Strength in Precarious Numbers

Ordenan más diáconos para demostrar fuerza, acusan

They ordain more deacons to show their power

Noemí Gutiérrez
El Universal
Domingo 28 de junio de 2009
noemi.gutierrez@eluniversal.com.mx

El especialista en temas religiosos Elio Masferrer Kan aseguró que en las últimas semanas los Legionarios de Cristo han ordenado a decenas de diáconos para demostrar que la congregación sigue fuerte y sus miembros no han perdido la vocación religiosa.

Elio Masferrer Kan, religion expert, stated that during the last few weeks, the Legionaries of Christ have ordained dozens of deacons to show that the congregation continues to be strong and their members have not lost their religious vocation.

Tras el anuncio de que ya inició la visita pastoral que ordenó el papa Benedicto XVI a la legión, consideró que reorganizará la línea de trabajo.

De acuerdo con información difundida por los Legionarios de Cristo, serán ordenados en Roma 38 diáconos, 19 de ellos de México.

According to information put out by the Legionaries themselves, 38 deacons will be ordained in Rome and 19 in Mexico.

En entrevista, el antropólogo dijo que a la legión los “alcanzó la historia” y tendrán que reconocer que los abusos y excesos cometidos desde su fundación.

Explicó que la Iglesia católica decidió “limpiar la casa” luego de conocerse abusos sexuales y escándalos. Masferrer Kan indicó que aunque no se harán públicos los resultados de la visita apostólica —regida por el secreto pontifici—, en poco tiempo se reorientará el trabajo de la misión.
___________________
It is pernicious that these men would be allowed to be ordained in the middle of a huge visitation. Where is the total free will in this? They may be getting ordained in an institute which will be radically different... it just seems unjust that the Church would allow this. Once again, the Legion plays with people as if they were mere numbers.

What do you think?

Thanks for the tip, Anon.

Visitators' Contact Information

Ricardo Watty Urquidi

Obispo de Tepic (México)

Avenida de las Flores No. 10

Fraccionamiento Residencial La Loma

Tepic, Nayarit

(311) 214-4645

(311) 214-4647

(311) 213-2023 (fax)

diócesis@diocesisdetepic.org.mx

Charles Joseph Chaput

Arzobispo de Denver (USA)

1300 South Steele Street

Denver, CO 80210

303-722-4687

shepherd@archden.org

Giuseppe Versaldi

Obispo de Alejandría (Italia)
Via del Vescovado 1
15100 Alessandria, Italia

0131.51.22.11
0131.44.48.97 (fax)

info@diocesialessandria.it

Gianfranco Ghirlanda

Pontificia Università Gregoriana (Rettore)

Piazza Della Pilotta 4

00187 Roma (Italia)

06 6701.1.5597 (Secretary)

06 6701.5419 (fax)

Too Bad They Didn't Do Toxicology on The Monster

So many similarities! Can you count them?

From CNN:

Toxicology reports from Michael Jackson's body will disprove rumors that the singer's personal physician injected him with powerful painkillers, the attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray said Monday.

The cause of pop star Michael Jackson's death has not been determined after Friday's autopsy.

"Dr. Murray never prescribed Demerol, never administered Demerol, never saw him -- Michael Jackson -- take Demerol," attorney Edward Chernoff told CNN's "American Morning."
"And that goes as well for Oxycontin. I think those are just rumors. When toxicology comes back ... that's going to be all cleared up," Chernoff said.

Conlajusticia Offers Details on Fr. Daddy and the Kid

Legionarios de Cristo. La “triple vida” de Marcial Maciel

22 Junio 2009 by conlajusticia

Lic. José Bonilla

Legionaries of Christ; The Triple Life of Marcial Maciel

As a result of a May 22, 2009 call-for-entries to this blog, in which we invited friends and readers to relay important information to the visitators sent by the Vatican to the Legion of Christ, I want to share with you some information I received, in which unpublished and surprising pieces of information were revealed to me about the private life of Marcial Maciel.

Of particular importance was information sent to us by a priest of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, who with bravery and confidence, haunted by the guilt over what he encountered in one of its European facilities, sent me detailed information on the daughter of Marcial Maciel. Her name is Norma Hilda. She currently lives in Madrid, Spain, and along with her mother, who shares the same name, obtained a non-employment residency visa. Originally from the Mexican state of Guerrero, she is approximately 23 years old, leads a well-to-do lifestyle and does not work, lives in a luxury apartment in Madrid and also rents another apartment in the same building, both of which were both acquired by Marcial Maciel with money from the congregation's benefactors. Additionally, she attended classes at the University of Anahuac, which was presumably fully aware of her true identity.

