Made Cardinal the archbishop who saw through Legion of Christ

that is Cardinal O'Brien

was made cardinal by pope Benedict XVI

(Cardinal O'Brien is being overshadowed in the media by the "humble" Cardinal Dolan.)

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals from 13 countries -- including three from the United States and Canada -- placing red hats on their heads and calling them to lives of even greater love and service to the church.

The churchmen who joined the College of Cardinals Feb. 18 included Cardinals Timothy M. Dolan of New York; Edwin F. O'Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and former archbishop of Baltimore; and Thomas C. Collins of Toronto.

In their first official act in their new role, the new cardinals were asked to join their peers in giving the pope their opinion, in writing, on the canonization of seven new saints, including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, an American Indian, and Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai, Hawaii.

The pope announced at the consistory that the canonization ceremony would be celebrated Oct. 21 at the Vatican.

Cardinal Collins said, "I am delighted that my first action as a cardinal was to join with the College of Cardinals in affirming the canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who has been such an inspiration for the people of our First Nations and so many others in Canada and the United States."

Cardinal Dolan also mentioned the consultation on the canonization of Blessed Kateri, who was born in what is now New York state, and Mother Marianne, who served there before going to Hawaii.

"As grateful as I am for being a cardinal," he told reporters later, "I really want to be a saint. I mean that, but I have a long way to go."

St. Peter's Basilica was filled to overflowing for the ceremony, and several thousand people sat in a sunny St. Peter's Square watching on large video screens. Choirs from New York and from several Italian dioceses provided music for the service.

At the end of the ceremony, the College of Cardinals had 213 members, 125 of whom were under the age of 80 and, therefore, eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

The consistory took the form of a prayer service. After the Gospel reading, in what the Vatican described as an allocution, not a homily, the pope told the cardinals that love and service, not an air of greatness, are to mark their lives as cardinals.

"Dominion and service, egoism and altruism, possession and gift, self-interest and gratuitousness: These profoundly contrasting approaches confront each other in every age and place," Pope Benedict said, but the cardinals must model their lives on that of Jesus, loving others to the point of giving up his life for them.

NCR: February 17-March 1, 2012

Subscribe to NCR to get all the news and special features that aren't always available online. In this issue:

- Conscience Roundup
Hear what theologians, commentators, and our editors have to say about the contraception mandate

- Special Section: Religious Life
Work of missioners, past and future; African meetings; and more

- Tribute to a Peacemaker
New York's Pax Christi fetes Daniel Berrigan

Cardinal O'Brien told reporters afterward that the ceremony and the pope's remarks underlined that becoming a cardinal "is not a reward, it brings on greater responsibilities -- something the pope experiences every day."

He said that when he knelt before the pope, "I thanked him; I said I'd serve him completely with my whole heart."

Cardinal Dolan, who delivered the main address on evangelization at a meeting of the College of Cardinals the day before, said that when he knelt before the pope, the pope thanked him again for his presentation. "I said thank you, for this, I'm the one who is grateful," he said.

"The Gospel and the homily were very sobering," he said, because they recalled the words of Jesus that "we're not in it for the prestige, we're not in it for the honor, we're not in it for the glory. We're in it to serve."

In all things, Pope Benedict had told them, "the new cardinals are entrusted with the service of love: love for God, love for his church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters, even unto shedding their blood, if necessary," a fact underlined by the red color of the biretta -- a three-cornered hat -- and the red cardinal's robes.

"He is servant inasmuch as he welcomes within himself the fate of the suffering and sin of all humanity. His service is realized in total faithfulness and complete responsibility toward mankind," the pope said.

"The free acceptance of his violent death becomes the price of freedom for many," he told the new cardinals, praying that "Christ's total gift of self on the cross" would be "the foundation, stimulus and strength" of their faith and that it would be reflected in their love and charity toward others.

U.S. Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, receives a red biretta from Pope Benedict XVI. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)During the ceremony, Pope Benedict placed rings on the fingers of the 22 new cardinals and assigned them a "titular church" in Rome, making them full members of the Rome clergy and closer collaborators of the pope in governing the universal church.

Cardinal O'Brien's titular church is the historic Church of St. Sebastian on the Palatine Hill. Cardinal Collins was assigned the Church of St. Patrick in the Via Veneto neighborhood, where an English-speaking congregation worships; and Cardinal Dolan became the titular cardinal of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Monte Mario neighborhood.

The new cardinals, the pope said, "will be called to consider and evaluate the events, the problems and the pastoral criteria which concern the mission of the entire church."

The pope asked the new cardinals "to serve the church with love and vigor, with the transparency and wisdom of teachers, with the energy and strength of shepherds, with the fidelity and courage of martyrs."

The Bible reading at the service was taken from the Gospel of Mark and recounted how the disciples were tempted by the idea of honor, but Jesus told them that greatness means becoming the servant of all.

