Regnum Christi school says it is reforming ...

The Legion of Christ's Regnum Christi, reports the Los Angeles Times, "says it is revamping a specialized high school program for teenage girls after dozens of alumni denounced psychological abuses they say they endured that resulted in eating disorders, stress-induced ailments and depression."

Former students of Regnum Christi schools have been blogging about their ordeals at a blog called "49 Weeks A year."

The totalitarian management style of the Legion is well-documented, as is its corruption and eventual Vatical-forced change.

Founded by a man who apparently abused his own offspring, the Legion has finally been told by the Vatican that it needs to rethink its identity before going forward with internal reform.

Indeed.

Legionaries of Christ unilluminated path

Pope Benedict XVI will appoint an apostolic delegate to govern and reform the Legionaries of Christ (LC), the Vatican announced on May 1, and "a commission of study of the order’s constitution." It will in addition appoint a "Visitor" to guide the consecrated members of Regnum Christi (RC).

The actions result from a year-long Apostolic Visitation [investigation] which was provoked not only by reports that LC founder Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado fathered perhaps six children, his cult-like leadership and sexual abuse of subordinates and others. But also by the Legion leadership's history of aggressive cover-up, including legal actions to silence former members and suppress documents.

The Vatican said:

The extremely grave and objectively immoral behavior of Fr. Maciel, which has been confirmed by irrefutable testimony, takes the form of true crimes and demonstrates a private life without scruples or authentic religious sentiment. That life was hidden from the great majority of Legionaries, above all because of a system of relationships constructed by Fr. Maciel, who was adept at creating alibis for himself and winning the trust, confidence and silence of those around him, reinforcing his role as a charismatic founder.

By discrediting and pushing away those who doubted the correctness of his behavior, as well as through a mistaken desire not to undercut the good the Legion was doing, they created a mechanism of defense around [Maciel] that made him immune to attack for a long time, consequently making an awareness of his real life extremely difficult.

Yet the "sincere zeal of the majority of the Legionaries" survives and is to be preserved -- a goal which echoes through three key points of clarity:"

a) The necessity to redefine the charism of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, preserving the true nucleus, that of being a “Militia Christi,” which distinguishes the apostolic and missionary action of the Church, and which is not identified with efficiency at any cost;

b) The necessity to review the exercise of authority, which must be connected to truth, in order to respect conscience and to develop it in light of the Gospel as authentic ecclesial service;

c) The necessity to preserve the enthusiasm of the faith of the young, the missionary zeal, the apostolic dynamism, through an adequate formation. In fact, delusion about the founder could call into question the vocation, and that nucleus of a charism, which belongs to the Legionaries of Christ and is rightfully theirs.

All of this requires, the Vatican said, that the order embark on "a path of profound revision."

Whose substance remains profoundly unclear.

Should Cardinal Sodano resign for entanglement with Marcial Maciel?

Austen Invereigh argues in America, the Jesuit Catholic weekly, that corruption by Marcial Maciel Degollado requires the resignation of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, "the all-powerful secretary of state under John Paul II and now Dean of the College of Cardinals."

Analyzing Jason Berry's two-part [1, 2] investigation of Maciel - the womanizing, drug-abusing pedophile founder of the Legionaries of Christ (LC) - Invereigh concludes that Sodano's sponsorship and protection were bought by Maciel.

Berry's investigation certainly supports that conclusion. A key passage from Berry's longer, darkly fascinating account of Sodano's entanglement with Maciel:

Back to Rome in 1989, Sodano, in preparing to become secretary of state, took English lessons at a Legion center in Dublin, Ireland. He vacationed at a Legion villa in Southern Italy. An honored guest at Legion dinners and banquets, Sodano became Maciel's biggest supporter. Glenn Favreau, a Washington, D.C., attorney and former Legionary in Rome, said: "Sodano intervened with Italian officials to get zoning variances to build the university" on a wooded plateau of western Rome. Maciel hired Sodano's nephew, Andrea Sodano, as a building consultant. Pontificial Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum is the name of the complex.

