Legion of Christ/ Regnum Christi: August 2009 Archives

One last post that I have been meaning to write for some time, on a topic that my fellow blog hobbits are now tackling. It concerns Fr. Maciel, family life, and the importance of truth. Giselle at Life-After-RC has posted the testimony of a parent who accuses Fr. Maciel of hurting his family life through Maciel's lies, which touches upon why parents ought not treat Regnum Christi membership like a vocation on par with marriage (click here).

Meanwhile, ExLC treats us to some poetry in responding to my earlier post explaining how Fr. Maciel's life undermines the teachings he advocates in his spiritual writings. Here's ExLC's poem:

Now here is the problem: Who was Marcial Maciel? Did he lie to his families about being a priest? Or did he lie all along about being a founder? And how can we ever know which one is the lie? Or were they both a lie?

And of several thought-provoking weekend posts at RC Is Not My Life, one of them deals with this issue by comparing Fr. Maciel to television network executives in Jim Carey's movie The Truman Show. What struck me was not only the author's insight, which you can read here, but reader Simon's comment in the ensuing discussion:

Based on what we now know about Maciel, there are really only two possibilities, aren't there?

1. He concocted the Legion and RC to cover up for and fund his decadent lifestyle. The whole thing is a cynical joke, a scam. Marcial Madoff, L.C.

OR

2. Anguished by the internal contradictions of his own life, this man -- so utterly lacking integrity, self-discipline, generosity, genuine piety or even a fixed identity -- overcompensated. He created an organization that pressed its members to sacrifice their own personalities and stripped away their ability to discern vocations, express authentic human emotions, or even decide how to part their hair.

In the first possibility, Maciel made cynical use of authentic Catholic spirituality in order to achieve his evil ends, adding nothing distinctive.

In the second possibility, Maciel actively distorted Catholicism in response to his own bizarre interior torment, so that the result is doctrinally orthodox as a formal matter, but deeply screwed up at the level of formation and spirituality.

I'm not a psychologist. Nor do I play one on television. However, I've ministered inside the Church's legal structure for close to ten years now. I've seen a lot in that time, and heard a lot from canon lawyers who are older, smarter and more experienced than me. Often the answer to this type of mystery can be found in the childhood relationship between a troubled priest and his mother - especially if the father was absent, abusive or had a poor relationship with his son.

This reminds of an incident when I was first getting started as a canon lawyer. Along with several other canon lawyers I happened to be at a workshop explaining the process whereby priests and religious seek to return to the lay state. The vast majority of those in attendance were over 40 years of age. The handful of under 35-year-olds sat together in the back.

The presenter, a respected priest and canonist, said during his presentation: "The trigger for older priests and religious wanting to return to the lay state is seldom a love interest. The most common trigger is the death of a parent, usually the mother. Let's be honest: how many of us are here today because our mother wanted us to become a priest or religious? How many of us would have chosen this life had we not been sent off as teenagers to the minor seminaries by our mothers?"

A look of shock and horror came over our faces in the back row, among those of us who were under 35 and had not been alive prior to the Second Vatican Council. Surely the presenter was exaggerating the "bad old days" before Vatican II! But as we watched row-after-row of older clergy and religious nod their heads in agreement, regardless of whether they were liberal or conservative theologically, us younger canon lawyers recognized that the presenter was speaking the truth. For many, it was the mother who wanted the vocation.

Now I don't want to get carried away on this point. It's not a bad thing if a mother, suspecting that God may be calling her son to priesthood or religious life, fosters and encourages the potential vocation. In fact, this is a good thing - if the vocation or call to discernment are a true calling from God. Thus St. Monica's prayed for St. Augustine's conversion, and St. John Bosco had a close relationship with his mother, who adopted the orphans served by her son's apostolate as her own. Similarly, St. Pius X's mother urged him to stay in the seminary when, as oldest son, he considered dropping out to support his mother and his siblings after the death of his father.

A similar story is told of Fr. John Hardon, the noted Jesuit catechist and spiritual director to Mother Teresa, and an only child who was raised by his mother after his father died in a work-related accident when the boy was only one. Reportedly, Father had thought about dropping out of the Jesuit seminary to support his mother when she began to show the effects of old age. His mother urged him to continue with the Jesuits, if this is where he felt God was calling him.

