Sunday, August 31, 2008

Something is missing...

None of the following sites has any mention, prayer, or dedicatory to the teens who died in Chile, apparently on a missionary trip:

http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/

http://www.regnumchristi.org/espanol/index.phtml

http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/index.phtml?height=768&width=1024&sw=1&sw2=

http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/eng/index.phtml?height=768&width=1024&sw=1&sw2=

http://www.colegiocumbres.cl/CCF/home.htm

UPDATE:
Funeral today at 3 pm. Legion of Christ/Regnum Christi has a gazillion websites. No announcement on any of them. Exlcblogger does not doubt that they care, or that they are taking care of the families, but they do have odd priorities.
UPDATE:
9:45 AM EST--Cumbres School Website Introduction page has posted a sympathy message and announcement of the funeral. Thanks for listening to Exlcblogger!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

9 Estudiantes de Colegio Cumbres Mueren en Accidente en Ruta Putre-Bolivia

At least nine high-school girls from the Legion of Christ/Regnum Christi Colegio Cumbres in Santiago are killed in highway accident in northern Chile.

29/08/2008 - 16:39:02
Corrected.

9 muertos y 21 heridos (dos de extrema gravedad), dejó un accidente ocurrido en el norte del país, luego que un bus que trasladaba estudiantes del colegio “Cumbres” Femenino de Santiago, se accidentó en la ruta que une a Putre con Bolivia. Las afectadas son del curso 2º medio D.

Según información preliminar, un bus de la empresa Andina Sur que las trasladaba, se volcó en la ruta CH-11, lo que provocó la tragedia.

En la máquina se trasladaban 32 personas.

Read it here. And here.

UPDATE:
La siguiente es la lista oficial de las nueve víctimas fatales del trágico accidente ocurrido en el norte de Chile, según información provista por fuentes policiales:
Police have released the names of nine victims of the accident.

1.- Bernardita Barros Vial (16 años)
2.- Elisa Contreras Searle (16 años)
3.- Maria de los Ángeles Costa Arteaga (16 años)
4.- María Trinidad de la Carrera Bezanilla (16 años)
5.- Magdalena Echeverría Larraín (16 años)
6.- Valentina Federica Errázuriz Gandolini (15 años)
7.- Magdalena Rodríguez Hermosilla (16 años)
8.- Bernardita María Valenzuela Prado (15 años)
9.- Eloisa Garreaud Sutil

UPDATE: As of 19:35 local time, Fr. Donal O'Keefe, LC, Cumbres Director, denies that there is an official list of those who died.



View Larger Map

Friday, August 29, 2008

Finally.... Conquest in the Holy Land

Given the fact that the Franciscans, the Jesuits, the Marists, the Dominicans, et al., have been wasting time for centuries in the Holy Land and neglecting the poor little children, the Legion of Christ has finally breathed fresh air into the region with Conquest (maybe a bit strong on the name in a volatile place like that)! Thank God that someone is doing something with those poor neglected Christians over there.

Go yellow T-shirted Catholic Palestinians!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Blond, Bold and Beautiful Legionaries of Christ.

An online beauty pageant. . .for nuns from CNN. (UPDATE: Now cancelled)

We need one of these for the Legion of Christ beauties. Especially since Maciel and his followers know how to pick up the blond boys. Fr. Maciel is quoted as saying to a vocation recruiter in Mexico: "Enough with the anthropology lessons. Bring me blond boys." Sure there are lots of dark haired Legionaires, but that is not what Fr. Maciel wanted in particular. And hair dye did it for him.

To even suggest a racial basis for vocation recruitment or to even bring up physical looks as a criteria is kind of sick. No real excuses here. We are not talking about excluding extremes either, but just fulfilling a kind of sick sexual jolly.



(Exlcblogger is not making this up.)




Image source.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Does anyone know more about this case?


The tapestry of Mexican Bishop Rafael Guizar Valencia hangs from the facade of St. Peter's Basilica, framed by a statue of St. Peter, at the Vatican, Friday Oct. 13, 2006. Guizar was a great uncle of the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ order of priests whom the Vatican restricted from public ministry this year amid allegations he had sexually abused seminarians. In a solemn ceremeny at the Vatican Sunday Oct. 15, 2006, Benedict will canonize Guizar...


