Legion of Christ, Papal Dilemma

Hartford Courant


Papal Dilemma


The Maciel Problem


Legion, A Problem For The Vatican


A Question Of Moral Relativism

By JASON BERRY



September 27, 2009

In a sermon opening the 2005 conclave that would elect him pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave a cri de coeur on Christian values: "We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive."

As Pope Benedict XVI, his papacy is a study in tension between moral absolutes and pastoral flexibility.

As absolutist, Benedict in a 2006 speech quoted a 14th-century source, scorning the Prophet Muhammad, provoking an uproar in the Muslim world. The Vatican issued a statement of regret.

As forgiving pastor, Benedict tried to draw the breakaway Pius X Society back into the fold, only to be embarrassed when a bishop in the sect denied that the Holocaust happened. More embarrassment, another papal apology..

Today, the pope faces a greater challenge to his authority. The Vatican is investigating an international religious order with its U.S. headquarters in Orange and its main seminary in Cheshire. How should the pope handle the Legionaries of Christ?

In 2006, he banished the founder, Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, 86, to "a life of prayer and penitence" after an investigation of pedophilia charges The Courant first reported in 1997.

Despite testimony by 30 ex-Legionaries abused by Maciel, the Vatican failed to specify his moral crimes. To mollify his followers, the Vatican praised the order, ignoring its website that had attacked the victims. The legion then cast Maciel as falsely accused, all but scoffing at the pope.

Maciel, who died last year, was the greatest fundraiser of the modern church. The Legion's donor base includes Carlos Slim of Mexico, among the world's richest men. He lent The New York Times $250 million to keep it afloat. The Legion, with a $650 million budget yet only 700 priests, operates seminaries, colleges and schools in several countries.

Maciel impressed his priests and seminarians with lavish gifts to favored Vatican officials. Several insiders I've interviewed express regret about checks as high as $10,000 to certain cardinals, Christmas gifts of expensive wines and $1,000 Spanish hams, even a car to one cardinal. They wonder if all that was bribery.

Moreover, as two Legion priests told me in Rome this summer, seminarians — with mail screened and Web access restricted — are kept in the dark about Maciel's pedophilia history. Three years after Benedict punished Maciel, seminarians still study his writings.

John Paul II, who championed the Legion despite the allegations against Maciel, appeared in a Legion marketing video (which it no longer uses) telling a group: "You are all sons and daughters of Father Maciel!"

The irony drips like candle wax. In February, Legion officials revealed that Maciel had an out-of-wedlock daughter. In August, news reports from Madrid and Mexico City said that Maciel fathered six children by two women.

Mexico City attorney Jose Bonilla represents three of the adult children, claiming ample evidence of their paternity, demanding compensation from the Legionaries. The religious order has not refuted him..

Bonilla also asserted that Legion officials knew about Maciel's children in the 1990s. Meaning, the leadership deceived donors and two popes for at least a decade.

Fraud is at issue in a Rhode Island lawsuit that seeks to undo the will of Gabrielle Mee, a widow who lived in a house run by Regnum Christi, the Legion's lay affiliate. Regnum Christi members raise money and study Maciel's letters. In challenging Mrs.. Mee's will, which gives her $15 million estate to the Legion, a niece argues that had Mrs. Mee known the truth about Maciel, she never would have donated. Court documents allege that the Legion used her largesse to buy a corporate center in Westchester County. Residents there oppose the order's plans for a college campus.

The parents of Glenn Favreau, an ex-Legionary from Champlain, N.Y., have written the Legion, seeking the return of $13,000 they gave over 10 years.

Benedict sent five bishops from as many countries to investigate the Legion. They should hire forensic accountants to probe its finances. Anything less would continue the deception. The Vatican should order the Legion to pay settlements to Maciel's victims and his children.

And, then, His Holiness should shut down this sick operation forever. Legion priests and seminarians with a genuine vocation can find places elsewhere in the church. Preserving the Legion as a Catholic name brand name would be moral relativism at its worst, and a black stain on this papacy.
________________________
•Jason Berry, co-author with the late Gerald Renner, then a Courant reporter, of "Vows of Silence," a book about Marcial Maciel Degollado, has produced a film documentary of the same title that follows the Vatican investigation.

Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant

Vatican Visitator in Cheshire on Historic date

His Grace, Charles J. Chaput, OFM, Archbishop of Denver CO, arrived at the Legion of Christ house in Cheshire, CT, on September 15, 2009, two months after the public announcement of Vatican Visitation, to begin his Investigation into the religious life of the members of that community.

He will prepare a dossier with his findings to be sent to the Vatican for further study.

Legion historians will remember that [one of] the official names of the Legion is Christ is "Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and of our Lady of Sorrows" [Feast celebrated on September 15]

Historians will recall that the Mexican Revolution started on September 16, 1810, when the parish priest at Dolores, Guaranjuato, Fr. Miguel Hidalgo, himself of Spanish blood, led the people intro the streets to demand Mexican Independence from Spanish rule. The parish had just celebrated the feast day of its Patron Saint, Our Lady of Sorrows, when in the early hours of September 16, 1810, father Hidalgo, accompanied by several conspirators –Iganacio Allende, Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez- rang the bell of his little church, calling everyone to fight for liberty. This was the beginning of the Independence War, which lasted 10 years.

Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, LC: "We are a Work of God" ---#31 in the series "How to get a Loved one Out of the Legion and Regnum"

-----

Such a statement, coming matter-of-factly in an August 8, 2009 private letter of Legion and Regnum Director General TO ALL MEMBERS, plunges concerned Catholics into CONFUSION and hopefully  gives Vatican investigators food for thought.

ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT, Vatican Visitator, email:
shepherd@archden.org

Isn't the Vatican Investigation supposed to investigate this?

This is something that Catholics and the Public will need clarified by said Vatican Investigation.

IS THE LEGION/REGNUM A DIVINELY INSPIRED INSTITUTION, AND IF SO TO WHAT DEGREE?

How to get your Love one Out?
Cooperate to the maximum with the investigation; pester the investigators with your -briefly stated- concerns!
-

Everything is "Hunky Dory" in Maciel's Kingdom

[A friend wrote after Reading the Legion's Encyclical about Maciel scandals and Legion errors]

Dear friends, I have not really digested everything from the letter yet and I want to let my thoughts settle a bit before commenting on it, but there is one disturbing thought that comes to my mind - this letter serves a singular purpose of telling all RC and LC members that everything is alright and good with the Legion, that

NOTHING IS WRONG:

it says that the legion apologises for any harm to individuals

it says that the legion distances itself from Maciel

it says that its finances are in order

it says that it is dealing with all possible future child abuse issues

it says that there were professions - ie the seminaries are business as usual

it says that canonically the legion has no errors (confession, direction, private vows are all in order)

Any LC/RC member will be so glad to hear all of this - what problem exists in the LC/RC that has not been fixed according to this letter? Why should any LC or RC worry about belonging to, supporting and giving their all and more for the legion?

THERE ARE NO MORE OBSTACLES (according to the superiors)

What is scary about this to me is that with this letter the Legion is

UNDERMINING the work of the investigators

- it is a pre-emptive strike to re-double the "conviction" , "commitment" and "surrender" of its members.

The investigation began with many LC and RC in a limbo, waiting to be told what to do or what to believe. This was a weak position for the LC to have its members in vis a vis the investigation - the investigators were those who held the power and control.

Now the LC and RC members will be strong in their convictions and this means that they are under the control of their superiors once again, and the investigators are suddenly weak in the possible impact of their investigations and in their ability to carry out a true investigation - members and non-members alike may sit back on their laurels now that the Legion is "hunky-dory" .

