chapter that all the work that was done -or not done- over the past three years was just to "prepare the renewal of the Legion"

According to AP Nicole Winfied, the Cardinal in his homily to the chapter fathers stated, among other things:

"It has been repeatedly stressed that the revision of the constitutions cannot simply be considered a technical effort, but should be accompanied by a process of examination of life, of review and of spiritual renewal for the institute," he told the gathering of a few hundred priests in the chapel of the Legion's seminary on the outskirts of Rome. "Thus far, we have only completed the process of preparation."


The Extraordinary Chapter  of the Legion of Christ is underway, three years after Cardinal De Paolis began his renewal work.

Those of us who have been eagerly following the "renewal" of the troubled Legion are asking ourselves What has The Apostolic Delegate achieved?

Wasn't more than renewal required?
Why not reform?
Why not re-founding?
Why not cleansing?
Why not cut the filth out of it?

Why not rid it of all of Maciel's proteges, appointees, lackeys and accomplices?

1. He moved Vicar General, Luis Garza Medina from Rome to the USA; Garza was destituted from his Vicar General post and made Territorial Director of North America where he was closer to his family and fortune in Monterrey Mexico. Does he still have his hands on the Legion's Finances?
2. Some superiors were moved from one place to another, possibly to help them avoid legal responsibility for Maciel's and their own crimes: Fr. Bannon who was the Legion's main maker and shaker in the USA was moved back to the safety of Ireland and later moved to Rome to head the drafting of the new Constitutions. Fr. John Devlin, Fr. Maciel's personal secretary for decades, his confidant, valet and right hand man, disappears from the scene, maybe hiding our in Ireland, away from prying American reporters or lawyers.
3. Most of the superiors, almost all had been hand picked by Maciel, were left in the posts.
4. So, De Paolis shuffled the pack a bit.
5. No major discernment process took place with the help of outsiders: wise spiritual advisors and psychotherapists who could help all the member re examine their call to the Legion.
6. The outcomes of the Commission for the Financial Reform of the Legion remain unknown.
7. The Commission to compensate victims of Fr. Maciel has acted in a warped and miserly way: victims had to go through the Legion, i.e. the abusing organization, in order to seek compensation. The Legion was judge and jury of the legitimacy of the claims. Only claims concerning Fr. Maciel were addressed. Only claims that had not sought legal recourse were allowed....Cardinal De Paolis was quoted as saying that he would not squander the Legion's resourced to compensate (greedy and unreasonable) victims.

And now, lo and behold, Cardinal De Paolis tells us that all the work that was done -or not done- over the past three years was just to "prepare the renewal of the Legion"