Wednesday, February 3, 2010

"Four Lives" Continues

VERSIÓN OFICIAL
OFFICIAL VERSION

Al final, Corcuera habría logrado que Maciel hiciera un profundo examen de conciencia. Ha explicado más a los suyos. «Nôtre père» feneció frente a la imagen de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y las últimas palabras que escribió en un papel fueron «et verbum caro factum est» (y el verbo se hizo carne). De hecho, presentó una hoja convenientemente garabateada. Las dos versiones son compatibles. Maciel pudo negarse a la confesión y ser obligado. Pudo confesar lo que considerase apropiado y resultar absuelto. Pudo morir en pecado y escribir algo para consuelo de las futuras generaciones legionarias. La verdad sólo la conocen los que ocuparon el camarote de Maciel antes de exhalar. Fuera, los legionarios de Jacksonville esperaban impacientes. Algunos entraban y salían. «Fue tremendo», refiere uno de ellos. «No te puedo decir más. Tremendo».

In the end, Corcuera could have made Maciel do a profound examination of conscience. He explained more to his subjects. "Nuestro Padre" died in front of an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and his last works were written on a paper: "et verbum caro factus est" (and the word was made flesh). Actually, he just gave him a piece of paper conveniently scribbled. The two versions are compatible. Maciel could have denied confession and been forced. He could have confessed what he considered appropriate and been absolved. He could have died in sin and written something to console the future generations of Legionaries. The truth is know only by those at Maciel's bedside as he died. Outside, the Legionaries of Jacksonville waited impatiently. Some entered and exited. "It was awful", said one of them. "I can't say more. Awful."

¿Pondría este calificativo el padre Alfredo Torres, uno de los fundadores de la Legión, al final de Maciel? «Ha hecho usted muy bien en querer saber mi opinión. En su artículo puede poner: "He intentado que el padre Torres se pronunciase, pero él no ha querido"». A sus 83 años, Torres es el único de los primeros legionarios que sigue vivo. Dirige el colegio hispano-mexicano que el movimiento tiene en Madrid y, en medio de la crisis que vive la institución, se ha convertido en un referente de las esencias. «Vienen muchos sacerdotes a hablarme. De Roma, México, Italia... Todos los que no están contentos me escriben o acuden a hablar conmigo y yo los enderezo por el buen camino». Porque, a su juicio, en estos momentos la congregación se encuentra ante una encrucijada. «Hay dos caminos: el de la Iglesia y el de la calle. Yo siempre iré por el de la Iglesia, que es el de Cristo. Y acepto lo que diga el Papa. Sea lo que sea».

Would Fr. Alfredo Torres say this, one of the founders of the Legion, about Maciel's end? "You have done well seeking out my opinion. In your article, you can write 'I have tried to get Torres to comment, but he did not wish to'". At 83, Torres is the only one of the first Legionaries still alive. He runs the hispano-mexican school which the Movement has in Madrid, and, in the midst of the crisis that the institution is passing through, he has become a reference point. "Many priests come to speak to me. From Rome, Mexico, Italy... All of them are not content with writing me and come to speak to me and I put them on the straight road". This is because, in his view, the congregation is at a crossroads. "There are two roads; that of the Church, and that of the street. I will always go by the road of the Church which is Christ. I will accept what the Pope says. Whatever that may be".

Sobre la conveniencia de hacer público que Maciel se negó a la confesión y que en su lecho de muerte hubo un exorcista, el padre Torres aconseja: «Publíquelo. Usted tiene que ganarse la vida y, además, servirá para que reflexionen las personas implicadas».

Concerning the appropriateness of going public with the fact that Maciel refused to confess and that there was an exorcist at his bedside, Fr. Torres advised: "Publish it. You have to make a living, and, it will also serve to make those involved reflect on their actions".

¿Reflexionarán? De momento, los dirigentes de la Legión se enfrentan a la visitación con cierta opacidad en sus declaraciones.

Reflect? At the moment, the directors of the Legion have faced the visitation with a certain opaqueness.