CHANGES ALLEGEDLY MADE BY LEGION IN RESPONSE TO SCANDALS AND ERRORS

Letter to members of Regnum Christi from Territorial Directors

See First Part containing Introduction

2nd Part describing changes

1. This brings us to a key point in relation to you, our friends. It is clear that all these facts lead us to think about the past, the present and the future. Many of you have rightly asked if the Legion has made or will make changes in its life. Yes…we have, we are and we will. Some examples:

a. One of the questions that come to mind refers to the “safe environment and child
protection” measures in our communities and apostolates. Our Constitutions, other norms and many elements of our discipline have always helped us to be particularly careful in the dealing with minors. More recently we are in the process of accreditation by Praesidium, a risk management organization now helping a great number of religious institutions in North America. Praesidium is conducting a full review of our internal rules and policies, as well as our training of all those who deal with minors. They will shortly be conducting on-site visitation of several of our institutions to verify that what is on paper is being applied. There are twenty-five accreditation standards to meet, covering the areas of prevention, response and supervision. Here in the U.S. we have also set up an external review board so that in the event of allegations of sexual abuse, we have the advantage of “outside eyes” to weigh the evidence, issues and provide us with recommendations. Praesidium accreditation is being promoted by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, which links all the male religious orders in this country. We also fully comply with all diocesan standards, which vary from place to place.

b. On the financial side, for a long time now we have had yearly audits done by outside accounting firms. We could not have acquired the loans we needed to purchase our seminaries and found the many works of apostolate undertaken during these years
without systems in place of strict accountability and responsible financial management. In recent years, due to the growth of our operations, we have put in place a still more professional system of business management through the services of Integer Group. Staffed by lay professionals, Integer has further improved our operating and management processes to ensure the integrity of all our operations.

c. A further area of adjustment which has begun and continues in process is the way we refer to Father Maciel in the Legion and Regnum Christi. While we cannot deny that
Father Maciel was our founder and did much good, neither can we deny the reality of
what has recently come to light and his grave human failings. We have taken progressive steps to make sure that there is no inappropriate reference to Father Maciel (we have, for example, removed pictures of him from our center; we have extensively edited our websites; we are in the process of reviewing new editions of other writings, brochures, etc.). All this has led us to what is most essential: to center our life, even more, in Jesus Christ. This is an ongoing and difficult process given the need to discern his person from the solid Catholic doctrine that he transmitted and the legitimate institutional aspects of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christ. This discernment is not something that can be done lightly or overnight. Father Alvaro has and will seek the advice and guidance of learned and prudent men of the Church to enlighten this difficult question seeking not to lose God’s gifts to the Legion and Regnum Christi. We are also receiving enormous help from the Church, especially from the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to whom we are truly grateful.

2.

a. You know that he has mandated an Apostolic Visitation of the Legion. Archbishop
Charles Joseph Chaput of Denver has been appointed as Visitor for the Legion in the
United States and Canada. Archbishop Chaput will visit our seminaries and religious
houses, see our life up close and interview whomever he wants. His mandate will be to
question, probe and assess with depth and objectivity. Legionaries are free to speak and write to him with all their comments and questions. He sets his own timetable and the points he wishes to probe, and he will present his findings and recommendations directly to the Holy See. For the moment, the Legion cannot make any specific statements regarding the content or development of the Visitation, since this would interfere with the work of the Visitors.

b. Questions and comments have also been raised regarding the “private vow of charity” that was professed in the Legion. The rationale of this vow was to ensure that the grievances one could have with his superior were brought to those who could resolve them and thus avoid irresponsible criticism or internal factions that degrade unity. This vow had been in place since 1957 and was approved by the Church. Pope Benedict XVI, who has the power to bind and loose, asked the Legion to remove it, which we did two years ago.

c. In the past two years, also following the indications we received from the Holy Father, we changed our general practice of superiors being the spiritual directors of their
subjects. This practice was based on one of the century-old monastic traditions that view the superior as Spiritual Father and Mentor of his community. We are seeing positive fruits from this change of practice.

d. There also have been changes in the Legion regarding sacramental confession. In the past, members were free to go to the Ordinary or Extraordinary confessors (assigned by the General Director for each community). They were also free to go to any other Catholic priest with faculties for confession. Members often asked to go to confession with their own superiors. Following the instructions of the Holy See, today superiors are no longer habitual confessors for those under their authority.

e. We would finally like to mention that our general director is in frequent contact with our superiors in the Holy See and also with the Apostolic Visitors to speak about these and other complex issues. These are some of the significant steps the Legion of Christ has taken. And as we said, we expect more will come in time, with judgment and prudence.