But Legionaries overseeing the project complained to Maciel that Andrea Sodano's work was late and poorly done; they were reluctant to pay his invoices. To them, Maciel yelled: "Pay him! You pay him!"

Andrea Sodano was paid.

With the Apostolic Visitation of LC at an end, Invereigh argues, Sodano's "resignation would be the best way of repudiating the sordid manner in which Maciel was protected in Rome for so many years."

Legionaries of Christ apostolic visitation concludes [Updated]

While waves of priestly sexual abuse scandal wash across the Catholic Church, apostolic visitation (investigation) of the Legionaries of Christ (LC) and their lay organization, Regnum Christi (RC), has been completed by a team of five bishops, the Vatican disclosed Tuesday.

Recommendations have not been disclosed, but Sandro Magister of L'espresso broadly suggested:

A commissioner appointed by the Vatican will take command of the Legionaries of Christ, orphans of their founder Marcial Maciel, disgraced by scandals. This is the likely outcome of eight months of investigation. Many things should be changed, including the current leaders.

The investigation could be followed by a refounding of the order under new leadership, suggested the Mexican newspaper "Reforma" in February.

Sweeping change is expected because the Apostolic Visitation was provoked not only by reports that LC founder Marcial Maciel fathered perhaps six children, attended by news that some are pursuing legal action seeking compensation from the $250-million-a-year organization, his cult-like leadership and abuse of subordinates. But also by the Legion leadership's history of coverup, which included legal actions to silence former members and suppress documents.

Those entering the order were required to take vows of silence, as explained below:

Update

Catholic News Agency reports:

The five bishops appointed to the Apostolic Visitation of the Legion of Christ will meet with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on April 30 to present their final report after eight months of work.

. . .

One source at the Vatican told CNA that these are all just possibilities, as the apostolic visitors have only presented their proposals. The final decision will be made by Pope Benedict XVI.

Not just the charism of the Legion of Christ

Houston Seventh-day Adventist and one-time Catholic Bill Cork goes to the theological heart of the debate over the future of Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi. The central Catholic theological question is of charism. As Cork explains:

In Catholic theology and spirituality of religious life, founders of religious orders have a unique charism (gift of the spirit) that the church is affirming when it establishes that order. But what happens when it is revealed that the founder was evil? That’s what the Catholic church is wrestling with now in the wake of the revelations about Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi. And it’s also clear that the church knew there were problems from the very beginning. As a young man, Maciel was booted from one seminary to another – formators saw he had problems. He began gathering boys to himself, and grooming them to imitate his spirituality, mandating that they never speak ill of him, but always reverently call him “Nuestro Padre.” He created a regimented order of priests, based on the Roman legions. He mandated their behavior down to minute details such as how they used knife and fork, how they sat, how they dressed, and how they laughed. “The Stepford priests” is how some referred to them.

Read the rest here. It deserves a thorough reading. Especially:

The lesson in all of this for me is that conservatives need to be very careful in reacting to problems in the church (any church). You may be unhappy with things being done in the name of your church, with theological dissent and with those who question traditional morality. You may see those on the conservative edge as being a counter balance. You may be drawn to their zeal, and their orthodoxy and orthopraxy. But beware. Satan can pull people off track to the right as well as to the left. He can appear as an angel of light, so that the very elect run the risk of being deceived. Be careful.

Marcial Maciel, molester of his own?

Marcial Maciel, founder of Legion of Christ (LC) and the Regnum Christi (RC), is alleged in a Spanish-language interview with some of his illicit "family," to have sexually molested his son and adopted step-son.

Giselle writes at Life-After-RC, "from a friend who speaks Spanish:"

First son recounts his abuse starting at age seven (including photos, for Maciel to keep as mementos). It got so bad that he became sexually confused and asked his dad if he could see a psychiatrist. MM says he knew a really good one in Spain and sends him over (to stay with "Auntie Norma" the other wife) and he begins counseling. That man quickly put him on all sorts of drugs -- just as MM did with any Legionary in the ranks who began to have trouble, feeling poorly, depressed, insomnia, struggling with the miasma of insanity, etc.