Other pieces of information such as her address, home and mobile telephone numbers, properties, courses, schools and such I will for the moment keep private at the request of my informant.

Of particular note is that the existence of Norma had been previously known to Álvaro Corcuera, Luis Garza Medina and Jesús Quirce, as well as to other Legionaries of Christ and lay members, who covered up for and protected the founder, whom they continued calling "Nuestro Padre."

Additionally, Marcial Maciel presented his daughter to Pope John Paul II, whom I am assured had full knowledge that she was his offspring, since she always called the founder “papá,” and since the pope spoke Spanish fluently. Apparently, there are photographs which confirm this.

It is important to stress that, in order for Marcial Maciel to be able to deceive his subordinates, civil and religious authorities, benefactors and members of his congregation by living a double and even triple life, he relied on multiple identities, becoming a master of disguise.

This was corroborated by another Legionaries of Christ priest, who is currently assigned to Columbia. I want to thank both these men for their expressions of solidarity and for personally confiding in me by providing information on the personal and family relationships of Marcial Maciel, which continue to surprise me, providing a very clear vision of who "the Founder" in reality was, and precipitating the uncontrollable impulse in me to write a book on this subject.

With these revelations we now clearly understand the meaning of the statement by Fr. Scott Reilly, LC, territorial director of Atlanta, Georgia: Marical Maciel "had a lover, produced at least one child with her, and lived a double life."

One of the things that most troubles me about this story centers on the question, If the benefactors of the Legion of Christ had known about these facts, would they have provided financial resources?

Como resultado de la convocatoria que con fecha 22 de mayo pasado publicamos en el presente Blog, en donde invitamos a nuestros amigos y lectores que tuvieran información importante que trasmitir a los visitadores de la Legión de Cristo enviados por el Vaticano, quiero compartir con ustedes alguna información que recibí y la cual me ha revelado datos inéditos y sorprendentes sobre la vida privada y familiar de Marcial Maciel.

Particular importancia reviste una información que nos envió un Sacerdote de la congregación de los Legionarios de Cristo, quien con valentía y confianza, atormentado por culpa y que se encuentra en una de las instalaciones de Europa, me envió datos detallados sobre la hija de Marcial Maciel. Su nombre es NORMA HILDA, actualmente vive en Madrid, España, donde al igual que su madre de mismo nombre, obtuvo un visado de residencia sin finalidad laboral, es originaria del Estado de Guerrero, México, tiene aproximadamente 23 años de edad, mantiene un nivel de vida desahogado ya que no trabaja, habita un piso de lujo en Madrid e igualmente cuenta con otro piso que renta en el mismo inmueble, que fueron adquiridos por Marcial Maciel con dinero de los benefactores de la congregación. Incluso asistió a algunos cursos en la Universidad Anahuac, en donde por supuesto conocían a la perfección su identidad.

Algunos otros datos como su dirección, números de teléfonos (casa y móvil), propiedades, estudios, colegios y demás los conservare por el momento en privado, ya que así me lo ha solicitado mi informante.

Particularmente llama la atención que la existencia de NORMA desde tiempo atrás es del conocimiento de Álvaro Corcuera, Luis Garza Medina y Jesús Quirce entre otros Legionarios de Cristo y laicos que encubrieron y protegieron al Fundador, a quien continúan llamando “Nuestro Padre”.

Asimismo, Marcial Maciel presento a su hija con el Papa Juan Pablo II, quien me aseguran tenía pleno conocimiento de que era su descendiente, ya que ella siempre al Fundador lo llamaba “papá”, además de que el Papa hablaba perfectamente el español. Evidentemente existen las fotografías que prueban lo anterior.

Considero importante resaltar que para que Marcial Maciel pudiera engañar a sus subalternos, autoridades civiles y eclesiásticas, benefactores y a los miembros de su congregación al vivir una doble y triple vida, se refugio en diversas identidades, convirtiéndose en un mago del disfraz.

Lo anterior fue corroborado por otro Sacerdote Legionario de Cristo que actualmente tiene su sede en Colombia, por lo que a ambos agradezco sus palabras de solidaridad y por confiar en mi persona al proporcionarme tal información sobre las relaciones familiares y personales de Marcial Maciel que no han dejado de sorprenderme, pues me dan una visión muy amplia de quien fue en realidad el “Fundador” y me provoca un impulso incontrolable de escribir un libro sobre el particular.

