The Son of Maciel Speaks Out on public Radio in Mexico

[From former RC correspondent in Mexico]

"Breaking News

SON OF MACIEL BEING INTERVIEWED BY CARMEN ARISTEGUI, MEXICAN JOURNALIST,

Monterrey 97.3 FM Guadalajara 95.5 FM Transmission was this morning, 3/3/10 online now at 9:10am if you want to hear it... http://radiotime. com/station/ s_24593/MVS_ 1025.aspx One of the sons just gave off this email address: hijosmaciel@ hotmail.com and they would like to hear from people. They say that their motive for speaking out is to ask the Pope for justice and retribution for the victims, and that the Legion be forced to stop "dandoles la espalda" [editor: turning their back on them] and to ask for forgiveness from the victims, as well as the Pope. =========== For those of you who missed the interview, which was quite shocking in my opinion, my guess is it will be available at this link tomorrow: http://www.noticias mvs.com/entrevis tas.html because all of yesterday's are there today. I will see if I can find a more permanent link for the interview tomorrow. Carmen said she will continue to talk about this tomorrow so people can also tune in live at the link I gave and at www.noticiasmvs. com by clicking on live player.   I was left with feelings of great sadness for these boys and also wonder at the bizarreness of this "ride" - I didn't know where this roller coaster was going to go when I got in, in terms of Regnum Christi."

[1] What should Legionaries do now that the Legion is under Vatican Visitation?

UPDATE: see very heated debate in Spanish on El Trastevere with input by former Legionaries and Regnum Christi s


The poster will open the floor to the following comment challenging the blogger. Much has been written already in response to this [rhetorical] question in Catholic blogs, Conservative and otherwise: First Things, Patrick Madrid, Peter Vere...all staunchly Orthodox Catholics have given their opinions and suggestions. Anonymous may not have read these or believes they have not answered his question:

"By the way, I want to know what the blogger's response is to the questions made earlier by some anonymous, you kind of drifted away from the question, about what the Legion should do now, after all aren't they having a visitation now that that founder is dead?"


In answer to the question the Blogger replies:
Legionaries, especially superiors, should have already cooperated fully with the Investigation. This implies being honest and forthcoming with them and not using deceit, subterfuges, and manipulation . This obvious condition is not so obvious because it has been demonstrated that Fr. Maciel and superiors actively deceived the First Vatican Visitators in 1956 by "preparing" the members to be less than honest in order "to protect the Founder and his Work of God." Some suspicion of a desire to control information lies in the various "responses" and "letters" emitted by the superiors which suggest a basic way to interpret the Investigation itself which is not necessarily truthful; v.g. "The Vatican is coming to confirm our charism" or other euphemisms,
"The Pope is sending the Visitation to confirm us in the faith", etc. 
"Now that we have denounced the sins of Fr. Maciel we have done all that is required to preserve the Work of God"....


With the first rumors of the Investigation back in January 2009 Legion leadership began shuffling superiors and moving members from one front to another...or taking men out of the front lines and sending them to more remote destinations...


See Patrick Madrid's post in July 2009

Legionary Troop Movements in High Gear

In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of "troop movements" within the Legionaries of Christ, and it's not entirely clear to me yet what is behind it. To be sure, for a large, multi-national organization such as the Legion to have some level of constant movement of personnel is quite understandable and quite common to any group of this type, secular or religious.

But some of these recent LC perigrinations are unusual both in that they involve priests and lay people abruptlyleaving the organization — a number of them high-profile folks (Fr. Thomas Berg, Tom Hoopes, Paul Bernetsky) — and others who are being transferred far afield at precisely the time of the apostolic visitaion, which is undertaking the Vatican investigation of the alleged problems within the order, in the wake of the recently disclosed Father Maciel scandals.

These new movements are in addition to the rumor that upwards of 25 Legionary priests (a dozen of whom are said to be Americans) are soon to depart en masse from the order to establish a new religious congregation. Keep in mind that that is merely a rumor. But given the recent high-level LC and RC defections, it is a plausible rumor.

Legionary-watcher "Cassandra" offers some intriguing tidbits about all this in a recent post. Some of these I've known about, others are new to me. But all of them, taken together, indicate a new pattern of LC personnel changes that is, at the very least, curious.

