Many rumors are swirling about the future of the Legion and Regnum Christi, some receiving the acknowledgment of reputable journalists and Church commentators. In surveying these rumors, what concerns me is that there is little or no mention of the third degree consecrated (3gf). I pray the Church does not overlook their future, and what can be done to facilitate their transition to a more stable vocation..
Should the Holy See dissolve the LC/RC, most of RC can be turned over to diocesan Bishops or other Church authorities outside the movement. On the other hand, the Church will always find a place for priests willing to reform and minister within the Church's vineyards.
However, the toughest blow - potentially - will fall upon the the 3gf and upper year seminarians with the Legion. They've invested years of time and effort into the movement's formation. However, they lack any permanent binding connection to the consecrated state. Like a partner shacked up without the benefit of marriage, their relationship can be severed at any time, for little or no reason.
So what happens to people like Rocio Moreno - who as a 32-year veteran of the 3gf has spent most of her adult life promoting Maciel and the movement? Her story is one I contemplate with sadness as she likely faces an uncertain future. You can read her story here.
A few things stood out as I read through it:
- She was young when she became one of the first 3gf, accepting the call because other family members were highly active in the movement and it had the Church's approval.
- She has spent most of her adult life connected to the movement, and is a product of their methodology.
- She appears to associate the movement, the movement's charism, and her vocation to the movement, with Maciel.
This last point is seen through her answers to following questions:
How do you see the founder's role in your vocation?He himself invited me to be a part of the Movement. He showed me that God loved me so much and that God could be calling me to consecrate my life to him, just as the apostles did. I don't remember everything that he told me, but he spoke a lot about Christ, the Church, and the apostolates and places where we would be going after we formed ourselves as consecrated women.
What has it meant for you to be one of the first consecrated women?
Being one of the first consecrated women has meant a huge responsibility for me personally. I am aware that I must live and pass on what I learned, saw, and heard directly from Nuestro Padre. I feel like it depends on me, on us cofounders, to preserve the spirit in its entirety, and I will do this if I live each day with fidelity, trying to live my life according to the Statutes (the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Movement). I will do this if I guard the virtue of charity as the most precious pearl.
What is the greatest gift for you of being a cofounder?
I think that the greatest gift of being one of the first ones is the grace of having lived alongside my founder. I saw him living what we were being asked to live: humility, detailed charity, always speaking well of others, and tender love for Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the pope.
So how do you solve a problem like Morena?
Very sad. All I can offer are prayers, because I have no idea how to help these women victimized by Maciel's Movement.
I hope you made a copy of the website, Pete? Because you know the PTB are pulling down the websites that demonstrate just how integral the Father Founder is to the LC/RC way of life. I think this kind of testimony is very valuable in demonstrating the truth of the matter.
I've had several LC's in real life and many RCs here in the blogosphere tell me it was never about Maciel, that Maciel never mattered all that much. That's patently false, and all of us who have been around the LC/RC for many years know it, but those just tuning into the scandal need to be able to see just how much Maciel IS the Movement.
Hm: webcitation.org isn't able to record a snapshot of the page. Is the LC web site perhaps blocking it?
Just a thought.
Would not consecration to the life of virginity that is now available to single women (who have not married nor lived in open violation of chastity) under a diocesan bishop be an option for the single women in RC?
The problem of converting them to Consecrated Virgins under a diocesan bishop is that they would be required to demonstrate how they can support themselves and provide for their own retirement. The 3gf have no skills which they could utilize for life outside the RC world.
Many good people consecrated and not have worked in humble jobs: housekeeping, laundry, etc. Perhaps this is the poverty Jesus desires. It is more authentic. Aiding the homebound elderly in their needs as an attendent. There are jobs available for this type of work even in this economy. It is difficult for many good people who must work.
The problem with the 3gf is a big one. I think they put the number at 1,000 3gf throughout the world, give or take the usual inflation of numbers. The 3gf could take these humble jobs, but they will have a lot more problems to deal with. Having been told how to live each little aspect of their lives at every moment has made them incapable of making very normal decisions. Like for exlcs, these ex 3gf will need a period of transition, and someone to take care of them as they take little baby steps toward financial, emotional and spiritual independence. Most come from families that can help. And that will be the key for their transition. For the rest, it's really the Legion's responsibility to help them in any way they can. If they don't, the ex3gf should sue for back wages.
Another funny thing about Rocio Moreno is that she joined about 9 years after the foundation of the 3gf, and is still considered one of the "first ones." Actually, and I might need help on this, but I'm pretty sure that from 69-79, there are only about 5 consecrated who lasted. I know from the very, very first group of 6, only Margarita Estrada continued on.
And the stories from those first years...they lived in abject poverty.
They lived in abject poverty while Maciel (and most likely, his co-conspirators at the top of LC hierarchy) lived high-on-the-hog. Maciel rode around in his Mercedes, ate his specially flown-in delicacies, and slept in the finest of beds.
Meanwhile, these poor women worked their fingers to the bone and lived in a state of indigence.
Of course, we now know just how little respect Maciel had for women, so I am not exactly surprised by a methodology that put these women in such a state of dependence (sounds like it was practically slavery!) on the Legion.
What an outrage.