Much info is out here about this man and Maciel. Seems that all was not so honky dory back when the Bishop died.

Monday, August 25, 2008

In response from dozens of email requests...





The poetry corner is back,
with sap enough to fill a tree!
Thanks Fr. Michael!!!


(Exlcblogger was called a male sex organ in one comment, but others have clamoured for more from the Legion of Christ/Hallmark bard)



Here goes....



Poem of the Month

Author: FATHER MICHAEL SLINEY

Last Post Date: 2008-03-05

Authentic Love

Love is not a feeling or a passing state of mind,
Love is not just simply being nice or kind.
Love is not an empty word, spoken or written down
Love is not discovered in the lost and found.

Love demands self giving, even when it’s hurts,
Love never counts the costs, or looks for special perks.
Love is a commitment; faithful to the end.
Love is always willing to forgive, forget and mend.

For love to be authentic, it must come from the heart,
This is where love begins and receives its start.
The windows of your heart are your eyes that will reveal,
If your love is strong and something truly real.

We have a great example in Jesus Christ our friend,
He promised to be with us to the very end.
Our mission is to love and I hope that this is clear,
To love the souls around us, souls that Christ holds dear.

Now, let's get this straight. This comes from a member of the Congregation in the Church which supposedly has best intellectual formation available today, a Congregation which forms its men in classical humanities and in the best that modern culture has to offer. Some 14 years of intellectual preparation before ordination....

Exlcblogger is stunned to the core.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

I confess that I don't get this, but it is kind of fun anyway.

According to the "More Wretched Blog" Superheros have their belief systems. This is a pic of the "Legion of Catholic Superheroes" [Note: This is a sampling.] Condor Satana (Melissa Ramos) Phantasmo Vindicator Azrael Strong Guy Jaguar Wind Dancer Shamrock Nightshade Shi El Gato Negro The Hulk Catholic Girl Hellboy Obsidian Blue Beetle Plastique Invisible Kid Living Lightning Doctor Mid-Nite Banshee Punisher Firebird Anti-Body Huntress Dagger Nightcrawler Firestar Silhouette Karma Aurora Monsoon Daredevil Blue Devil Antaeus Gambit Fire Ultra Hellstorm Siryn Witchblade

They are clickable. And kind of weird. Try as I may, I can't find Marcial Maciel in the pic, even with a magnifying glass.

Image and text source.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mark your calendar. Do you think the novices will attend?


Thursday, October 9th
Quick Center for the Arts, The Wien "Black Box" Theatre, 7 p.m.
Vows of Silence: A Film by Jason Berry
Screening and discussion led by the film's Writer, Producer and Director.
Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut 06824 (203) 254-4000

Thursday, August 21, 2008

An Ingenious Solution

Sylvia Dorham is the founder of a new fundraising effort called Legion Supply, which has been quietly and effectively providing Legionaries and consecrated women with necessities ranging from shaving cream and hair gel to three-ring binders and vacuum cleaners. Some of these items are acquired at no cost. Others are purchased in large quantities at greatly reduced prices.

“We’re like Ruth who walked behind Boaz and gleaned the leftovers from the fields. Just by gleaning, she was able to provide for herself and her mother in law. That’s how we hope to provide the things the Legion needs as well,” says Sylvia Dorham.

What We Do:

Provide the Legionaries of Christ with the practical essentials they need to love God, serve others and build the Church.

How We Do It:

Finding gifts-in-kind from corporate excess
Buying in bulk, wholesale quantities
Fundraising

How You Can Help:

Put us in CONTACT with organizations who have excess materials to donate.
Make a CONTRIBUTION.
Purchase a CELEBRATION CARD.
Participate in fundraising efforts.
Tell us if you see an unmet need.

At this, they are good!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Exlcblogger


A total hoot!

This website is a total hoot!!!
Catholic Comments

And this poem is just precious.
Sliney makes Halmark sound like Keats.



An Ode to Men

Author: FATHER MICHAEL SLINEY
Last Post Date: 2008-02-05

The daily grind is what men do best,
An early rise, no time to rest.
They battle traffic and pound out deals,
They often work during meals.