Father Antonio Rodriguez, for ages academic dean at the Legionary seminary in Cheshire, Connecticut, hasremoved to Switzerland. How will he now be able to testify to the apostolic visitation about the seminary?

Tom Hoopes, National Catholic Register editor, resigned this week. Together with Brendan McCaffery, Chief Operation Officer for Circle Media, let go last week, these represent decades and decades of experience at the highest level of Legionary operations in Connecticut. Will the visitation seek them out in Kansas or Les Avants-sur-Montreux or wherever or lose forever their testimony?]

[Updated] Life-after-rc the other day reported that there is evidence that the Legionaries have been moving members around possibly to make them less available for the apostolic visitation to interview.

History may be repeating itself: that’s certainly what the Legionaries did in the late summer of 1956 in the face of the first apostolic visitation. Legionary Brother José Domínguez, who had recently helped Father Maciel draft the fourth vow, was moved for the duration to Massa Lubrense on the southern extremity of the Bay of Naples. Brother Saúl Barrales spent nine months of 1957 in the Canary Islands. (See González “Testimonios y documentos inéditos” 278 and Berry and Renner “Vows of Silence” 182.)

In light of that, interesting:

Father Jonathan Morris, formerly vice rector of the Legionary seminary in Rome, is now on sabbatical for six months or more at Old St. Patrick’s in Manhattan. (exlcbloglinks to the Old St. Patrick’s bulletin with this information.)

Yesterday, July 16, the National Catholic Register’s accountant was let go. This may have been another cost-cutting move – in the downturn the Register became a bi-weekly -- though cost-cutting was not the purpose of the acquisition of Southern Catholic College announced yesterday as well.

Such movements would provoke an important procedural question for the apostolic visitation: will the visitators interview only Legionaries and employees currently in place or will they also seek out former Legionaries, those on sabbatical, and those no longer employed? It’s not as if Father Morris can hide in lower Manhattan, but how can Bishop Versaldi, whose responsibility includes Italy, interview him if he is not in Rome? How will Archbishop Chaput, whose responsibility includes the US, interview him if he is on sabbatical from a Legionary assignment? (continue reading)

"Thou Shalt Not Criticize the Legion and the Regnum Christi" (Private Vow)

[Original post's title modified and original photo taken down by request of family and family friends;
many edits made to text to protect families' anonymity]

THE ORIGINAL POSTING PROVOKED A LIVELY DISCUSSION WITH SEVERAL COMMENTS/OBJECTIONS TO PHOTO AND CONTENT. THE BLOGGER HAS LISTENED TO OBJECTIONS AND THE DISCUSSION HAS TAKEN ANOTHER, VERY INTERESTING, TURN:

QUESTIONING OF LEGION AND REGNUM BY BLOGGER IS ATTRIBUTED TO HIS PERSONAL PROBLEMS AND HE IS TREATED CONDESCENDINGLY BY LEGION DEFENDERS. SEE COMMENTS

---------------------

MODIFIED ORIGINAL POSTING  THAT CAUSED THE UPROAR:


"Some of you will recognize the Legionaries in the photo as Fr. Gomez and Fr. Bailleres. They are obviously visiting someone's home. It is the home of the L and L clan, who as far as I know, are one of the biggest sources of LC/RC supporters in Michigan.


My question is why is Fr. Bailleres in Michigan and what is up with Fr. Gomez that he won't even look at the camera? As far as I know, the picture is recent, because it looks like snow behind them, and it just appeared today.


This makes me think they are doing some kind of damage control [...]. Either that, or they are recruiting."

Legion of Christ to be REFORMED

According to this article appearing today in the Mexico newspaper, REFORMA, citing Roman sources, the Legion of Christi religious order is to be REFORMED with the dimission of the present high command.

The source states:  Everything points toward the Pope seeking to reform the order, with the destitution of the present leadership and the appointment of an Apostolic Administrator...

This poster cautions against too much speculation and jumping to conclusions and points out that the source is Jose Martinez de Velasco, a Spanish journalist who has already written two books about the Legion in Spanish. A very reputable source cited is Sandro Magister, a religious reporter in Rome who is also familiar with the Legion story. 