Con dichas revelaciones entendemos claramente el verdadero sentido de la declaración del Padre Scott Reilly, L.C., director territorial de Atlanta, Georgia al mencionar: Marcial Maciel “tuvo una amante, procreó con ella al menos un hijo y vivió una doble vida”.

Uno de los puntos que mas me atormenta sobre esta historia, se centra en el hecho de que si los benefactores de la Legión de Cristo hubiesen conocido estas verdades, ¿hubieran aportado recursos económicos?

Don't Throw it All Away

Relatives Challenge Woman's Will Leaving Estate To Catholic Church Order

By DAVE ALTIMARI The Hartford Courant

June 28, 2009

When Gabrielle Mee died in May 2008 on the Greenville, R.I., campus of the Legionaries of Christ, her caregivers mourned the loss of the order's "grandmother."

Leaders of the secretive Roman Catholic order rushed from Connecticut and New York to pay their final respects. Six of her consecrated "sisters" carried her plain wooden coffin to the cemetery where she was buried next to her husband, Timothy Mee.

None of her family attended the service for Mee, who was 96 when she died. In fact, many of her relatives didn't find out that Gabrielle Mee had died until nearly a year later when a letter from the Legionaries' lawyer arrived, notifying them that the Probate Court in North Smithfield, R.I., was about to administer her will.

What relatives discovered is that since the mid-1990s Gabrielle Mee steadily turned over real estate and money — upwards of $7.5 million — to the Legionaries of Christ, which is headquartered in Orange, Conn.

Stunned family members are accusing the church of taking advantage of a lonely, deeply religious older woman. They have hired a Providence attorney to contest her will.

"As I started to research who this group really was it became clear that this is a cult that kept her isolated," said Mary Lou Dauray, Mee's goddaughter.

Although it is difficult to overturn a will, the family is hoping the order's sex scandal involving its founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, will be taken into consideration. The Courant reported in 1997 that Degollado was accused of molesting at least nine boys, aged 10 to 16, in seminaries in Spain and Italy in the 1950s and '60s.

And just earlier this year it was revealed that Degollado had fathered an illegitimate child, followed by the news that Pope Benedict XVI was ordering a papal investigation of the Legionaries of Christ. Degollado died in 2008 at age 87.

Family members believe that if Gabrielle Mee — who had received Holy Communion every day of her life since she was 12 years old — knew about the sex scandal and Vatican investigation, she would not have made the church her beneficiary. They are hoping to convince the probate judge of that.
....
Family members are expected to ask the judge to hold a full hearing.None of the family is named in the will. Sherman said that would allow him to subpoena bank records and depose people.

The Dauray family — with many members living in Rhode Island — acknowledge that they didn't try to visit Mee often.

They don't want the Legionaries to end up with all her money, even if the family doesn't get any.

"Her money should go to a cause not involved with a cult," Mary Lou Dauray said. "Not necessarily us but to some charity."

READ THE REST HERE (3 pages)

It Begins

According to El Universal, the Apostolic Visitation of the Legion of Christ began today.

Read it here.

El Vaticano inició hoy oficialmente la visita apostólica ordenada por el Papa Benedicto XVI a la congregación de origen mexicano Legionarios de Cristo con una reunión especial en Roma.

The Vatican officially opened the apostolic visit of the Mexican order, the Legion of Christ, ordered by Pope Benedict XVI with a special meeting in Rome.

Fuentes eclesiásticas confidenciales revelaron que diversos funcionarios de la sede apostólica se reunieron con los cuatro prelados que se encargarán de revisar a todas las instituciones de la Legión en el mundo.

Confidential ecclesiastical sources reveled that several functionaries of the Holy See met with the four prelates who are in charge of reviewing all of the institutions of the Legion world-wide.

Se trata de Ricardo Watty Urquidi, obispo de Tepic en México; Charles Joseph Chaput, arzobispo de Denver (Estados Unidos); Giuseppe Versaldi, pastor de Alejandría en Italia; y Gianfranco Ghirlanda, rector de la Pontificia Universidad Gregoriana de Roma.

They are Ricardo Watty Urquidi, Bishop of Tepic, Mexico; Charles Joseph Chaput, Archbishop of Denver (United States); Giuseppe Versaldi, Bishop of Alejandría, Italy: and Gianfranco Ghirlanda, rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

El encuentro tuvo como objetivo ofrecer a los visitadores los primeros lineamientos sobre el trabajo que deberán realizar en los próximos meses.

The goal of the meeting was to give the visitators the first general lines of approach to the task that they will have to complete in the coming months.