In each of these cases, the vocation is clearly present. The individuals themselves felt the call to priesthood and religious life, and those charged with their formation confirmed it. Their mothers simply encouraged them, through word and prayer, to remain faithful to God's call. They did not seek to impose a calling that was not already clear to their the son.

This is different from being pressured into the priesthood or religious life - especially when a child's relationship with the other parent is poor or lacking.

Mama Maurita has passed away. So has Fr. Maciel. Therefore, this avenue of inquiry can only be speculation. However, three things cause me to suspect that Fr. Maciel's founding of his movement is tied to his relationship with Mama Maurita:

1 - Fr. Maciel had a difficult relationship with his father throughout his entire life.

2 - Fr. Maciel held his mother, who happens to have been a fervent Catholic and the niece of a bishop and a canonized saint (and who wanted to be a religious herself), in particularly high esteem.

3 - None of Fr. Maciel's reported children (at least the ones we know about) were born until after Mama Maurita's death. On the other hand, most of the sexual abuse allegations involving seminarians and young men seems to take place while she was still alive.

Again, I am not a psychologist. Nor was I ever Fr. Maciel's spiritual or formation director. And having met, I never acted for him in any capacity as a canon lawyer. So this is only speculation on my part. However, it is an avenue those in the LC/RC may wish to consider in pursuing the truth about their founder.

UPDATE: Mgr. Palud corrects the following entry in his comments below, which I have also pulled into a new thread here.

Initial entry

I will be away from blogging this week, working on other projects. However, some of my blog mates might be around. Please keep me in prayer. Additionally, I would urge those following the Legion/RC threads to check out the Missionary Society of Mandeville.

This was founded as a new community when several Fils de Marie (Sons of Mary) recognized that their founder had jumped the shark, and that serious intervention on the part of the Holy See might not turn it around. (Several former LC have told me the Fils de Marie were one of the few institutes at one time whose priests and seminarians mingled freely with the LC). So they approached their diocesan Bishop [CORRECTION: the bishop approached them, after they left the Fils de Marie to remain in the diocese], a former Superior General of the Passionists, who became the bishop-founder of the new institute.

What I also find interesting is how they discerned their charism. It's the Marian and missionary spirituality that had attracted them to the Fils de Marie (minus the theological eccentricities introduced by the founder of the former institute), combined with the Passionist charism they received from the Bishop who offered them the opportunity to refound as a new institute. They even adopted Saint Vincent Strambi, a Passionist missionary, as their new patron.

Also note the role of the Bishop-founder who remained a member of the Passionists; he offered the new institute ecclesiastical protection and guidance throughout the refounding process. [Please note the correction in the comments section.]

Cassandra Jones posted a report of Fr. Alvaro's homily at yesterday's Legion of Christ professions in Cheshire. You can read Cassandra's report here. Fr. Alvaro spent quite a bit of time asking for forgiveness, Cassandra states. But in reading over the report I keep asking myself Forgiveness for what?

Fr. Alvaro appears to allude to the Fr. Maciel scandal on several occasions. I say "appears to" because one is never entirely clear from reading Cassandra's report that this is what the Legion's Director General is referring to in sprinkling spiritual advice with mea culpas. As Cassandra's source reports: "I wanted to know how the scandal would be handled, so that's what I will emphasize. It was not mentioned directly at all, of course, but a lot of what Father Alvaro was saying seemed to relate to it very closely." (Emphasis mine). For an order whose defenders were quite specific in denouncing their founder's victims, "seemed to" is not enough.

Allow me to digress as I confess the following: I have a weakness for Stephen King. (Or in current Legion-speak, "The troubling imagination of a certain modern author has integrated itself into my personal library, which is kept separate from my professinal and spiritual library.") Some of it goes back to my budding years as a writer, exploring Catholic themes through short horror stories. Some of it, I am sure, is due to the ministry God has called me to as a canon lawyer, which often deals with the darker aspects of man's fallen nature.

Regardless, there's a common discrepancy in Stephen King's writing that I first noticed when reading Needful Things. It's in the way he portrays clergy. Protestant clergy are generally nutty fundamentalists, no different than Hollywood's usual stereotype. This contrasts with how King typically portrays Catholic clergy - conservative, heroic, dedicated to the welfare of their flock and of their community, and struggling to overcome one or two minor personal flaws. In short, King often portrays Catholic clergy both sympathetically and realistically as good ministers struggling to be saints.