Magister states: "The reform ['refoundation'] of the Legion is a likely hypothesis"

Giancarlo Zizola, another Italian reporter, is of similar opinion
==============

ROMA.- El Papa Benedicto XVI


pedirá la refundación de los Legionarios

de Cristo, señalaron expertos

consultados por REFORMA

a un mes de que se conozca

el informe de un año de investigaciones

realizadas sobre las faltas

del Padre Marcial Maciel.

“Todo apunta a que el Papa

pedirá el cese de quienes están al

frente de la legión y luego nombrará

un comisario pontificio. La

tarea de éste será hacer un capítulo

general, y a partir de ahí podría

hablarse de una refundación

de los Legionarios”, adelantó José

Martínez de Velasco, periodista

experto en el tema que revelara

en 2002 los escándalos de la congregación

y de su fundador.

El Padre Maciel, quien fuera

acusado de pederastia y de quien,

en febrero del año pasado, se revelara

que tuvo una hija, murió en

enero de 2009, a los 87 años.

Sandro Magister, uno de los

expertos más respetados de Roma

en temas de religión y autor

del blog Séptimo Cielo, coincidió

en que la Santa Sede se inclinará

por la refundación de los Legionarios,

empezando por cambiar

su cúpula.

“La refundación es una hipótesis

con fundamento. Es importante

una renovación total porque

quienes ahora dirigen la legión

son los mismos que trabajaron

junto a Maciel durante su largo

periodo al frente de los Legionarios”,

indicó Magister refiriéndose

al director general, Álvaro Corcuera;

al vicario general y encargado

de asuntos económicos, Luis

Garza, y al procurador general,

Cristóforo Fernández.

Giancarlo Zizola, autor de libros

como “Santidad y Poder” y

“La Otra Cara de Wojtyla”, advirtió

que la decisión que tome el

Papa revelará la verdad sobre las

acusaciones contra Maciel.

“Si refunda a la orden y designa

a un comisario pontificio, que

es lo más probable, será el equivalente

a una admisión de que lo

que ha pasado dentro de los Legionarios

de Cristo fue muy grave”,

opinó.

Fr. Douglas Barry, LC., Leaves Legion of Christ for diocese of Concepcion, Chile

[source Spanish Language blog, Trastevere; apparently this member is from Chile, SA]

Called "Douglas Barry's Letter" the original is in Spanish and is addressed to the Legionaries he has left behind in the congregation [order]; notes and summary; very quick and very rough.
The poster.

[...] It may seem strange to you that I am writing to you now that many of you know that I left the Legion [exclaustration]. [...] What is wrong with a brother of yours, after living and sharing with you in the Legion for 18 years, wanting to say good bye to you and thank you for all he has received from each one of you? [...]


I do it in a very simple way.  After a process of Discernment which I began in Mexico after learning of our founder being an Imposter (multiple lives, deceit,  and everything else that you know or should know about his acts of pedophilia, abuses of children, homosexuality, vices, etc, which are not for me to judge as God already has done that) I began to realize that the deformed mind of the founder not only affected his personal life but that also many customs, procedures, life styles, norms, and several aspects of the congregation [order] were affected by the corrupt mentality [mindset ] of the founder. Many Legionaries, some superiors, have acknowledged this reality and are waiting/hoping [Sp. esperando]  the Holy See by means of the Apostolic Visitation it has carried out will be able to clean the congregation of all these contaminations.  I assure you that I would be the happiest person in the world if that happened, that is, if the Legion were the work that God chose it to be. You all know that from the time I was a child I wanted to be a Legionary, that I founded ECYD and the Regnum Christi in Vinia del Mar [Chile], that I was always a loyal promoter of the Legion, and have been a vocational recruiter for the past 15 years, most of time actively engaged in the apostolate, and was also involved at the General headquarters. But I cannot deny that we were pretty blind to the realities that we now see.


In this context, I have decided to seek by means of exclaustration -as you know it is given for three years- to try to exercise my priesthood outside the Legion, because I believe it is not healthy for my priesthood to continue in a system that will take a long time to change, and with which I have encountered not a few incompatibilities....

[...]
As I was saying, I requested in writing the exclaustration indult  from Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, and at the same time sought the paternal care of Monsignor Ezzati -Apostolic Visitation for South America- who has been kind enough as to accept me into his diocese of Concepcion.