Los superiores hicieron llegar a todos los centros un argumentario para responder a periodistas, curiosos y enviados del Vaticano. La guía ofrece la respuesta -en su mayoría, «no» y «nada»- a muchas preguntas. ¿Qué hizo el padre Maciel? ¿Hubo irregularidades financieras? ¿Qué dice de las acusaciones de años anteriores [sobre pederastia]? ¿Estaban los superiores al tanto de estos hechos?... Pero, además, el formulario ofrece un hilo argumental para las conversaciones que se salgan de estas cuestiones. Sugieren a los miembros de la Legión y del Regnum Christi (su rama laica) que pidan perdón por el daño causado por Maciel, que se muestren consternados por que el escándalo haya podido contaminar a la Iglesia, que manifiesten que los que están sufriendo están en sus oraciones y que aseguren que tratan de actuar según lo que Cristo habría hecho en su lugar.

The superiors sent every center a list of answers to give to journalists, curiosity seekers, and the emisories of the Vatican. The guide offers, mostly, the answer "no" and "nothing" to many questions. "What did Fr. Maciel do? Were there financial irregularities? What do you say about the accusations from past years [concerning pedastry]? Did the superiors know of these things?... But, as well, the formulary offers an argumentative thread for conversations which result from these questions. It suggests that members of the Legion and the Regnum Christi (the lay branch) ask forgiveness for the damage caused by Maciel, that they show consternation that the scandal may have contaminated the Church, and that they manifest that those who may have suffered are in their prayers and that they be sure to try to act according to what Christ would do in their place.

8 comments:

Jack Keogh said...

I commented on this news story a few days ago (http://www.monkwhostolethecow.com/2010/02/exorcism-for-fr-marcial-maciel.html/. I'd like to repeat here something I wrote: "However, if Maciel suffered from senile dementia as he approached his death, a version I heard from sources I respect, then anything is possible. Whether the intimate dying moments of a troubled soul, surrounded by members of his "family", is fair game for the media is another question entirely."
"Exorcist" used to be one of the "minor orders." Technically I suppose one could say a priest is an "exorcist" and , bingo!, a reporter has a nice twist to the story. There is much to excoriate in the life of Marcial Maciel. The "El Mundo" report adds fuel to the fire, but does not contribute new, substantiated information. We have enough facts to render our judgments. When will we (those of us affected by him) choose to move on with our lives?
I commend your efforts with the translation of the original article. Please note however that it is not completely accurate - and, while I don't think you have done so deliberately, you have changed the meaning of the original. Good luck!

jane said...

Jack,

These are BLOGS, not news sites. We all have the sense to know whether something is substantiated or not. We don't need to add to every post "if this is true" or "we don't know for sure until it is substantiated".

I don't know if El Mundo is credible or not. I wonder if people in Spain are suspicious of news articles that come out of the English-speaking press. Do they take an article on Catholic News Agency with a grain of salt until one of their Spanish-language news sources confirms it?

As for the idea of moving on, I've decided many times to just "move on", only to find I can't. I've concluded that one can't simply declare oneself "healed" and "move on", anymore than they can say "enough hobbling around on crutches. I declare my broken leg healed". I am not healed, as much as I would like to be.

Yesterday I prayed I could reclaim my heart and soul in the aftermath of this scandal. But then I realized, the problem is,there isn't an aftermath; there isn't an "after", because it isn't over. It's like there was an explosion and things are still on fire. Who can "let go" or "move on" when the fires are still not out?

I am aghast at this scandal in the Church. I am discouraged at the division the RC is causing in my parish. I am anxious for the day that the fire is out and the smoke has cleared. I pray it will all be over soon. But Jack, it is not over.

Anonymous said...

Thankyou for translating this article for us. As a former RC, I really appreciate your blog.

Hey, Jack, you speak like a typical LC/RC: so above it all; so sactimonious. Remember, you do not have to read this blog and since you are able to so beautifully translate spanish articles into english, why bother to read this one?


Again, thank you for everything and keep it up!!!

Jack Keogh said...

Jane, your honesty is commendable. I can relate to how you feel. It's been 25 years since I left (LC) and I am still affected by the experience. I don't think you ever "get over" your family, no matter how dysfunctional. I've learned to integrate the experience (that's why I'm publishing my memoirs and why I dabble with the www.MonkWhoStoleTheCow.com blog.) These days I spend more time looking out the front window rather that focusing on the rear view mirror. I share your concern for the Church and I worry about the many good LC priests who have quite a cross to bear. In the end, I hope to see that God indeed writes straight on crooked lines..