There has always been drug use in Legion. It was part of MM's way of operating -- medicating men without prescriptions (using obedience to administer) and then if they crashed, they would be labeled as mentally unstable. All of this was on the exlegionaries discussion board -- another reason it had to be shut down.

The Associated Press has a brief account and reports:

Mexican woman, Blanca Lara Gutierrez, told MVS radio's Carmen Aristegui on Wednesday that Maciel had two sons with her during a 20-year relationship and sexually abused one of them — as well as a son she had earlier whom Maciel had adopted.

The sons appeared with her on the program and supported the allegations.

More here in the comments.

This month's conclusion of the Apostolic Visitation [investigation] still beckons.

Toward a new Legionaries of Christ/Regnum Christi beginning

The Legionaries of Christ (LC) and associated lay organization Regnum Christi (RC) continue to struggle amid debate and uncertain leadership toward the report of the Apostolic Visitation [investigation], due in March. That investigation may be followed by a refounding of the order under new leadership, suggests the Mexican newspaper "Reforma."

The Apostolic Visitation was provoked not only by reports that LC founder Marcial Maciel fathered perhaps six children, attended by news that some are pursuing legal action seeking compensation from the $250-million-a-year organization, his cult-like leadership and abuse of subordinates. But also by the Legion leadership's history of coverup and legal actions to silence former members and suppress documents.

A Jan. 24 attempt by LC Director General Father Alvaro Corcuera to suppress a roiling email debate over the order's future, failed. If it ever really stopped, the debate was reopened by an “open letter” from Father Julien Durodie of the LC in Paris. He wrote, among other things:

I see the Legion as a work made by human hands and therefore needs to be purified and perfected. It has made mistakes, yes, and it will continue to do so. Any organization facing such a situation is entitled to differences and hesitations. Benevolent exterior criticism is also normal and understandable. All of this is now clearer than ever. And although I may be wrong, I have no fear, because I know how to tell the difference between God and his works.

I also believed, especially after living with Fr. Maciel for three years at the headquarters, that he was holy. Why not?

But, I never put my supernatural trust in him as a human person. My faith is not affected by his disordered life, but on the contrary, it is purified. Of course I am affected by the scandal, and the cries of the victims fill me with sorrow. But all of this does not call into question God’s call.

Shortly thereafter the Secretary General of the order, Rev. Evaristo Sada, told a gathering of more than 10,000 members of Regnum Christi in Mexico City that the crisis caused by revelations of the double life led by Rev. Marcial Maciel has led them to a time to “face the consequences and, with determination, correct what must be correct.” He went on:

With all my heart, I wish to ask forgiveness of the persons who our founder may have affected as a result of the immoral acts in his personal life, and the persons who may have been wounded by their consequences. Father Alvaro (Rev. Alvaro Corcuera is the current leader of the order) has done so and has is doing so publicly and personally, but we again ask forgiveness because we sincerely regret what the Church and these persons have suffered.

While no longer denial, strategic, still. March beckons.

Prominent Legionary Priest bids farewell to Regnum Christi

Father Richard Gill, who with other highly respected members of the Legionaires of Christ (LC) called in February for an authoritative intervention by the Holy See, has announced he is "leaving" his post as head of Regnum Christi (RC) in New York to become a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

He writes that after 29 years with LC and "having "participated extensively" in the Apostolic Visitation:

I’m leaving more because the manner in which the Legion has handled the revelations since the Vatican took action against Fr. Maciel in 2006 has left me often frustrated and totally distracted. I’ve tried my best to communicate with the superiors over this past year, and they have been gracious and generous taking the time to listen. I believe I have had the opportunity to get my point of view across to them …

My conclusion is that the reforms needed in the Legion (which the scandals have made clear) simply won’t happen in the foreseeable future with the current leadership’s approach to the matter.