=============================
La carta de Douglas Barry


Madrid, 16 de febrero de 2010 (Fuente blog el Trastevere).-

¡Venga tu Reino!

Muy queridos padres y hermanos en Cristo:

Quizá les parezca extraño que les escriba ahora que muchos ya saben que he salido de la Legión (exclaustrado), y seguramente habrá a quién le pueda inquietar, pero son de esas cosas a las que no estábamos habituados, pero que en realidad no tiene nada de malo. Qué va a tener de malo que un hermano vuestro que después de 18 años de haber convivido y compartido con ustedes en la Legión, quiera despedirse y agradecerles por todo lo que ha recibido de cada uno. De verdad, sepa cada uno de ustedes que les aprecio inmensamente. Y además de agradecerles por todo (no hago la lista porque sería interminable) también quiero explicarles brevemente qué pasó, para que no haya equívocos que puedan faltar a la verdad, pues como sabrán, hace mucho daño el no vivir en la verdad.

Lo hago muy sencillamente: Después de un proceso de discernimiento que comencé en México tras conocer la impostura de nuestro fundador (múltiple vidas, engaños, y todo lo que ustedes saben o deberían de saber de sus actos de pedofilia, abuso de niños, homosexualidad, vicios, etc. que no me corresponde juzgar, pues Dios ya lo ha hecho) fui dándome cuenta que la mente deforme del fundador no sólo afectó su vida personal, sino que no pocas costumbres, procedimientos, estilos de vida, normas, y diversos aspectos de la congregación también estaban contaminados por resabios de esa mentalidad. Muchos legionarios, algunos superiores, han reconocido esta realidad, y están esperando que la Santa Sede por medio de la Visita Apostólica que he realizado pueda ayudar a limpiar la obra de todas esas contaminaciones. Les prometo que yo sería la persona más feliz si eso ocurre, es decir, si la Legión fuese la obra que Dios quiere que sea. Ustedes saben que desde niño he soñado con ser legionario, que me tocó fundar al ECYD y el Movimiento en Viña del Mar, que siempre fui un leal promotor de la Legión y he sido promotor (reclutador) vocacional desde hace 15 años, la mayoría del tiempo en el campo de apostolado y también desde la dirección general. Pero no puedo negar de que estábamos bastante cegados a las realidades que ahora vemos.

En este contexto, yo he decidido buscar por medio de la exclaustración -que como saben es un indulto que te dan por tres años- el poder ejercer mi sacerdocio fuera de la Legión, por no considerar sano para mi sacerdocio el que continue bajo un sistema que tardará mucho en cambiar, y con el cual he encontrado no pocas incompatibilidades. Los temas serían muy largos y profundos de analizar: el sentido de la voluntad de Dios, la rectitud de intención en la atención a las almas, el verdadero amor hacia las almas, la vida fraterna en común (nó sólo la uniformidad o la vida común, sino la fraterna), el ejercicio del apostolado y la pastoral, la inserción en la Iglesia local, etc. No me toca a mí decirles lo que debe cambiar la Legión….

Como les decía, he solicitado el indulto de exclaustración. Lo hice por escrito al P. Álvaro Corcuera, y al mismo tiempo me he acogido a la paternal solicitud de Mons. Ezzati -Visitador apostólico para los centros de Sudamérica- que ha tenido con bien aceptarme en su diócesis de Concepción. No he estado buscando obispos en México como alguien dijo, ni ningún otro movimiento o familia religiosa. Desde un inicio cuando discerní que no debía seguir en la Legión, decidí solicitar a Mons. Ezzati su acogida por ser quien más puede comprender, dada su condición de visitador, la situación particular que estamos viviendo. Él desde un inicio no dudó en apoyarme con toda caridad.

Les pido una disculpa por no haberme despedido personalmente, pero ya saben que aún en la legión eso se ve mal y todavía se cuida mucho de no “inquietar” a los demás. Quise respetar esa manera de pensar aunque personalmente no la comparta. Ahora que ya saben que salí, pues ya supongo que no hay problema en que aunque sea por este medio me despida y les agradezca cada momento que viví con ustedes. Sé que cada uno es responsable del don de Dios que lleva en sus manos y sabrá cómo ir respondiendo a Dios. Sea lo que fuera, aquí tienen un hermano y un amigo en Jesucristo. Si en algo les puedo servir, además de mis oraciones, les dejo mi nuevo correo electrónico: sidwil74@gmail.com

Que Dios los bendiga mucho.