What makes this fascinating is that King is not Catholic. He was raised by his mother, a strict Methodist who struggled as a single mother to hold the family together after King's father walked out. It's his wife Tabitha who is Catholic. Moreover, he disagrees strongly with the Church's teaching on contraception, as he has made clear through both his fiction and non-fiction. Nevertheless, his fundamentalist protestant clergy tend to be one-dimensional fanatics (The Stand's Mother Abagail a noted exception), while his Catholic clergy tend to be multi-layered, reflective and human. The contrast becomes all the more fascinating when King's Protestant and Catholic characters interact.

Which brings me back to Cassandra's report about Fr. Alvaro's homily yesterday. As I read through the report, wondering what Fr. Alvaro was asking forgiveness for, my mind wandered to an incident in one of King's books. It begins with the child of a Bible fundamentalist doing something naughty to a Catholic neighbor. It might have been a rude insult or a small act of vandalism, and I think the book was The Regulators. I can't recall the details and it's been several years since I read it, so I apologize if I recall the story vaguely or incorrectly.

Yes, I apologize. Specifically, I apologize for my recollection that is not as specific as my apology. And this, according to King as he describes the incident, is what distinguishes devout Catholics from fundamentalist Protestants.

In the book, the child's father frog-marches the kid before the victim of the child's bad behavior. The child alludes to the wrong-doing, if I recall correctly, but doesn't actually name it. The child beats himself up verbally, inviting the wronged party to follow up with a physical beating as the kid's father watches on. What follows is my recollection of the passage.

The victim suppresses a smirk, looks down at the child, and says something along the lines of "I just want you to do one thing. Look me in the eyes and tell me what you did wrong."

Upon hearing this, the child transforms from resigned and robotic to visibly uncomfortable. He begins to squirm and looks up at his father with a pitiful gaze. Father is as horrified as son and begins to protest as parent. Speaking through the voice of the narrator - or perhaps the child's victim - King launches into a thought about how admitting to one's wrong-doing is the worst form of punishment one can inflict upon a Christian fundamentalist, who sees no value in the sacrament of confession. On the other hand, Catholics understand that freedom from sin only comes when one lets it out by confessing to the wrong-doing. What an interesting insight from a writer of psychological horror.

In short, Stephen King gets it. He may not have been raised Catholic; his novels may be saturated with dark themes and four-letter words; he may lack the grace of holy orders, of advanced degrees in Catholic theology, of being the head of a large Catholic order - but in spending a lifetime observing and writing about the darker side of our fallen nature, he understands that forgiveness and healing are tied to a specific admission of one's wrong-doing and guilt. So he gets it.

Here's the question: Does Fr. Alvaro?

...if you're thinking of recruiting young people into RC-sponsored apostolate without disclosing to their parents the current scandal surrounding Fr. Maciel. Earlier this week she asked a couple of good questions of a reader struggling with this issue:

A good question ask youself - why would you recruit people to something you cannot speak frankly about? That you feel has elements to it which you would like to keep hidden? [Emphasis mine]

This is a reminder that the best insights are often the most obvious ones. Christ declares in the Gospels that He is "The way, the truth, and the life," while denouncing Satan as "the father of lies."

Thus Christ's mission is tied to truth. We neither serve Him nor build up His kingdom when we resort to lies, deceptions or half-truths. For the latter falls under the domain of the devil, as Christ clearly warns. So ask yourself this: Is this information you would conceal if you were recruiting for any non-LC/RC related apostolate? What if you were recruiting for your employment?

Given the context of this discussion, I find it ironic that even Fr. Maciel understood that lying is unacceptable to God and brings embarrassment upon the Church. As he himself states:

We should never lie for any reason whatsoever. It is a mortal sin when God is greatly offended by causing damage against religion, the Church or Authority, or when the name and good reputation of other people is considerably damaged... "Lips that lie are abhorrent to Yahweh" (Proverbs 12:22). (Bermuda 23 February 1962)

From a reader who wishes to remain anonymous because of his employment situation: "Pete - you picked the wrong REM song to describe the movement. Try 'Losing my Religion'." (See What's the frequency, Alvaro?)