Understandably, in the midst of the present circumstances there have been a few of our members who have felt that they can serve God better by separating themselves from the Legion and Regnum Christi; others have opted temporarily to step aside to see and evaluate, waiting also to see the outcome of the Visitation. The vast majority has opted to continue doing as much good as they can from where they are, knowing that our time here on earth is limited, and trusting that with the guidance of the Church whatever needs to be corrected in time, and whatever is good will be confirmed. Each one has made his or her choice before God, moved by their love for him and their desire to serve him to the best of their ability, and for no other consideration. Let us have great Christian understanding and respect for all. Each of us must presume the best and purest intention in the other, pray for each other, and recognize that each one of us suffers and recovers in different ways and at different times.

As Father Álvaro told us in his homily, in Cheshire, St. John Chrysostom teaches us fives ways to reach reconciliation: asking for pardon, forgiving others, prayer, almsgiving and humility (cf. ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homilies, PG 49, 263-264). Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace to walk this path, inasmuch as each one of us needs it, for his greater glory.

Loving, serving, and building together –that has been our life in the Legion and Regnum Christi. As tragic as the failings of our founder are, they should not cause us to diminish our efforts to bring souls to Christ, and to serve him and the Church selflessly in all our brothers and sisters. You have worked so hard to create apostolates, build schools, run youth clubs, form people in the Catholic faith – and those efforts are good and real. Let nothing distract you from loving and serving God in your neighbor. We enter now into a new chapter of our history which must be focused on the pursuit of holiness and love for souls.

May we take inspiration from our Blessed Mother who “meditated all these things in her heart” (cf. Lk 2:51). She will lead us along the path of God’s will and help us to respond as she did: “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
May Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians inspire us during these challenging times:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

You remain in our prayers, and we depend on yours.
Yours in Christ our Lord,

Fr Scott Reilly, LC
Territorial director
Atlanta Territory

Fr Julio Martí, LC
Territorial director
New York Territory

[Videos] Women in Cults....#30 in the series "How to get a Loved one Out of the Regnum Christi

It could happen to you. It has happened to you, to a loved one...?
Watch short videos:
Women in Cults

The 2 Sides of the Legion of Christ Regnum Christi Debate....#29 in the series "How to get a Loved one out..."

Dear Parent, friend of an Active Legionary of Regnum Christier, or Concerned Catholic or Truth Seeker,

Have you ever wondered why active LC and RC won't or can't listen to reasons or doubt Fr. Maciel, the Legion or the Regnum? Have you ever suspected that you yourself are getting carried away in the arguments. I present the following article to you for your consideration?

The idea is that very often all of us may let our emotionally laden convictions get in the way of logic. As you read, it will be hard for you to hear the message because it is wrapped in the issues of the present Health Care debate and even the War in Iraq. Here again you may be carried away by your strong feelings about theses issues depending on your political affiliation. In a nutshell: our logic and reason are often blurred by how much we care about a person or thing and how much energy and love we have put into the cause.

Back to our case in Question:

THE FACTS:
Fr. Maciel sexually abused his seminarians, lived a double life, used large quantitities of money for his own pleasure and probably to make payments to his lover and their child, etc.

LC INTERPRETATION:
Fr. Maciel, despite his weakenesses, was God's chosen instrument to found the Legion of Christ religious congregation and Regnum Christi lay Movement; Fr. Maciel's later aberrations were caused by a head injury and subsequent brain surgery which impaired his judgment. Fr. Maciel's works were preserved free from corruption by the Grace of God who used this imperfect instrument for a greater good. Judge the tree by its fruits, which are many and approved by the Vatican, the Pope and the Catholic Church. The present Apostolic Visitation is aimed are correcting and fine tuning the Legion so that it can serve the people of God better

But try to listen to the sociologists. I believe that what they say can help us understand why it is so hard to "get through" to our loved ones about the true nature of the Legion and Regnum
--

Health Care Debate Based on Total Lack of Logic

Jeanna Bryner
Senior Writer
LiveScience.com jeanna Bryner
senior Writer
livescience.com

Heated partisan debate over President Obama's health care plan, erupting at town hall meetings and in the blogosphere, has more to do with our illogical thought processes than reality, sociologists are finding.