His loss of confidence is a marked change from February, Thomas Peters notes, when as Director of RC in New York he 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.

In that letter Gill also wrote, to his credit:

I am deeply sorry to the people who have suffered from these inexcusable and reprehensible actions of Fr. [Marcial] 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.

Gill's exit was preceded by that of Fr. Thomas Berg, who in February in a letter to RC apologized to Maciel's "alleged victims" and to all of the members of RC. He resigned in May, saying, "In my opinion, the serious issues within the congregation will require its thorough reformation if not a complete re-foundation."

So the roll at Exiting Legionaries grows, possibly more quickly as the prominent leave to pursue their priestly vocations elsewhere.

[H/T: How to get a loved one out of the Legion of Christ & Regnum Christi]

Legion of Christ in (perhaps calculated) denial {Addendum]

A recent letter from Legionaries of Christ fathers Julio Martí and Scott Reilly to the lay organization Regnum Christi is in denial that the founder, Marcial Maciel, was disciplined by the Holy See amid charges which included sexually molesting minors.

In a paragraph about measures taken to preclude further abuse, the letter says:

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, it has become clear that Maciel fathered several children and Legion of Christ superiors knew about the children at least 15 years ago.

Cassandra has developed an enlightening timeline [scroll down the left-hand column] of events from the beginning.

Instead of dealing with events, however, the letter moves right along to focus on pursuit of new credentials that are intended to be reassuring:

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.

What are the standards?

They don't say, so we turned to the recently published Congregation of St. Basil Praesidium Accreditation Final Report, which documents their meeting the same standards.

That's so nice that it seems reasonable to wonder if the good fathers are trying to damp action by the Papal Visitation currently under way by appearing to have already done part of its work for it. This is, remember, a visitation with which it is rumored they are not being altogether cooperative.

Indeed, the good fathers report they have set up a review board whose membership and governance are not disclosed:

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.

It is also true that the letter extended “a special apology on behalf of the Legion” to victims of their founder’s sexual misconduct."

While, as you see, tending to deny the scope of the order's problems.

Addendum:

Members of Legionaries of Christ/Regnum Christi wishing to contact the apostolic visitor for the United States and Canada -- Archbishop Charles Chaput -- can do so via email. American Papist recommends:

To contact Abp. Chaput, send an email with the subject line "PRIVATE" to "shepherd [at] archden.org" (without the brackets and spaces). Emails ought to be VERY SHORT and to the point. Every email will be read eventually.

Legion of Christ manual seems revealing

The Legion of Christ has in the past filed lawsuits when copies of its various documents were published on the Web. Had them taken down.

ReasonWeekly says it knows, and offers for download "the leaked internal manual of the order [.pdf]."

ReasonWeekly says the "document reveals a totalitarian and intrusive outlook on the congregation by its leaders," and that seems fair, but read the manual yourself. And if one manual is not enough, you can supplement it by downloading the censored Legion of Christ sect personal exams from WikiLeaks.

We await your considered assessment.

Unique implosion of Legionaries of Christ continues

The implosion of the Legionaries of Christ is "unique in modern church history," writes Jason Berry of New Orleans for the Hartford Courant. And much of the fault lies squarely with Pope Benedict XVI, who in May of 2006 approved an order banishing order founder Father Marcial Maciel Degollado from public ministry to "a life of prayer and penitence," but ignoring the victims and failing to specify the causes of action.

Those omissions gave credence to a stream of misinformation which apparently continues amid a rising chorus of calls for top down reform of the $650 million-a-year order with seminaries, prep schools and universities spread across the globe.

On Feb. 3 it was revealed that Maciel had fathered a daughter, but there has still be no comprehensive report dealing the other issues. Specifically, as Berry wrote:

In 1997, Gerald Renner and I reported in The Courant on sex abuse accusations against Maciel by nine men who had been Legion seminarians in Spain and Rome in the 1950s. Juan Vaca, who said his abuse began at age 12, produced documents he sent to the Vatican in the 1970s and in 1989, to Pope John Paul II. Each time, the Vatican failed to act.