Hmmm....now that you mention it, other REM favorites include: Shiny Happy People, The End of the World, Everybody Hurts, I Took Your Name, Bang and Blame (particularly the verse "The whole world hinges on your swings/ Your secret life of indiscreet discretions"), I Believe, Just a Touch, and Imitation of Life.

I think I detect a pattern. Fables of the Reconstruction, Reconstruction of the Fables, Life's Rich Pageant, Monster, Up, Reveal - even their album titles seem a tad suspicious. And they were formed in Georgia, within driving distance of Atlanta. Not to mention that Michael Stipe's outfit in this video bears similarities to clerical garb:

Information surfacing about the life of Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, has forced many to view Fr. Maciel's writings in a new light. I think this is a good thing. However, let's not forget those who worked tirelessly for years to bring these allegations to light. Many of these folks were dismissed by Orthodox Catholics as anti-Catholic media bearing a hidden agenda.

Like the police now kicking themselves over the missed opportunity three years ago to rescue Jaycee Lee Dugard, we as orthodox Catholics need to look at why we missed the opportunity during the Boston fallout to investigate the accusations against Fr. Maciel.

With that in mind, and surprised by Jose Bonilla's allegation that Legion superiors have known about Fr. Maciel's children for 15 years, I'm re-reading this article written by Gerald Renner in 2000. Renner is the Hartford Courant reporter who worked closely with Jason Berry to give voice to Fr. Maciel's victims. His article is a response to the Legion's following open letter dismissing his investigative reporting into the Legion.

Here are some passages from Renner's letter that in retrospect take on new meaning, in my opinion. I've bolded certain parts that really stood out to me:

I was told I had to seek the permission of the national director, Fr. Anthony Bannon, to write anything. But he was never available, despite calls I made to him over the course of several years. I even visited the seminary personally one day to the consternation of the seminarian-receptionist and was again told I had to talk to Fr. Bannon.

Finally, one day in 1993, Fr. Bannon himself happened to pick up the phone when I called. He told me in no uncertain terms the order did not want any publicity and that he did not trust the press. The only way he would provide information for an article, he said, if he had the right to review it after it was written, something that is journalistically unacceptable.

Which raises the question: Did Fr. Bannon know anything at the time? If so, what? For an order this focused on recruitment and building the Kingdom, why would they shy away from free publicity? As Renner muses later on the piece, "Yet, the order wonders aloud in its open letter why it's called secretive."

Here's another passage that I read differently now in retrospect:

I got a call from a man who said he had been a seminarian in the Legion at Cheshire and in a satellite seminary the Legion ran near Mount Kisco, N.Y. He said he and another novice had fled from the seminary without permission when their religious superiors kept rebuffing their pleas to leave.

It was such a bizarre claim that I was skeptical. Was this a religious nut or what? But he sounded stable. We had a personal meeting, and he repeated his story convincingly. He put me in touch with three other former novices. Two of them said they had similar experiences of being psychologically coerced by overzealous religious superiors. The third, who had been in a Legion-operated seminary in Mexico said he had to beg for his passport and clothes to go home after being repeatedly rebuffed.

I turned to Fr. Bannon for response only to be told by his secretary that the Courant was only trying to stir up "scandal" and that he did not expect Fr. Bannon to respond. Only after the article appeared did Fr. Bannon send a statement denying the accusations. His statement was published in the Courant.

And let's not forget this passage in which Renner explains why Maciel's earliest victims, like Jaycee Lee Dugard, didn't avail themselves of an earlier opportunity to come forward: "But those making the accusations today were young boys in seminary in the late 1950s. They say they lied at the time to Vatican investigators to protect the man they called 'Nuestro Padre.'"

In the comments box below, RC Is Not My Life chides me gently for having misunderstood her taste in ice cream:

Pete,

I chose HEATH Bar Crunch, not HEALTH Bar Crunch.
A HEATH bar is chocolate-covered toffee.
I was brainwashed by RC, not Richard Simmons!!!

Perhaps it's in somewhat poor taste to belabor the discussion, but one of the many allegations circulating about the Legion of Christ is that the portly need not apply. I'm not sure whether or not this allegation is true. However, it comes from many sources and - now that I think about it - I've never seen a plump Legionary priest or seminarian.