Yuk Yuks (or should it be yuck yucks?) from a Reader: Help LC and RC Survive Bankruptcy

Dear ____________,

First off, I’d like to thank you for being a Regnum Christi member. Your current and future support means a lot to us. Given all of the recent media coverage about the Legion of Christ, I am writing you today to address some questions you may have, and to assure you that we are here to stay and ready to serve you.

As you may know, The Legion of Christ is using an expedited, Vatican-supervised process to accelerate the reinvention of our spirituality (but not our charism which, as you know, is guaranteed). At the core of that reinvention is a commitment that we will put our members first in all that we do – starting with great apostolate, integration and growth, and the best integral formation experience possible. We want to earn your trust in several ways, including:

Your Regnum Christi Sections - They are very much open for business and ready to meet your integration and formation needs. And even though we are seeking to consolidate FAMILIA, have just announced the closing of Gateway Academy High School, and have decided to eventually phase out the Westchester Institute, those particular sections also remain open and ready for something to do. The bottom line is service for your spiritual formation will always be available through authorized RC integration and formation methods by LC-trained Catholic experts, with Genuine LC Spin on hand.

Your Next RC Apostolate - At this, the most important moment in the history of our charism, our dedication to high-quality, efficacious and treasures-in-Heaven-value apostolic projects has never been greater. Take on a new (or yet another) LC/RC apostolate, and we stand behind it with a Vatican-backed[1], comprehensive Time or Eternity Limited Warranty[2]. Combined with Hacer-Hacer Assistance and Personal Attention Programs, it is the Best Coverage in the Church. As I said before, our RC sections are very much open for business, and bishops and cardinals are quietly cheering us on and continue to offer some of the best off-the record support available to all qualified members (i.e. those of you who believe what we are telling you). To find information about RC apostolates in your area please just ask your section assistant as he/she will have a long list of exciting ways you could be serving the Church by bringing others to Regnum Christi.

Your Legion of Christ – For over 65 years, LC has fueled the Church’s passion for Authentic Priests. Propelled by the spirit and commitment of our people, we will become the New LC, an organization that makes the Church proud, and one that can compete successfully with any other Catholic order in the world. All of us at the Legion of Christ are confident that we will emerge a leaner, stronger organization for you, offering the most compellingly identical priests and brothers possible from our remaining brands (I mean apostolates and houses of formation). I invite you to stay up to date on our promising new future by visiting LCreinvention.org or just ask your section assistant as he/she will have a long list of exciting ways we are serving the Church by bringing others to Regnum Christi.

As I said at the outset, we are genuinely grateful for your support, and we hope that you’ll stay with us. If you are considering joining another Catholic organization, please review the enclosed information as our way of saying “Thank You” for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

LC Territorial Director

Vice Groupie of the Hierarchy

Presidente,

LC América del Norte

Enclosure – Member Appreciation Certificate (redeem for one full year’s waiver of member dues. Not valid for dues already paid or for 2nd and 3rd degree members)

[1] Vatican-backed warranty for LC apostolates begun prior to February 2009. Please note that the Holy Father still loves us.

[2] Whichever comes first. If confused, see your RC spiritual guide for details. Excludes former or inactive members.

Extreme Makeover: Legion Edition

Once again, The Exorcist does a much better job than most in getting to the point. Exlcblogger can't help but copy the entire post here.

There is just so much more to this than merely business as usual for the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi, and those who use this platitude are not only fooling themselves, they also perpetrating an injustice with those young people whose parents are stupid enough to let them join this mess this summer.

Take over, Fr. Karras:

There was a time when it was severely frowned upon to refer to writers other than the Founder in our preaching, spiritual exercises and private reading. We were instructed to quote him often, to dedicate certain meditations to his person, virtue and vocation. We were to read his letters during adoration and as part of the liturgy of the hours. We were to engage in studies of our own spirituality much like Jesuits have studied Ignatius and Salesians have studied Don Bosco.

Now? Not so much.

For those of us who have lived through it, it is nothing less than mind-boggling.

Recalling the years and years of our lives as LCs during which EVERYTHING was centered on the person of Fr. Maciel now feels like trying to remember the hallucinations of a distant psychotic episode.

Every word, every gesture, every commentary, every scrap of paper scribbled on by ‘the Boss’ was a treasure, an unforgettable connection between the inspired, saintly Founder and his intrepid, although still imperfect, co-founders.

For a long time the most piercing motivation the superiors could give us to live with greater fidelity the infinite rules and regulations of the order was: “Think of how Nuestro Padre suffers with even the slightest infidelity of his co-founders!”

He was our ideal... the true “legionario tipo” that we all so ardently aspired to imitate.

I cringe to think of it now.