The work day is longer than before,
If they don’t produce, their boss will roar.
Day after day, getting it done,
So many headaches, so little fun!

They know their “real” job is at home,
And this is the point of this poem.
They love their kids and their wives,
THIS is what fulfills their lives!

My dad’s eyes and mine would often meet,
His deep love for mom could not be beat.
His calming presence at the table…
This was SO real, and not a fable.

He taught me how to wash a car,
To work the grill and make a par.
His person has rubbed off on me,
And all of this without a fee.

So thank you, dad, and thank you men,
For stepping up again and again.
Your wives and kids really need you,
So be authentic, genuine and true!

To do all this, you need God’s grace,
Make time for him, slow down the pace.
Confession, Mass, and daily prayer,
He needs to see how much you care!

May God bless you,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC




Image source.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Even the Baptists are laughing

Gotta check this one out!

So much for Pure Fashionistas!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Ca-Ching! Pure but Pricey Fashion?


From a fellow blogger:
and sometimes tea

Concerning Pure Fashion--
...

"I have a few problems with RC, and indeed with the Legion of Christ. Since the details involve a family member I won't disclose them publicly; suffice it to say that the family member experienced some of the negatives of Legion life as described at this website, though certainly not the more horrific elements. I have known others who have spoken about their association with either LC or RC in similar terms: the association of the Legion and its goals with the Church, the difficulty in voicing any complaints, however legitimate; the difficulty in leaving the group even when one has made one's intentions in that regard quite clear.


And one of the troubling aspects of LC/RC efforts is the focus on money....

while model training fees seem to vary (anywhere from $250 to $350 plus application fees from what I saw) I'm not sure from the ex-RC website whether the "$450" the model is supposed to pay to participate includes that sum, or is separate from these model training fees.

...the Dallas show's prices, for instance, for this past year were $55 for "elite seating" near the runway or $45 for general seating. So even if Mr. M. didn't want to come (and who would blame him?) the girls and I would be looking at $180 to attend the event, not including such things as parking etc. That sum represents a little more than 1/3 of the cost of our educational materials for the next school year, to put it in a little "family budget" context. For us to spend anywhere near $200 for an afternoon's entertainment I think something like this would have to be playing; but for a fashion show?

To be honest, I'm starting to wonder a little about this whole enterprise. Many girls do enjoy fashion, and there's certainly nothing wrong with directing their innate love of beauty into something that strives not only for modesty but for God, reminding them that the things of this earth are not lasting, and that expensive clothes and finery will not really make them happy. But I have to question whether an apostolate like "Pure Fashion" doesn't end up undermining that second part a bit, parading exquisitely-coiffed and expensively-dressed girls down a runway in front of people in the community who have paid $40 to $50 a person to see them there. Modest clothing, after all, isn't meant to be a luxury of the rich; and vanity is a temptation to nearly every woman who has ever encountered a mirror."


Image source.

Image source.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Tidbits from Oak Leaves II


And again from Oak Leaves:

Legionary Newspaper Cries Foul

The National Catholic Register, a newspaper owned by the Legionaries of Christ, is complaining. It sees a difference in the number of papers who reported sexual abuse by priests vs. those who published a recent article about sexual abuse by teachers. It thinks someone is picking on the church.

I’m reading another book about sexual abuse by priests. Jason Berry, Lead Us Not into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). This is the first book on the subject, originally published in 1992, expanded from Berry’s research in the mid-1980s into Fr. Gilbert Gauthe, a serial molester in the Diocese of Lafayette, LA. This came out nearly 20 years before Cardinal Law’s problems; it was published ten years before then. Berry weaves the story of his own odyssey into the book–he tried to get various publications interested, but in the mid-1980s, no major daily newspaper would touch the subject. His series first ran in The Times of Acadiana and The National Catholic Reporter. When he wrote the revised forward in 2000, he spoke of a church that was first stunned by lawsuits, and which then learned to fight back hard, suing victims for libel. He wrote of a public that grew tired with the reports, and came to believe that victims were going overboard, and making too big a deal, and who maybe weren’t all that reliable.