Anonymous, I didn't mean to upset you. Forgive me if I still sound like an LC (to you) and if I came across as sanctimonious. Not my intent. Maybe the effect of 20 years in the LC? I wonder why you felt the need to respond so aggressively to someone you don't know. I'm not sure our opinions differ as much as you imply. And I'd hate to think that's your default reaction to anyone you assume has a different opinion. I bid you peace.

Anonymous said...

"we have enough facts to render our judgements"

Jake - that is the part that I am not sure of. Since the Legion chose to withhold this information from LC/RC for years and to defend Maciel and the myth even after 2006, I never feel like I have enough facts to render a judgement. I feel like I have confusion, pain and grief that the leaders of LC could continue the deciet and lie of Maciel knowing that it dupes all of us a second time and hurts the Body of Christ - the Church.

I guess that is why I keep coming back to these blogs to try and put my head and heart around this story that rocked my faith from an organization that helped my faith.

The LC needs to acknowledge, the pain is great - not just because of Maciel but mostly because their response did not match what they taught us as RC for all these years.

The night we were told of the one child - a girl cried out - "Please tell us all you know". That is how a victim feels when they are duped - they just want the truth so they can heal and move on. The LC hierarchy thought their version of saving the LC/RC was more important than the truth.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I got your name wrong - it is Jack instead of Jake. Thanks for your comments - it is amazing that 25 years later you are still affected by the experience....that says alot. This thing hurts to the core of who we are - our dignity and freedom as children of God.

Anonymous said...

Anon,

I have to say that your story of the girl crying out "Please tell us all you know" is so very sad to me.

The comment is almost child-like in its innocence, a cry from a person who actually believed there was some good to be had from this group, who truly thought her cry might be answered with truth.

A year ago, I was actually happy for the Legion, that this story was finally coming out. I honestly believed that this was the Legion's chance to show its true colors and reveal itself NOT to be the deviant creation of a pedophile, designed by its very nature to be a vehicle of corruption, abuse, and deceit.

Boy was I ever naive. In fact, I was right, the Legion did show it's true colors through this scandal. It's just that they weren't the colors I wanted to believe existed.

Perhaps this girl's cry touches me because it is what I was internally begging for as well----a revelation of the truth. Instead we have had to deal with a year of deceit, more cover-up, and constant lying. Each lie seems to get a bit more contradictory and bizarre to the point that sometimes it seems we have stepped into some alternate reality!

Anonymous said...

"When will we (those of us affected by him) choose to move on with our lives?
I commend your efforts with the translation of the original article. Please note however that it is not completely accurate - and, while I don't think you have done so deliberately, you have changed the meaning of the original. Good luck!"

Jack,

I'm not the anon who called you sanctimonious. But I can kind of see where he was coming from, given your above statement.

We have heard the "Move on, People!" line from the Legion for quite some time now, and it seems like just another way of trying to manipulate people by making them think the pain, confusion, and distress they are feeling as a result of being abused is a choice they are making. The implication being that the (sometimes very long, I might add) processing of these feelings is a negative thing, that they just need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and keep moving.

The Legion seems always to want to keep people moving, busy, busy, busy, with no time to reflect or process their feelings. As if there is no value in such a thing. As if people can just choose to "move on" without having dealt with these very real emotions.

THAT's where I think you may have (likely inadvertently) come across as a sanctimonious mouthpiece of the Legion.

Also, your comments about about the translation come across to me as a backhanded compliment. How about some constructive criticism instead, pointing out the exact areas that you think might be translated differently. Or better yet, offering a link to your own translation rather than rather snidely suggesting this translation gives a whole different meaning than the one YOU think is accurate?

I'm not trying to impute any sinister motivation on your part, by any means. And I respect that you have had your own journey in coming to terms with the Legion yourself. I just wanted to point out to you the way in which your post came across to me as an explanation for why others might come across "aggressively" in their response to you.

The pain is very real for many here. It needs to be experienced, acknowledged, and freely expressed before anybody can healthily "move on", if there even is such a thing. After years of having been denied this kind of self-reflection by the Legion's "MOVE ON! Must keep moving forward to spread the Kingdom of Christ!", many are especially sensitive to any kind of language that even remotely smacks of such condescension.

Wishing you peace in your journey. God bless.