Those same green books that I so dutifully worked my way through, volume after volume, taking time to memorize favorite passages and copy special phrases into my own spiritual journal... now make me physically nauseous when I try to read their pages.

A letter from the early 80’s encouraging a LC priest to be ‘authentic’, to open himself entirely to the Legion through his superiors, to never wear ‘masks’ and always be transparent...

This from the master mask maker himself!

Line after line on the subject of chastity, on maintaining priestly dignity and decency when dealing with women, on offering the sacrifice of ourselves with a pure heart to Christ...

When did he think this stuff up? While he was lying in bed, enjoying a post-coital cigarette next to some young concubine, dreaming of the army of holy priests he would someday offer the Church?

Or how about those fabulous letters warning us of the dangers of ‘particular friendships’, those devilish ‘maría–remedios' waiting to seduce us at every turn, importuning us to have confidence only in our superiors (i.e. report everything you see, no matter how innocuous, to Big Brother)...

Yet behind it all he camouflaged his own turbid proclivities and allowed his unrestrained deviance to ruin so many young lives!

How sick does it get, man?

All those heavy one-liners of Nuestro Padre that were constantly repeated as a litany of motivation to eager and gullible ‘co-founders’ now sound hopelessly vapid and cynical:

“fiel hasta morir en la raya” Yeah, right. Just like NP.

“de una sola pieza, al pié del cañón” Spare me the irony.

“amor et dolor vita mea” You put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.

“el Legionario se es o se despide” Finally, some candid advice...

“nunca he dicho ‘no’ a mi Señor Jesucristo” If that’s the case, who has?

“soy por la Legión que Dios me quiere” Syntax is no longer the main problem with this one...

“mi vida por Cristo” Whatever.


All of this is not just the venting of a guy who, like many others, was deceived and betrayed about the core truth of his vocation.

It is vitally important as a point to be considered by the visitation.


The spirituality of the LC, such as it is, is embedded in the writings of the Founder. His thoughts and his words are conserved in endless books, pamphlets, recordings and videos. In the LC we have often prided ourselves on how completely EVERY aspect of our lives has been defined and detailed by the Founder.

The double life of Fr. Maciel as inspired spiritual guide/fraud and sexual predator has totally negated his credibility. Nothing he has said or written to the LCs or the RC members can be believed or taken seriously. Who he was taints all he wrote. There is no separating the teachings from the life of the teacher when it comes to the all-consuming, conscience-binding religious vocation.

The writings – all of them, from the Constitutions to the Salterio – are as fraudulent as the life that produced them.

From now on, there will be an 800 pound gorilla in the room every time his letters are read during meals in spiritual exercises, every time the Constitutions are read and commented on in community, every time the wishes and words of the Founder are half-heartedly tossed around as motivations.

In essence, the visitation has to expunge every last vestige of the Founder from the Legion’s spirituality.

But would a ‘Legion’ devoid of Fr. Maciel’s thought and teaching still be the Legion of Christ?

Therein lies the challenge: to remake a religious congregation into something totally removed from its Founder, while at the same time salvaging the vocations, apostolates, houses of formation and charitable works associated with it.

Peace.

Some Words of Warning from Cassandra

Some bits a pieces from a long analysis by Cassandra which you can find here.

Those who hope for real investigation of the Legionaries, not a whitewash, and real consideration of reform or even re-foundation might well feel cheered by the appointment of such a substantial group. None of them has been close to the Legion. Chaput provided haven for three unhappy Legionaries leaving the congregation. Elements of the visitation form a bit of a mob, actually, with Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, who stepped over Legionary supporter Cardinal Franc Rodé, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, to announce the visitation. Bertone made Versaldi his vicar general while bishop of Vercelli. Ghirlanda and Bertone have been colleagues on several Vatican congregations. Versaldi and Ghirlanda are Gregorian colleagues. The Denver group of former Legionaries has Gregorian degrees.

It is sometimes suggested that the Jesuit connection to the visitation itself spells trouble for the Legion, but those who evoke the evil Jesuit perpetuate an unfair stereotype of which twentieth century conservative movementarians have been overly fond. Father Maciel himself complained of scheming Jesuits, but this is not to be credited any more than anything else he might have said.

For all their qualifications in religious life and formation, canon law, psychology, and education, none of the prospective visitators is a forensic accountant. If the visitation is now underway in some sense without the named visitators, it may be that the finances of Father Maciel personally and the Legion generally are now being audited as a necessary preliminary. Vatican visitors were said to have arrived at Legionary headquarters in Rome in early March, around the date of Bertone’s letter.