Berry wrote another book, which I just ordered: Jason Berry and Gerald Renner, Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II (Free Press, 2004). It’s about the church politics in the scandal, which reached all the way to the top, involving John Paul II, who thought it a crisis made by the media, who refused ever to meet with any victims or to apologize to them as he had apologized regarding ancient wrongs, and who defended and promoted a man with a long history of accusations of sexual abuse: Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Renner’s articles in the Hartford Courant were the starting point for this book–a series that wasn’t picked up by other newspapers around the country, either.

It was a long time coming, but Maciel was finally removed from ministry by Pope Benedict XVI (see ReGAIN Network for details about this case). The Legionaries of Christ continue to deny he did any wrong. The National Catholic Register has not reported the cries of his legion of accusers. It continues to defend him. I don’t think that it has reported on Benedict’s quiet ruling releasing members of the order from their secret vows, either.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Provocative Title!

Our Father, who art in bed: A Naive and Sentimental Dubliner in the Legion of Christ by J. Paul Lennon.

Before dismissing this book for the title (and maybe for the author), Exlcblogger would like to give it a read and let you know if it is interesting as well as provocative.



Check it out and buy it on Amazon.com by clicking icon on the left of this page.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Tidbits from Oak Leaves I


From Oak Leaves

“Familia”–a Regnum Christi Story

Many Catholic churches use “Familia,” which is for many people an entry into the Regnum Christi movement. Here’s a story about how the movement sought to drive out the founders of that apostolate, Paul and Libbie Sellors. They wrote the materials before it was adopted by the movement, and sought to retain access to them. A court gave that to them, and they’re promoting it under a new name, Together! But that’s not the end of the story, as that first link will tell you.

I was involved in one Regnum Christi apostolate–without being a member. I became involved in College COMPASS through some students at Rice, was invited to speak to a COMPASS gathering in Europe in 2005, helped coordinate a COMPASS national gathering in Houston, and served for a while on the COMPASS advisory board. I stayed for a few days at the Legionary seminary in Rome, and have visited the Legionary seminary in Cheshire, CT. I found the Legionaries I knew to be open to the criticism I gave (they needed to be more upfront with folks about it being a Regnum Christi apostolate, they should not be pressuring students to “incorporate” into RC until at the end of their college years, they should “go in the front door” when starting on a campus or in a diocese, etc.). But there were a lot of things I found very odd about it–including the segregation of men and women (a week before the Houston conference the COMPASS folks were told by the Legion that they couldn’t have men and women stay in the same hotel–some of the students laughed at that and said, “Well, in Europe they had us stay in different countries!”).

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Catholic Review: Archbishop to continue dialogue with Legionaries

Archbishop to continue dialogue with Legionaries of Christ

You can read the whole thing here.
August 12, 2008

The Catholic Review

Paul McMullen

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien will continue to monitor and have a dialogue with members of the Legionaries of Christ in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as they respond to a series of requirements he made of them in June.

“There is goodwill on the part of the Legionaries of Christ,” Archbishop O’Brien said, “but at the same time there is a lot of information that we have to review with our pastors. We want to make sure that our pastors are aware of, and in agreement with, their involvement.”
.....

To that end, the archbishop met recently with the liaison, Father Robert Weighner, L.C. and two other Legionaries in the archdiocese, Father Raymond Cosgrave, L.C., and Father Steven Reilly, L.C., the executive director of the Springhill Center for Family Development in Crownsville and chaplain of Woodmont Academy in Cooksville.

“They gave us a good bit of information that we are reviewing, to see that the understanding is clear and that it carried it through,” Archbishop O’Brien said. “The key thing is for our administrators and pastors, how satisfied are they with the interaction? The transparency of the organizations that are represented by Regnum Christi are all key elements.”

Wednesday Photo Caption Contest

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Comments on a youtube

The following are comments posted on youtube on a news item that was covered here some time ago--the local Connecticut news story concerning abuse in the LC seminary.