"Serving God and others, self-giving: This is the logic which authentic faith imparts and develops in our daily lives and which is not the type of power and glory which belongs to this world," the pope told them.

De Paolis Succumbs to Maciel's Ring

A naughty former legionary did this!

Our Loved Ones are Leaving!

See the title of this years-old blog?


Some of our  Loved ones are finally getting the message and are leaving.

As writer Peter Kingsland puts it: the Oriol[e]s are flying the coop

The Vatican, spurred by Catholic reporters, Catholic groups like REGAIN, and blogs like life.after.rc. and a host of other blogs and web pages, and following its own investigations opened the gates.

The members themselves, particularly the truthful, honest, and earnest Consecrated Women of RC (some of the male RC and Legionaries are still stubbornly stuck in the their allegiance to the Pedophile Founder and his Mythical Charism) are walking out the door.

And former Legionary priest, Thomas Berg, is encouraging them

How things have changed since the first whistle blowers were ignored, ridiculed, shunned, shouted down and even threatened and sued!

Tragedy of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Cardinal Ouellet

Vatican Symposium of Child Sexual Abuse

CARDINAL MARC OUELLET

PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS



HOMILY FOR THE PENITENTIAL VIGIL

ON THE OCCASION OF THE SYMPOSIUM

“TOWARDS HEALING AND RENEWAL”



FEBRUARY 7, 2012

CHIESA SANT’IGNAZIO, [Gregorian University, Rome]



My venerable brother bishops and priests and my dear
brothers and sisters,

In the context of the reflection that is taking place during these
days of the Symposium “Towards Healing and Renewal”, we
remind ourselves that we are here this evening not only as
believers, but also as penitents.

 The tragedy of the sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by
Christians, especially when done so by members of the clergy, is a
source of great shame and enormous scandal. It is a sin against
which Jesus himself lashed out: “It would be better for him if a
millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble” (Lk.
17:2). Abuse is a crime, in fact, which causes an authentic
experience of death for the innocent victims, whom God alone can
truly raise to new life in the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
with profound conviction and awareness of what we do, we turn to
and implore the Lord.





This gesture of purification involves the entire Church, and
each one of us - Bishops, Religious Superiors, educators, all
Christians - feels the pain of what has occurred. We ask that the
Spirit of God, who heals and radically renews all things, come
down upon us.

 As members of the Church, we must have the courage to ask
humbly for God’s pardon, as well as for the forgiveness of His
“little ones” who have been wounded; we must remain close to
them on their road of suffering, seeking in every possible way to
heal and bind up their wounds following the example of the Good
Samaritan. The first step on this road is to listen to them carefully
and to believe their painful stories.

The road of renewal for the Church, who will continue to
educate people and establish proper structures to help prevent
similar crimes, must include the sentiment of “never again”. As
Blessed John Paul II said, “there is no place in the priesthood and
religious life for those who would harm the young” (Address of
Blessed Pope John Paul II to the Cardinals of the United States,
April 23, 2002, n. 3). It is intolerable that the abuse of children
would take place within the Church. Never again!

Sadly, we observe all too well that the sexual abuse of
children is found throughout modern society. It is our profound
hope that the Church’s commitment to address this great evil will
foster renewal among other communities and agencies in society
who have been affected by this tragedy.

In this new path, we Christians should be aware that only
faith can guarantee an authentic work of renewal in the Church:
faith understood as personal, as a true and life-giving relationship
of love with Jesus Christ. Mindful of our own lack of living faith,
we ask the Lord Jesus to restore us all and to lead us through the
agony of the cross towards the joy of the resurrection.




 Sometimes the violence was committed by deeply disturbed
persons or by those who had themselves been abused. It was
necessary to take action concerning them and to prevent them from
continuing any form of ministry for which they were obviously not
suitable. This was not always done properly and, once again, we
apologize to the victims.

 The Shepherds of the Church, having learned from this
terrible and humiliating experience, have a grave duty to take
responsibility in the discernment and acceptance of candidates who
seek to serve within the Church, most especially those seeking
ordained ministry.

 Still shocked by these sad occurrences, we hope that this
Vigil liturgy helps us to view the horrible sins that took place
among the People of God in the light of salvation history, a story
which we have retraced together here tonight. It is a story that
speaks of our misery, of our repeated failures, but most of all of
God’s infinite mercy, of which we are always in need.

 And so we entrust ourselves entirely to the powerful
intercession of the Son of God, who “emptied himself” (Phil. 2:7)
in the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption, and who has
taken upon himself every evil, even this evil, destroying its power
so that it would not have the last word.

 The Risen Christ, in fact, is the guarantee and the promise
that life triumphs over death; He is capable of bringing salvation to
each person.

 As we continue with our prayer service, we pray, in the
words of Pope Benedict XVI, for a more profound appreciation of
our respective vocations, so as to rediscover the roots of our faith
in Jesus Christ and to drink deeply from the springs of living water


that he offers us through his Church (cf. Pastoral Letter of Pope
Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland).