Nor is any of the prospective visitators a woman. This needs to be corrected if it signals unconcern for the welfare of the consecrated women of Regnum Christi, whose issues, such as their canonical status, their formation, the allegations of inadequate education and woman on woman abuse among them, should not continue to be overshadowed.

In their press conference Javier Bravo and Osvaldo Moreno further demonstrated Legionary under-visitation spin. Bravo claimed that post-scandal defections from the Legion are few; that, with Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity, they are still the among the fastest growing congregations in the church; that “the charism of the Legionaries [the word they use to allude to their irreformable approval] comes from the model of the imitation of Christ. Father Maciel with his nature and his reality, with many successes, but also with his faults, was only an instrument. The congregation does not follow Father Maciel, but the model of Christ. The priests who are ordained do not seek to be like Father Maciel, they are following Christ.” The spokesmen echoed the language of Bertone’s March letter: “Even if he was the founder, the educational, social, and religious work goes beyond the figure of that priest.”

It is in a way comforting that when Legionary spokesmen mislead it is so easy to recognize. Bravo claims the Legionaries don’t need their founder as a model in the same breath he refers to Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity. But if they no longer take Maciel as a model, that is indeed authentic reform. The First Legionary General Chapter, for example, held in 1980 that “it has been ordained by God that the person and life or Our Father Founder cannot be separated from the life and spirituality of the Legion (469)” and that “the writings and conferences of Nuestro Padre should constitute, along with the Gospel of Christ, the principal source of inspiration… (184.1)”

Wednesday Photo Caption Contest

The Exorcist Has Been Prolific

Fr. Karras has returned to blogging. I will direct you to him here, and offer only some excerpts. But both of his commentaries, gift of tongues and liar, liar, are good reads.

The pending canonical visitation may be a Pentecost of sorts for the LC. A promising wind is blowing and I can only pray that it will shake the whole house to the foundations. Hopefully the cowering disciples will shake off their fear and indifference and give into the mighty impulse of truth and transparency.

The PTB will smile bravely and offer the usual platitudes about what a blessing the Vatican intervention is and how willingly the institution will collaborate...But it is up to the rank and file to seize this opportunity, this open forum that the Spirit has initiated, and speak from the heart. The legitimacy of the continued existence of our religious family is on the line. The future of our congregation and its works of apostolate, the credibility of our vocation as LCs depend on what we do now.

Do not wait to be called. Demand to be heard.

___________________

Recently the Superior General wrote us a long, sentimental letter about his trip to the Holy Land as part of the entourage of Pope Benedict on his historic visit. Instead of waxing poetic on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, perhaps a straight forward, no-spin letter about something that actually matters to the members of the congregation might be in order.

I suggest a letter about the tremendous historical event we are about to experience: the visitation.

What is a visitation? Why is the LC being submitted to this extraordinary canonical process now? What precise finality does the visitation seek? How can we prepare for it? How can we all participate in it? Who can we write to? Who can we speak to?

_________________

Certainly the shredders on Via Aurelia have been churning fast and furious since the ball of twine began to unravel, making new revelations more unlikely.

_________________

The visitation is about us, the LC and its inner workings... everything from silly norms of urbanity to finances, from the competence of its superiors to the freedom of conscience of its members...If this is the moment of truth, it is also the moment of grace.

_________________

A Legionary priest, working in a women’s center of RC in South America, recently responded to the anguished questions of the Movement’s members about the fraudulent life of Fr. Maciel by saying, in short, that “as a man he had his shortcomings, we should not be judgmental and we should look to the good that has come from the Legion in its works”.

His ‘shortcomings’?

That’s like saying that Caligula had his ‘quirks’... or that Amy Winehouse has her occasional ‘bad hair day’.

If we are to believe that Fr. Maciel was somehow a ‘flawed saint’ or simply ‘an imperfect instrument of God’, how do we defend the fact that he perpetuated the lie of his double life and drew so many ingenuous, enthusiastic followers into a spider’s web of wanton deception that lasted till his death?

___________________

He chose to lie and he slaved tirelessly to inflate an image of sanctity, of inspiration, of leadership and of relevance for the Church throughout his entire despicable career. He diligently hid his secret life from the acting LC superiors over the years so that the realistic appearance of the illusion he was spinning would be flawless.

It is the lie that kills me.

I know he was a sexual predator. I know he was morally corrupt. I know he duped, popes, bishops, authorities both civil and ecclesiastic.

But the lie that he seduced me with and with which he held me compliantly captive for thirty years smolders in my gut, invades my dreams and sullies my experience as a priest.