If I may speak, charges have not been corroborated... YET. I have never been in relationship with the Legion except to go onto retreats where they attempted to recruit me. I can assure you, though. I know of numerous individuals, all under the age of 28, who relate stories shockingly similar to one another in detail (threats, abuse etc.(, yet they know of noone else's story but their own. Often it takes years to come to grips with this type of abuse. I assure you, it will come out.(cont'd)

And

Each of the individuals I personally know, are very afraid to say anything, on top of struggling to make sense of the abuse, as well as the silence imposed on them from every direction. It's a closed community, where members are encouraged to report on one another. Nothing can be said internally without some form of disciplinary action being taken, if the comments shed negative light on the community. I could tell you stories. You won't like them.

Monday, August 11, 2008

These guys....!

Legionaries of Christ Visitor Comments

"It is all true! The legion is deceptive, manipulative, secretive and militant in their execution. I lived it for FIVE years. I was a consecrated member in the Regnum Christi female section, "3GF" otherwise known as "el tercer grado." After leaving I felt used and guilty, but another ex-member visited me and said she felt the same. I have recently started talking about my experience with a psychologist and have come to terms with the church.My life is on track again and so I am very happy."

"I spent nine years with the Legion and was treated well until the final year. Then I was given 24 hours to pack my bags. Not a word of thanks or a hand shake. I've heard nothing, but bad news. The Legion seems to be a whole different organization from the outside. Good luck in your work."

"Thank you for the information on your site regarding the Legionaries of Christ [LOC]. One of my daughters is now in the 'movement.' She and my younger daughter were both targeted and recruited while at college. They were attending 'retreats' for Catholic students and very friendly recruiters encouraged them to join. They were given a 'spiritual director' (lay person), which is not in accordance with church general policy. My elder daughter was very out going, friendly and the light of our family, but idealistic and vulnerable. After becoming involved with LOC though, she became secretive, non communicative, filled with negative self images and very driven toward religiosity. She then had to see if she 'had a vocation' and spent three years with this 'spiritual direction' while at college and later two years of indoctrination with the group. Against all pleas she eventually left the country to continue with the group and now does not visit home, though I can send letters. I worry about her mental and spiritual health."

From Rick Ross' site.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

He Lives!

Talk to Action

Interesting site expressing worries about the "Catholic Right Wing"

There's another, similarly ultra-orthodox Catholic religious order he might want to examine in future posts: the Legion of Christ, a "religious congregation of pontifical right" for priests and seminarians, and its associated lay "apostolic movement," Regnum Christi. Like Opus Dei, the Legionaries have a reputation for authoritarianism, secrecy, and courting the rich and powerful.






Left or Right?

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Exlcblogger is Amazed and Scandalized!

From a comment by Anonymous on Fish in a Barrel:

We saw situations where the kids from Conquest and Challenge were sent, that were artificially constructed (without the kids knowledge) so they would be guaranteed to succeed. For instance, we were offered money by a benefactor to listen to a Conquest presentation and then make a donation of the benefactors money, but from our checking account. Thereby the kids believing that they had made another successful presentation. This is called "formation".

Wow! And ouch!

Friday, August 8, 2008

What ever happened to the Irish?


Vocations Ireland has a nice piece on the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi. What the heck ever happened with the Irish experiment? Marcial Maciel got tons of them at the start, and then many left as priests. Is it any wonder why the bishops there are wary? (For those who do not know, the Legion of Christ is restricted to a schedule of a couple of dioceses per year for recruitment in Ireland, and the LC has only one vocation from the Emerald Isle every few years or so).

Is Exlcblogger missing something?

Isn't this like shooting...


Apostles for the Sacrament of Confession

How 41 Conquest boys helped bring almost 1,000 souls to confession during the World Youth Day celebrations.

Nice, but aren't most people at these events already pretty well disposed...?

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Radical and Violent in Catalunya?


¿ Per què , els Legionaris de Crist i l’Opus Dei (entre d’altres), estant brandint les seves espases, radicalitzant-se fins a posicions violentes, en temes socials com: avortament, divorci, SIDA, homosexualitat, educació, política anti-terrorista, una sola nació a Espanya, etz…

Read the rest here.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Boon or Bust in Australia?



The article at about Regnum Christi attendance at World Youth Day in Australia mentions some countries of origin of attendees but makes no mention of numbers, a usual bragging point of the Legion of Christ.

Pickings look slim, if we judge by the photo.

Read it here.

