How Many Leaving Legion and Regnum? Don't hold your breath with Visitation

Hercules cleaning up the Augean Stables

A similar task has the Vatican cleaning out the Legion/Regnum Christi

Posting two comments from the previous post and ADDING OPINION RE APOSTOLIC VISITATION:

jane asked:

Does anyone have an estimate of the numbers who have left since Feb. 09? I know it would be impossible to count the number of RCs (by this I don'tmean 3gf), because the movement uses vague language like "gone inactive" or "stepped away". But how many LCs have left the Legion? And how many do you guys in the know predict will leave a. if the AV result is reasonable reform, and b. if the AV result is a whitewash?

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February 1, 2010 1:12 PM

irishmexican43 said...

jane,

i would need help with that answer! Don't have numbers.

The Legion continues to be one of the most closed groups in the world, information coming in or going out being strictly controlled. The news items that leak out are just that, leaks; the group is still pretty well sealed. Therefore, speculation abounds. I do not have any facts. Maybe others can help with this one

Thanks for your interest in the blog.

RE APOSTOLIC VISITATION:

There may be a number of members and outsiders who are waiting for some momenteous event to happen with the Apostolic Visitation; but judging by the Vatican's intervention up to now re Maciel, Legion and Regnum such interventions tend to be muted [ a slap on the wrist for Maciel the Pervert from the Vatican in May 2006 after months of gut wrenching interviews with the victims and investigations into his life; he was not defrocked or excommunicated. Maciel's double life was not exposed at that time. Maybe the Vatican learned about it but left it up to the Legion to reveal and manage the revelatiion
Vatican did not want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs of vocations, schools and money]

The Vatican still operates with much secrecy,  putting people under oaths, not making public statements, etc, which IMHO does not help TO GET THE TRUTH OUT in a case like the Legion/Regnum which possesses very good mechanisms for damage control and massaging the message both for its own members and for the Catholic public.

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I mean, according to the Legion/Regnum official version -which the Vatican has not contradicted-  the Visitation is still just a stroll in the park with the visitators coming to confirm the Legion's charism and its many apostolic ventures and activities, including youth groups, apostolic schools, schools, and universities...

I would love to be proved wrong, but I have been right up to now!

I contantly protect myself from disappointment

LC Superior General Urges NOT TO CRITICIZE as Legionaries discuss differences

Found this article on exlc.blog

Sorry for changing the title of the Catholic News Agency original article but I thought mine reflected the reality beyond the words, a necessary interpretative skill when dealing with the Legion and the Regnum.
In Legion parlance, "charity" is a code word, coined by founder, Fr. Maciel, and carried down through his faithfull successors. It usually means not doubting anything about the Legion Myth as imbedded in members though the Legion's peculiar "formation" system. "Charity means never criticizing the Legion or the Superiors -thus Maciel's "Private Vow"  continues despite Vatican prohibition, etc.
From Corcuera and Superiors' point of view, discussions between Legionaries have been getting a bit out of hand:  for the first time ever, and probably under pressure from the Vatican Visitation, Legionaries were getting some freedom of communication among themselves. Not being used to it some may have expressed their real thoughts and feelings -  very unusual up to now - and the Superiors are concerned different opinions and points of view are being aired, a very dangerous situation for an organization where Information Control is a keystone of survival and success. Hence Fr. Alvaro's letter to the members...

When Novice Instructor [superior & spiritual director] Fr. Rafael Arumi preached the Explanation of Rules in Salamanca in the '60ties one of the Principles of Legion Spirit and Mystique was UNIFORMITY OF THOUGHTS AND WORDS, Uniformidad de Pensamiento y de Palabra,  among all Legionaries. Some people call that Totalitarianism, a la Lenin, Stalin and old Communist Party.

See Comments at end of original article on CNA, some of which coincide with this blogger's interpretation of the Corcuera Letter
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Fr. Corcuera urges charity as Legionaries discuss future


Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 28, 2010 / 10:52 am (CNA).- In a recent letter sent to members of the Legion of Christ, Director General Father Alvaro Corcuera, L.C., urged members to be charitable towards each other during their internal discussions regarding the future of the congregation.