The problem: People on both sides of the political aisle often work backward from a firm conclusion to find supporting facts, rather than letting evidence inform their views.

The result: A survey out this week finds voters split strongly along party lines regarding their beliefs about key parts of the plan. Example: About 91 percent of Republicans think the proposal would increase wait times for surgeries and other health services, while only 37 percent of Democrats think so.


Irrational thinking

A totally rational person would lay out - and evaluate objectively - the pros and cons of a health care overhaul before choosing to support or oppose a plan. But we humans are not so rational, according to Steve Hoffman, a visiting professor of sociology at the University of Buffalo.

"People get deeply attached to their beliefs," Hoffman said. "We form emotional attachments that get wrapped up in our personal identity and sense of morality, irrespective of the facts of the matter."

And to keep our sense of personal and social identity, Hoffman said, we tend to use a backward type of reasoning in order to justify such beliefs.

Similarly, past research by Dolores Albarracin, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has shown in particular that people who are less confident in their beliefs are more reluctant than others to seek out opposing perspectives. So these people avoid counter evidence all together. The same could apply to the health care debate, Albarracin said.

"Even if you have free press, freedom of speech, it doesn't make people listen to all points of view," she said.

Just about everybody is vulnerable to the phenomenon of holding onto our beliefs even in the face of iron-clad evidence to the contrary, Hoffman said. Why? Because it's hard to do otherwise. "It's an amazing challenge to constantly break out the Nietzschean hammer and destroy your world view and belief system and evaluate others," Hoffman said.


Just the facts you need

Hoffman's idea is based on a study he and colleagues did of nearly 50 participants, who were all Republican and reported believing in the link between the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Saddam Hussein. Participants were given the mounting evidence that no link existed and then asked to justify their belief.

(The findings should apply to any political bent. "We're not making the claim that Democratic or liberal partisans don't do the same thing. They do," Hoffman said.)

All but one held onto the belief, using a variety of so-called motivated reasoning strategies. "Motivated reasoning is essentially starting with a conclusion you hope to reach and then selectively evaluating evidence in order to reach that conclusion," explained Hoffman's colleague, sociologist Andrew Perrin of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

For instance, some participants used a backward chain of reasoning in which the individual supported the decision to go to war and so assumed any evidence necessary to support that decision, including the link between 9/11 and Hussein.

"For these voters, the sheer fact that we were engaged in war led to a post-hoc search for a justification for that war," Hoffman said. "People were basically making up justifications for the fact that we were at war."

Their research is published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry.

Hot health care debate

The proposed health care plan has all the right ingredients for such wonky reasoning, the researchers say.

The issue is both complex (no single correct answer), emotionally charged and potentially history-changing, while debates often occur with like-minded peers in town hall settings. The result is staunch supporters and just-as-staunch critics who are sticking to their guns.

"The health care debate would be vulnerable to motivated reasoning, because it is, and has become, so highly emotionally and symbolically charged," Perrin said during a telephone interview, adding that images equating the plan with Nazi Germany illustrate the symbolic nature of the arguments.

In addition, the town hall settings make for even more rigid beliefs. That's because changing one's mind about a complex issue can rattle a person's sense of identity and sense of belonging within a community. If everyone around you is a neighbor or friend, you'd be less likely to change your opinion, the researchers say.

"In these one-shot town hall meetings, where you have an emotionally laden complex issue like health care, it's very likely you're going to get these ramped up emotionally laden debates. They're going to be hot debates," Hoffman told LiveScience.

Two-sided discussion

To bring the facts from both sides to the table, Hoffman suggests venues where a heterogeneous group of people can meet, those for and against the proposed health care system overhaul. And at least some of these gatherings should include just a handful of people. In groups of more than about six people, one or two members will tend to dominate the discussion, he said.

For either side, logical arguments might not be the key.

"I think strategically it's important that the Obama administration and advocates of a health care plan really pay attention to how people feel and the symbolism they are seeing, and not just the nuts and bolts of the policy," Perrin said. "People don't reason with pure facts and logic alone."