Image source.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Power plays in Mexico


El poder de don Lorenzo se realza con la llegada de la derecha al gobierno, que reacomoda las fichas también dentro del CC: los integrantes con más dominio dentro del organismo además forman parte de un grupo religioso que puede ser calificado como minoría en el país, pero que toma grandes decisiones por éste: los Legionarios de Cristo.

Este grupo cuenta con un líder espiritual, el padre Marcial Maciel, fundador de la ultra conservadora Universidad Anáhuac y quien tuvo gran apoyo de Juan Pablo II para dar mayor poder a dicha agrupación religiosa de elite en México, misma que es por demás influyente en las decisiones que toma el CC.

Ello ha permitido que dentro del CC exista un espíritu católico de derecha del cual no habla alguno de sus estatutos ni mucho menos su manual de gestión de calidad ISO 9000. En este contexto nace la campaña Honestidad, tema creado para explotarse durante 15 años, pero que también permite censurar otros temas como la discriminación o la libertad de expresión. Lo anterior, por el boicoteo comercial promovido por varias empresas anunciantes contra Canal 40 y otros medios de comunicación, que en abril de 2002, entre sus noticias, expusieron los casos de pederastia cometidos por Maciel.


Read the whole article here.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

From someone who likes "Ten Commandments of..."


El otro día acudí a una conferencia sobre “sectas” cuyo conferenciante parecía estar bastante cercano a la iglesia católica, porque, a pesar de la exhaustiva enumeración de grupos sectarios, no incluyó a movimientos tales cómo “Opus Dei”, “Comunión y liberación”, “Focolaris”, “Neocatecumenales”, “Legionarios de Cristo” y otros como sectas; y, para mí (con perdón de quienes opinen lo contrario) lo son.

Tampoco se permitió al auditorio plantear preguntas o/y dudas al conferenciante sobre lo expuesto en su conferencia, siendo un acto “muy asimétrico”. (¡Quién me mandaría ir!... Sabiendo la sede de la conferencia y quien era el conferenciante, tenía todos los números de la rifa para que me tocara una conferencia así, pero a veces le mueve a una la curiosidad, ya se sabe…).

Opino, también, que no acotó del todo –más bien lo soslayó- la definición de lo que debería entenderse (siempre en mi opinión, claro) por secta, ya que en principio, cualquier agrupación discorde con el grupo dominante, puede ser considerado por éste cómo una secta, sin que la palabra “secta” determine a priori y per se, nada peyorativo, salvo para quienes así lo determinan; y sin que ello quiera decir que se trata de una secta destructiva, e incluso podría tratarse de una “secta constructiva” en algunos casos, mientras que el grupo dominante podría ser considerado como secta destructiva… Bueno, creo que esto daría para mucho, pero como no quiero extenderme –tal vez un día lo haga-. Les dejo con un nuevo decálogo –que ya hace tiempo que no presento ninguno-:

Decálogo de las sectas destructivas:

1º Ofrecen soluciones y respuestas estandarizadas, incuestionables, inamovibles y dogmáticas a sus integrantes, sin que ninguno de ellos tenga la posibilidad de plantear ningún resquicio de nuevas preguntas, y ni mucho menos “críticas y/o dudas”; siendo castigadas las discrepancias con severas penalizaciones.

2º Estar dirigido por personas “carismáticas”, “visionarias” e “iluminadas” que de manera incuestionable e infalible dirige a cada uno de los integrantes y al grupo.

3º Poseer mecanismos para abolir la independencia, autonomía y libertad tanto de obrar, como de pensar y expresar, de cada uno de los integrantes del grupo y del propio grupo, poseyendo esos privilegios, únicamente el dirigente del grupo y su “aleccionado” staff.

4º Tener un “acceso fácil” para quienes quieran formar parte de ese grupo, con promesas de “crecimiento, realización, etc.”, en todo plano, tanto personal y espiritual, como material y profesional, y también promesas de “arreglo de la sociedad y la humanidad”; y tener una salida y/o abandono del grupo tortuosa y casi imposible. Pueden entrar todos, pero no puede salir casi nadie… Y en este punto debo decir que el acceso –bautismo- a la iglesia católica tiene anchas puertas, pero la salida –apostasía- tiene puertas estrechísimas, casi impracticables.