In response to a growing exchange of emails between Legionaries about two main issues: the role their founder should play in the future of the congregation, and also the measures that should be put in place to prevent similar situations from happening, Fr. Corcuera called on members to “console each other and accompany each other mutually,” as Simon of Cyrene did for Christ.

Fr. Marcial Maciel founded the Legion of Christ in 1941. Though he died in 2008, revelations of his inappropriate behavior as a priest and leader surfaced early in 2009.

Responding to criticism by some in the Legion who accused their current leaders of being accomplices in the misconduct of their founder, Fr. Corcuera asked members to help one another “live this gift of peace, mutually encouraging one another, understanding one another, truly loving each other, mutually forgiving one another, without recriminating or judging each other, much less humiliating each other.”

A veteran Legionary who spoke with CNA to provide the context of the letter, explained that Fr. Corcuera has asked that the email exchanges, which express “charitably but energetically” conflicting positions regarding the future of the congregation, come to an end.

“These are differences that more or less run along cultural and linguistic lines,” he said, with some English-speaking Legionaries calling for an open discussion about the errors of Fr. Maciel and a change to the “internal culture” of the order. On the other side, many from Spanish-speaking countries think the sins of the founder should be left in the past and that the evils should be corrected “by the faithfulness of the members to the foundational spirit.”

The email exchanges, which have been ongoing for a month, motivated Fr. Corcuera to send a second letter on January 24, calling for an end to the email debates.
“I believe the exchange of opinions through emails between numerous groups of priests, as has taken place recently, is a display of trust and the love we have for each other. But I think that it will never end if we continue like this and we may even cause misunderstandings and opposing positions,” Fr. Corcuera wrote.
“We must all continue working, and seek the best path to allow everyone, especially priests, to calmly contribute with their gifts and reflections to responding to what God is calling us to at this time, especially through the direction which we expect to receive from the Holy See. For now we must let it mature in the hearts of each one of us, as a family, helping each other to purify and build up this work to which God has called us,” the letter stated.

At the beginning of the year, renowned American Legionary, Fr. Richard Gill, announced he was leaving the Legionaries of Christ over irreconcilable differences with his superiors about the direction the congregation is taking following the revelations of Father Maciel’s double life.

Currently, five bishops are conducting an Apostolic Visitation of the Legion and are expected to conclude in March 2010.

Prayer for Haiti Mothers

This text from a friend, formerly a Regnum Christi member.
I am glad that her prayer prompted me to explicitly remember the people of Haiti on this blog

Lord, I just want to say THANK YOU, 
because this morning  I woke up and knew where my children were. 
Because this morning my home was still standing,
because this morning  I am not crying because my husband, my child, my
brother or sister needs to be buried out from underneath a pile of concrete,
because this morning I was able to drink a glass of water, because this
morning I was able to turn on the light, 
because this morning I was able to
take a shower, because this morning I was not planning a funeral, but most
of all I thank  you this morning 
because I still have life and a voice to
cry  out for the people of Haiti. 
Lord I cry out to you, the one that makes
the impossible, possible, the one that turns darkness in to light, 
I cry out that you give those mothers strength, that  you give them
 peace that surpasses all understanding, 
that  you may open the streets so
that help can come, that you may provide doctors, nurses, food, water, and
all that they need in a blink of an eye. 
For all those that have lost family
members, give them peace, give them hope, give them courage to continue to
go on! 
Protect the children and shield them with your power.
I pray all this in the name of Jesus!!!
To all my friends please continue to forward this so that we can pray
together for the people in Haiti.
We here are truly blessed!!!!!

Taking the Cult out of the Man [woman] -CULT RECOVERY ORGANIZATION

You know the Irish saying: You can take the man out of the bog [ignorance] but you cant take the bog out of the man, well this Irish article describes Cult Recovery and an Organization that helps those born into cults.
I am sorry to say, and it may shock you, but Children whose parents are in the RC could be considered Born into a Cult

Fr. Maciel forgave his Victims!