His was a masterful and heartless betrayal of that which was noblest in us.
We are all damned fools and the sorry, hapless remnant of a vicious fairy tale.
He has made cynics of us all.

An Excellent Radio Commentary from Feburary

In Spanish. WRadio from Mexico.
Interview with Javier Bravo. "Brave" through it, and then listen to the commentary from Bernardo Barranco on the second half of the recording. Click on play icon below.

Nice Photos of Oriol with Maciel: Vaya Vocacion

You might want to turn the sound down. It is a pain in the a$% to listen to him drone on and on about the same thing.

¿Por qué mienten tanto los Legionarios de Cristo?

Sorry Gringos. Translators, get going!

From El Trastevere

Blog by José Martínez de Velasco.

Spain, June 7, 2009

No aprenden. Nacieron con las mentiras y la triple vida de su fundador. Crecieron con ellas. Negaron realidades que se fueron convirtiendo en un secreto a voces. Condenó el Papa Benedicto XVI a su fundador. Ahora les investigan los “visitadores” nombrados por la Santa Sede. Admitieron la existencia de una hija de “mon pere” para intentar tapar el escándalo de pederastia de Macial Maciel y fueron obligados por el Vaticano a hacerlo público. Siguen utilizando siempre que pueden la figura del Papa para intentar dotarse de credibilidad (último viaje del Papa a Tierra Santa con la bendición de la primera piedra de lo que será un hotel para peregrinos de los Legionarios de Cristo al lado del mar de Galilea), y siguen mintiendo descaradamente.
Si alguno piensa que les persigo, que no se equivoque, simplemente les vigilo en la esperanza -vana, ya lo se- de que los Legionarios de bien, los miembros del Regnum Chisti de bien, que son muchos, que son la mayoría, digan “basta ya” y exijan que se abran las ventanas para que se purifique el aire de sus centros e institucines.
Por lo visto hacen falta muchos Juan Pedro Oriol para que los Legionarios de Cristo sean de una vez una congregación transparente, honesta, limpia y de verdadero servicio a la Iglesia, y no a los de sus intereses personales, a veces espúrios, que es lo que han sido y siguen siendo, por mucho que se afanen en decir lo contrario. Viven en la mentira, en el secreto y en la doble moral. ¡Ojala los visitadores pongan las cosas en su sitio de una vez!, sobre todo por las gentes de buena fe que siguen con ellos y que les apoyan. No se merecen esto.
Se preguntarán el por qué de este comentario. Se lo voy a contar. Los “visitadores” han iniciado ya su trabajo aunque los Legionarios sigan dicendo, a través de sus portavoces, que no tienen información de cuando empezará la investigación, y mientras tanto han iniciado una campaña de apertura hacia los medios informativos -eso dicen ellos- que yo califico de “lavado de imagen” ante la que está cayendo.
Después de tantos años de secreto, de huir de la prensa (el fundador Marcial Maciel era especialista, siempre rodeado de guardaespaldas para que nadie se le acercase y mucho menos los periodistas), de negar sistematicamente los escándalos de todo tipo de su fundador, de vilipendiar a los que informaron sobre lo que hoy ya no puede sostenerse, de querellarse contra los primeros que denunciaron los casos de pederastia, de amenazar y amedrantar con abogados a los que colgaron sus Constituciones en Internet, ahora vienen con que la Legión “es más que Maciel”.
P. Corcuera y “voceros” de la Legión, no sigan uds por el mismo camino, reconozcan de una vez, en vez de amenazarles, que hay víctimas que no han sido indemnizadas y a las que no se ha pedido perdón; reconozcan de una vez y llevenlos ante los tribunales a los que taparon y ayudaron a Maciel, cuando no participaron en ellas, en sus tropelías y abusos, porque aparte de la terrible afrenta a los menores cometieron un delito.
Informaciones con declaraciones como la que facilito a continuación, siguen sonando a falsas, hipócritas y a lavado de cara mientras no sean veraces, se disculpen con las víctimas por los abusos y por todos estos años de acusarles de mentir y de querer hacer daño a la Legión, y mientras que los “compinches” de Maciel no estén expulsados de la Legión y ante los tribunales de Justicia (A Maciel desgraciadamente ya no se le puede juzgar en la tierra).

{insert La Jornada Article: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2009/06/06/index.php?section=politica&article=011n2pol}

De momento dos apostillas: las deserciones son muchas y la situación en los centros Legionarios es de inmensa preocupación y de tensión; ha comenzado un desfile de sacerdotes legionarios que se dirigen a los obispados respectivos pidiéndo incardinarse en la diócesis, según datos que se conocen en Roma y que me han facilitado fuentes de esas mismas diócesis.