5º Abolir, en cada uno de los integrantes, cualquier relación libre con el exterior, controlando y dirigiendo el cómo, el dónde y el cuándo deben producirse los contactos. Y lo mismo en cuánto alude a lectura, música, etc. Nada escapa a la alta censura del dirigente y su staf.

6º Ir minando la autonomía económica y la libre disposición de los bienes de cada uno de los integrantes del grupo, de modo y forma que esos bienes pasen a ser posesión del dirigente y de su staff, so pretexto de donaciones a favor de las obras de la institución.

7º Abolición paulatina, pero progresiva del libre albedrío y poder de decisión personal de cada integrante del grupo.

8º Abolición de la pluralidad y de la diversidad en cada uno de los integrantes del grupo y modelación de una uniformidad controlada y vigilada.

9º Robotización psicológica de cada uno de los integrantes del grupo, con anulación de los deseos personales de expansión en cada uno de sus integrantes, así cómo del librepensamiento y la libre expresión de ideas.

10º Tener estructuras totalitarias, autoritarias y de jerarquía piramidal antidemocrática de poder, estrictamente regidas por criterios dogmáticos e incuestionables, erigidos en verdades absolutas.

Estos serían los 10 puntos que valoraría para decidir o no, si un grupo o asociación es o no una secta, en sentido amplio y más allá de los ámbitos sociales y/o religiosos de pertenencia, de sus creencias y postulados, y de cuales sean sus objetivos.

Bueno, ahí dejo mi reflexión.

Carmen Moreno Martín
Alias Hannah

Source

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Dumping Trash in Chile. Yes, the Legion of Christ does it. Wherever they want to.


See original here in Spanish.

Defendamos la Ciudad entregará antecedentes a CDE en denuncia a Legionarios de Cristo
Enviado por Publimetro el 21/07/2008 a las 18:23


La fundación Defendamos la Ciudad entregará antecedentes al Consejo de Defensa del Estado (CDE) en denuncia a la congregación Legionarios de Cristo por alteración a áreas verdes en la comuna de Lo Barnechea.

De acuerdo a la fundación, y verificado por la Dirección General de Aguas, el titular del predio de "Cerro del Medio" efectuó rellenos de escombros, provenientes de un colegio, también de su propiedad, en los cauces naturales del sector con lo cual se afecta el escurrimiento frente a crecidas de invierno, poniendo en riesgo a los vecinos.

El presidente de Defendamos la Ciudad, Patricio Herman, afirmó que "con el propósito de no incomodar a la alcaldesa con los poderosos particulares miembros de esa congregación que residen en su comuna, hemos decidido que nuestra fundación entregará los antecedentes al Consejo de Defensa del Estado".

Agregó que esperan que el CDE "presente las acciones judiciales en contra de esa devota y desobediente institución eclesiástica, la que, curiosamente, imparte valores a los jóvenes en los diversos establecimientos educacionales que posee".

El dirigente de Defendamos la Ciudad subrayó que "pudimos verificar que la autoridad municipal ha adoptado algunas iniciativas para que la díscola congregación religiosa entienda que en Chile existe un Estado de Derecho que se debe respetar, pero también observamos que las exigencias municipales no tenían la fuerza necesaria para que el violador se allane a cumplir con el marco regulatorio".

Are there any laws that they respect?

Friday, August 1, 2008

Seven Steps to Protecting our Children

Help Protect your Kids and STOP PREDATORS of all kinds.

Step 1. Learn the facts. Understand the risks.
Realities – not trust – should influence your
decisions regarding children.
Step 2. Minimize opportunity.
If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child
situations, you’ll dramatically lower the risk of
sexual abuse for children.
Step 3. Talk about it.
Children often keep abuse a secret, but barriers
can be broken down by talking openly about it.
Step 4. Stay alert.
Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being
sexually abused.
Step 5. Make a plan.
Learn where to go, whom to call and how to react.
Step 6. Act on suspicions.
The future well-being of a child is at stake.
Step 7. Get involved.
Volunteer and financially support organizations
that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.

Get the full text here.
From the darkness2light website.