Afmo. en Cristo, P. Douglas Barry

Legion's Charism Revealed! [Inside Look at the Legionaries of Christ]

I invite you to view very recent TV program featuring the Legion of Christ

Review the program and use your analytic skills to learn from this Legionary Priest "spokesperson" where the Charism of the Religious Order lies. Find the Legion's originality as described by Fr. Brisson.

When you have found how the padre describes the Legion's Mission and work, let us compare notes

Article by LC Vicar General in l"Osservatore Romano Disconcerting for Catholics...........Catolicos Confusos por articulo del Vicario General en periodico Vaticano

Dear friends,

you may now be aware that on or about 5 February, 2010, the Spanish edition of the L'O. R. published an article on the priesthood by Fr. Luis Garza, vicar general of the Legion of Christ

This information was reported by the El Trastevere Blog in Spanish.

CNA, a heretofore Legion of Christ ally, picked it up, too 

People ask, How can this be, an article written about the priesthood by the hand-chosen successor of the priest sexual pervert, Marcial Maciel, founder of the order, while a Vatican investigation is ongoing, the investigation is supposed to analyze the charism of the Legion in its spirituality, the training system and apostolic strategies.

However, the Legion has been known to "pull a fast one" even on the Vatican.

This was the case in 2005, when The Legion put out the news that there was no Vatican investigation of Fr. Maciel, at the precise moment that the investigation was happening. This writer  participated in the investigation of the Maciel.  In May, 2005 the Legion was putting the word that the investigation was not happening. They were able to lead many media outlets up the p, creating confusion by pitting the Vatican Press Office against the Office for the Doctrine of the Faith. REGAIN, INC. was perhaps the only media that called Legion's bluff  It also reminded the public that Vatican offices do not make official statements about the investigations that are ongoing.

Here, the message seems to be similar: We are undergoing a thorough investigation of the Vatican, but business is as usual, just look at our superior publish an article in the official newspaper of the Vatican!

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

[Traducción Google]

Queridos amigos,

Quiza Ud ya se dio cuenta que el  5 de febrero 2010 la edición española de l' Osservatore Romano publico un artículo de Luis Garza, Vicario General de la Legión de Cristo

Asi informo el blog de Trastevere, en español, véase enlace para el articulo

La gente se pregunta

?Como puede ser esto, un artículo sobre el sacerdocio escrito por la mano el elegido Sucesor del sacerdote pervertido sexual, Marcial Maciel, fundador de la orden?  Mientras que una investigación del Vaticano este activa; Supuestamente la investigación es para analizar el carisma de la Legión en su espiritualidad, el sistema de formación y estrategias apostólicas.

Sin embargo, la Legión ha sabido enganiar incluso al Vaticano en otras ocasiones

Este fue el caso en 2005, cuando la Legión saco a noticia de que no hubo ninguna investigación del Vaticano del P.. Maciel, en el preciso momento en que la investigacion estaba sucediendo. Este escritor participo en la investigación de FR. Maciel a comienzos de abril 2005. En mayo, la Legión informo a los medios de comunication que la investigación no estaba en marcha. Ellos Fueron Capaces de enganiar a muchos  medios de comunicación, Crearon confusión al enfrentar a la Oficina de Prensa del Vaticano con la Doctrina de la Re. REGAIN, INC lue quizás el único órgano que alerto a Catolicos de la treta de la Legion,

señalando además que las oficinas del Vaticano no hacen Declaraciones publicas mientres una investigacion este todavia activa.

Aquí, la estrategia de la Legion parece ser similar: para desorientar al Publico y a sus propios miembros siembran confusion, diciendo algo como:

Estamos experimentando una profunda investigación del Vaticano, pero el negocio va como de costumbre; nuestro superior acaba de publicar un artículo en el periódico oficial del Vaticano!

Ver enlaces en original ingles

Saludos!