Translation of the last paragraph:

For now, two annotations: there are many desertions and the situation inside of Legionary Centers is one of great worry and tension: a parade has started of Legionary priests who have approached their respective bishops asking for incardination to the diocese, according to information known to Roma and that has been provided to me by these same dioceses.

The Legion of Christ Re-Invents Itself (?)

Well, if Madonna can do it, anyone can.



Legionarios de Cristo buscan reivindicarse
Julián Sánchez
El Universal
Sábado 06 de junio de 2009
julian.sanchez@eluniversal.com.mx

Los Legionarios de Cristo no son el padre Marcial Maciel, pues si bien fue el fundador, la labor educativa, social y religiosa va más allá de la figura de ese sacerdote, sostuvo su vocero Javier Bravo, quien dijo que se ha emprendido una apertura de esta organización hacia la sociedad para que se conozca la razón de ser de la legión.
Durante un acercamiento que tuvo con reporteros, Bravo reconoció que los escándalos en torno a Maciel provocaron un shock en el interior y que el esfuerzo que se hace no significa que se quieran lavar la cara.
Aceptó que si bien no será fácil realizar esta apertura y hacer a un lado la mala percepción que se tiene por actos de Marcial Maciel; señaló que se trabaja no para seguir el ejemplo del fundador, sino el de Cristo.
Informó que a la legión no se le ha hecho saber oficialmente quienes serán los encargados de la “visita apostólica” que ordenó El Vaticano a los Legionarios de Cristo.
Javier Bravo insistió en que luego del escándalo, existe al interior un espíritu de mucha unión y fraternidad y que no hubo un daño.
De ahí que lejos de reducirse la matrícula de universidades y colegios fundados por la legión, debido a la situación en cuestión o por la crisis económica, la matrícula tiende a incrementarse, pues se tiene registro que las solicitudes se han elevado en 8%, dijo el vocero.
Expuso, que la labor social de la congregación se desarrolla en varias vías, siendo la principal la educativa. Mencionó que existen más de 130 mil alumnos en colegios en varios países.
Además de otras acciones que se hacen con apoyos en zonas marginadas, como la distribución de paquetes nutricionales a unos 500 mil niños, paralelamente a la labor con el programa Mano Amiga en 34 colegios en nueve países, así como el plan Misiones que contempla 78 programas de desarrollo en diferentes ciudades mexicanas.

Thanks for the tip, anon.

A Testimony from Life-After-RC

I was a Legionary for 10 years. I joined in the mid 90's after a few years of university studies. I never questioned the LC/RC's methods, practices, or norms whatsoever, even during the 4 years after I had left the Legion. The only reason I had the intellectual breakthrough was because of the news of Maciel's daughter in Feb 2009. Without that news, I would still be drinking the Kool-aid today and following the party line. The 2006 communique didn't even faze me, in fact it just strengthened my intellectual adherence to the LC/RC, as if tempered by fire. Interestingly enough, in Feb 2009, it didn't take long to break through 14 years of mental shackles once the conerstone of the entire institution, Maciel, was shown to be rotten to the core. I couldn't sleep the night I found out the news, so I hit the internet and starting reading up on the websites which I formerly refused to even look at because the Legion had warned me that they contained nothing but lies. Turns out, those websites struck so many chords with my personal experience that I was finally able to take a step back and look at the institution from the outside and realize it's true manipulative and self-serving nature. So many of us are expressing similar concerns about the LC/RC even though we were members of the movement in completely different places around the globe.

I was a very good student in school growing up (co-valedictorian in high school) and, after I left the Legion and saw my grades, I had done pretty well during my Legionary studies also. I say this because people think you must be stupid to accept "thought reform" which occurs in cults such as the Legion of Christ. I accepted the Legionary thought reform because I believed it was God's will to submit my mind, personality, will, desires, emotions, everything to the directives of the Legion who was my mother and path to salvation. This is all clearly spelled out in the constitutions and norms. The Legion of Christ works systematically to mold you into the person they want you to be. Whatever doesn't fit inside the cookie cutter, is to be eradicated through gradual formation and personal direction given by your superiors. The Legion told you what to think on every issue and topic that you might encounter in your religious life. They told you how you should feel about things, what your innermost desires should be, what facial expressions you should show or hide. They even told you when you can go to the bathroom and how you should urinate (LC's are forbidden from using urinals). There isn't enough room here to explain all of the violations of one's personal dignity and autonomy. Archbishop O'Brien summarized it very succinctly and accurately.

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