 May the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who is
always at work in the world, descend and help us through the
prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, whose
powerful intercession sustains and guides us to be obedient and
receptive to divine love. Amen!



 Marc Cardinal Ouellet

 PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS

Vatican Prosecutor Demands Action against Child Abuse

Scicluna calls on Catholic Church to act with determination against child abuse

The Promoter of Justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith described to the Vatican Insider the objectives of the conference against paedophilia which opens next week

ANDREA TORNIELLIVATICAN CITY

“In certain Churches where the code of silence is being broken, the number of reported cases of abuse sharply rose before slowly decreasing again. However the worldwide estimates concerning child abuse in society are truly alarming...”said Mgr. Charles J. Scicluna, 52 years old, promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He is the man whofor almost ten years has been working with Joseph Ratzinger to fight the upsetting phenomenon of child abuse at the hands of clerics and now he describes to the Vatican Insider the meaning and the objectives of the Symposium which will take place from 6 to 9 February at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

He said “There is a desire to act and react well, with determination.” The Symposium called “Towards healing and renovation” has been organized by the university together with some dicasteries of the Holy See and the support of the Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. Participants will include the representatives of 110 Episcopal conferences as well as the Father Superiors of thirty religious orders. This will be a truly international conference. According to a press release on the Symposium www.thr.unigre.it one of the speakers at the event will be an abuse victim who will talk to attendees about the necessity for victims to be heard and how positive change can be promoted.

Mgr. Scicluna, what is the aim of this Symposium on child abuse by clerics, opening at the Pontifical Gregorian University?

“The words that spring to mind are ‘increased awareness’ (with the sharing of experiences and the analysis of the latest scientific reports) and commitment (with the will to react and act well and with determination).”

From your point of view how would you describe today’s situation compared to the past? Is the phenomenon of child abuse becoming smaller?

“We do not have enough data- maybe we never will- to understand the truth about this upsetting phenomenon. There will always be disparity between the number of cases that actually happen and those that are reported. I noticed that in the Particular Churches (like in the US) where the code of silence has long begun to break, the number of reported cases at first went up dramatically but then slowly dropped again, as demonstrated in the US by the “John Jay Report”. On the other hand the recent estimates on child abuse in society worldwide is truly alarming as confirmed, for the example, by the data collected by the ‘Telefono Azzurro’( child helpline equivalent to the NSPCC in the UK)”

Do you think the Church in general and priests have changed their attitude towards this problem? Do you feel there is more collaboration than in the past?

“The determination to tackle the problem that was highlighted by the Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI has been extremely beneficial to bishops and the whole Catholic Church. There is now a greater awareness of the risks for the community, of the damages caused to young people, of the duty the ecclesiastical authorities have to collaborate with canonical and civil justice.’

Pope Benedict XVI did not just set stricter canon rules, but also most crucially showed care and attention to the victims. Is this attitude shared by many in the Church do you think?

“Various episcopates in Europe have given special attention to the victims, beyond their required legal and civil duty. This is an expression of a healthy and sober solidarity. During the Symposium at the Pontifical Gregorian University a great deal of time will be devoted to hearing the victims. It was suggested to the attendees to meet with some abuse victims before coming to Rome for the Symposium. I pray that the Church may increasingly become a light and healing balm for those wounded by this distressing sin.”

Vatican Warns about Child Abuse

Mons. Charles Scicluna, chief Vatican prosecutor, who led investigation into accusations that Fr. Marcial Maciel had abused his seminarians, has alerted the Church in Asia to be alert to pedophilia; he is concerned about cultures of silence which make it hard for victims to come forward. -he was referring to Asia, not Latina American -I say tongue in cheek. He made these statement on the eve of a Vatican conference on Child  Sex Abuse.

What is the Legion's Charism?

"What is, in any case, the charism of this congregation? What is it that moves hundreds and thousands of people to feel part of it, even despite the founder's stigma? What specific vocation can the Legion have now? According to the author,




"the apostolic fruits appear concretely in the number of vocations, and the number of consecrated members incorporated, as well as the money that is raised.

This is the Legion's real charism: internal growth and money. The means became the end. Everything points towards this goal. The evangelization of society has become a secondary objective. It is evident therefore that the Legion cannot deny that internal growth and the desperate and limitless pursuit of funds are its charism; these are the seeds sown by the founder. The Legion, therefore, needs a total conversion."

Roberto Blancarte (Mexican religion writer)
Prologue to Former Local Director Consecrated RC member, Nelly Ramirez', book analyzing the Regnum Christi lay Movement
El Reino de Marcial Maciel, La Vida Oculta de la Legion de Cristo y el Regnum Christi. (2011): Mexico City; editorial Planeta,
The Kingdom of Marcial Maciel,  The Hidden life of the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi

Excerpt from Prologue translated by blogger