Rome/February 28, 1997

Mr. Clifford L. Teutsch
Managing Editor
The Hartford Courant
285 Broad Street
Hartford, CT 06115

Dear Mr. Teutsch,

Regarding the accusations made against me in the Hartford Courant of Sunday, February 23, I wish to state that in all cases they are defamations and falsities with no foundation whatsoever, since during the years these men were in the Legion never in any way did I commit those acts with them, nor did I make any such advances to them nor was the suggestion of such acts ever mentioned.

During the time that these men were in the Legion of Christ and even after they had left, I spared no sacrifice to help them as much as I could-as I have always done with every person the Lord has put under my care. I do not know what has led them to make these totally false accusations 20, 30 and 40 years after leaving the congregation. I am all the more surprised since I still have letters from some of them well into the 1970s in which they express their gratitude and our mutual friendship.

Despite the moral suffering that this has caused me I bear no ill will toward them. Rather I offer my pain and prayers for each one of them, in hope that they will recover their peace of soul and remove from their hearts whatever resentment has moved them to make these false accusations.

Yours respectfully in Christ,
Marcial Maciel, L.C.

LEGION & REGNUM SUPERIORS NOT READY FOR CHANGE!

Vicar General of Legion of Christ, Fr. Luis Garza Medina, scion of Mexico's Richest Dynasty, kisses Pope's hand but has not fully cooperated with Vatican Visitation.

Fr. Gill made a statement a year ago on American Papist blog that he was taking the Maciel scandal seriously and apologized to victims...

During the following 11 months he talked and worked with Superiors and Visitators. He does not believe Superiors are ready for change. He cannot wait and he is leaving. Below is text of Feb 2009 statement as Director of RC in NY. Fr. Gill's previous statement sheds light on his recent farewell letter.

"Statement from Director of Regnum Christi in New York {AmP exclusive}

From Fr. Richard Gill, Director of Regnum Christi in New York and of Our Lady of Mt. Kisco Retreat Center.

"I’ve been a Legionary priest since 1991 and I have always loved my Congregation and my priestly vocation and I only hope Our Lord has used it as an effective means of grace for many people to find their way to a deeper relationship with Christ.
I thought I knew Fr. Maciel. I do believe he did many good things for many people. I have benefitted greatly from the formation and life I have lived as a Legionary for twenty-eight years. I defended Fr. Maciel because to the extent I thought I knew him, I sincerely believed the allegations against him were baseless.
Yet, in light of what has been coming out about him, I must say I am terribly sorry to have defended him. I believe I acted in good faith, yet nonetheless did an injustice to the victims.
I am deeply sorry to the people who have suffered from these inexcusable and reprehensible actions of Fr. Maciel. No person should have to suffer abuse at the hands of a priest in whom they have put their trust. And his actions have damaged the holiness of the Church and contributed to the alienation many people feel due to similar scandals in the Church.
I offer my prayers and sacrifices for anyone who was victimized, so they may continue to heal and discover the love of Jesus Christ.

[A YEAR AGO FATHER GILL WROTE:]

I am confident that our superiors are working closely with the appropriate dicasteries of the Holy See to chart the best course forward for the Legion of Christ so it can be of better service to the Church and the Holy Father.

Fr. Richard Gill, LC

Our Lady of Mount Kisco Retreat Center
773 Armonk Road
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549

rgill@legionaries.org"

Posted with permission of the author.

Please keep all members of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi in your prayers.

PROMINENT AMERICAN LEGIONARY DEFECTS -Fr. Gill sees Light of Christ and Leaves the Legion

See text
of this Experienced and Prominent Legionary Priest's  farewell to Regnum Christi members

An exLC remarked:

I believe he was made the director of RC in the Washington D.C. area. At some point he was sent to NY to be the RC director there. I think they sent him to Rome for studies for a period in between. He was a Chapter Father at the General Chapter in 1992.