On Feb. 25, Archbishop of Baltimore, Edwin F. O’Brien called on the Legion of Christ to give “full disclosure” of their founder’s activities and has expressed his concerns that the movement ‘fosters a culture of personality’ with the founder at the center. The Legion of Christ had committed to releasing a major statement no later than that day, and no such statement was forthcoming.

Archbishop O'Brien has advised Catholics against joining the Legion or Regnum Christi and calls for Vatican intervention continue.

What next for the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi?

In the London Telegraph, Damian Thompson wrote:

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore, America's oldest diocese, last week advised Catholics against joining the Legion or Regnum Christi. He said he was worried that the order "stifles the free will" of its priestly members and lay affiliates - not least, by encouraging the cult of Fr Maciel, a Mexican priest who abused seminarians and siphoned off money from the faithful to support his mistress and daughter.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, Archbishop O'Brien said:

"While it's difficult to get ahold of official documents," Archbishop O'Brien said, "it's clear that from the first moment a person joins the Legion, efforts seem to be made to program each one and to gain full control of his behavior, of all information he receives, of his thinking and emotions."

The archbishop said many members who leave the order suffer "deep psychological distress for dependency and need prolonged counseling akin to deprogramming."

Cath News echoes the call for Vatican intervention because "the current Mexican leadership of the Legionaries is not up to the challenge of dissociating the organisation from the sexual and financial wrongdoings of the founder."

Questions of Vatican competence

Exploring today Pope Benedict XVI issues we have visited, the New York Times raises one question most strongly.

It comes from several directions, but most directly from a scholar interviewed for the piece:

The Vatican expert George Weigel, in a recent essay in First Things, an American religion journal, criticized the Vatican for its “chaos, confusion and incompetence.”

Regarding a Vatican examination of the Legionaries of Christ in light of recent revelations about its founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, and questions raised about his closest associates, Weigel is more pointed still:

In his criticism of the Vatican hierarchy, known as the curia, Mr. Weigel said a curia that allowed the Bishop Williamson controversy to explode was not “a curia capable of conducting an investigation that can command public credibility.”

Maciel facts out (please); Holy See intervention in?

A letter seeking forgiveness and healing is "circulating among the 800 priests and 2500 seminarians of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, and also among the 65,000 lay members of the Regnum Christi apostolate."

That letter is from the superior general of the congregation, Fr. Alvaro Corcueradoes. And it does not say:

Fr. Maciel had a daughter, a young woman now just over the age of twenty living in Spain, born from a relationship that was not sporadic, but regular, between the priest and a lover he had.

Sandro Magister concludes:

In part for reasons of personal conduct, therefore, the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ no longer seems to be capable of managing its own recovery.

Current materials generate growing clouds of satiric heat and deadly serious debate.

Meanwhile, First Things points out the necessity of complementary Catholic press "repentance and change." He argues in persuasive bullet-point detail that there is a great deal of truth yet to be told to set things more right.

Maciel facts out (please); Holy See intervention in …

A letter seeking forgiveness and healing is "circulating among the 800 priests and 2500 seminarians of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, and also among the 65,000 lay members of the Regnum Christi apostolate."

That letter is from the superior general of the congregation, Fr. Alvaro Corcueradoes. And it does not say:

Fr. Maciel had a daughter, a young woman now just over the age of twenty living in Spain, born from a relationship that was not sporadic, but regular, between the priest and a lover he had.

Sandro Magister concludes:

In part for reasons of personal conduct, therefore, the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ no longer seems to be capable of managing its own recovery.

Meanwhile, First Things points out the necessity of complementary Catholic press "repentance and change." For, as he demonstrates in detail, there is a great deal of truth yet to be discovered and told. And it should be.