Which got me thinking of some of the heavyweights canonized by the Church throughout the centuries. Pope St. Pius X and St. Thomas Aquinas come to mind immediately. And St. Augustine is often portrayed as bearing quite the august physique. And many Catholics are salivating over the movement to canonize G.K. Chesterton.

Based solely on their physique, and not their deep faith or intellectual prowess, would any of the four been acceptable candidates to the Legion's seminarians? I don't know. However, if the allegation is true, it fattens the credibility of those who accuse Legionary priests of being lightweights lacking in well-roundedness.

...as opposed to Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel who said:

[When] I meet up with the strength of youth withered and torn apart in the very springtime of life for lack of Christ, I cannot hold back the cries in my heart. I want to multiply myself...

There's an old cliche that a stopped clock is right twice a day. So I suppose a false prophet is permitted to be right twice in his lifetime. (Maciel also reportedly told his followers during his lifetime that if the Legion failed to serve the Church after his death, he would come back and destroy it.)

Teenage snickers aside, this points to a problem for the Legion that I have mentioned on several occasions. The medium is the message. Thus it is impossible for many - including orthodox Catholics - to take seriously the Legion and Regnum Christi's message about building God's kingdom when their medium is Fr. Maciel. We can read Ignatius, Thomas Aquinas and John Chrysostom without giggling every time one of these saints mentions "passion" and "youth" in the same sentence. Not so with Maciel, knowing what we now know about his life.

When one speaks with the forked tongue of the devil, nobody is sure which meaning the speaker intended. The sooner you recognize this and act upon it, the sooner you move forward with the healing process.

It's been quite the week for Catholics concerned with the scandal surrounding Fr. Maciel and the Legion of Christ. Lots of new revelations, accusations and resurgence of strong memories and feelings. As the week comes to a close, my fellow blog hobbits - us little people who believe in building up God's Kingdom through $20 donations to Mother Teresa's Missionaries, rather than $1000-hams to Mexico's Saruman - are trying to make sense of this spiritual shadow that has cast itself over our Catholic shire.

Here's a summary of how each hobbit is responding to different aspects of this scandal, followed by my own analysis on certain points. RC Is Not My Life has two posts. The first talks about her experience as former RC consecrated and how the women are given little support during the transition period after they leave the movement (click here). Her second post discusses how the Legion obsesses with the numbers of people coming into the movement, but nobody seems to know how many leave.

Meanwhile, Hobbit Giselle at Life-After-RC discusses how the Legion severs family ties when people enter the movement's apostolates, as you can read here. Which leads to internal struggles when those still active with the movement begin to question their involvement, as Giselle discusses here.

Over in his part of the shire, ExLC posts the personal reaction of a former Legionary priest, who says: "I feel duped, embarrassed, and angry in front of so many lies. I think, without wishing to make false accusations, that this priest did not work alone, that there were Legionaries who knew what went on with Maciel and kept silent, maybe out of fear or maybe just to cover it all up." His feelings are not unlike those expressed by LC and RC still on the inside with who I am in contact.

ExLC also posts the testimony of a former LC seminarian named Frank, who left after speaking with a Jesuit while on summer break. Here's the crux of Frank's story:

While I was home, I contacted a Jesuit priest for help with my internal conflict. "I want to be generous, and give everything to God, but I just don't feel right about it," I told him. "Is that selfish? If God calls me to do something I hate, then shouldn't I just follow His holy will?"

The good Jesuit responded: "Frank, one of the bedrock principals of discernment from St. Ignatius is that one should never make a serious life decision without a sense of true peace, be it marriage, religious life, job change, etc. If you don't feel at peace with the decision to join the Legion, that's a clear sign not to proceed."

Which brings me to my own thoughts as we wrap up the week. Several commentators continue to draw parallels between the Legion and the Jesuits, in some cases suggesting that Rome hand over the Legion to the Jesuits, and in others suggesting that the Legion's charism is connected to that of St. Ignatius. Says goodguyex in the comments' box over at CrunchyCon: "[T]he spirituality of the Legion is Ignatian. Perhaps the Legion can "adopt" St Ignatius Loyola as it spiritual Step-Founder."

I disagree.

One must not be fooled by appearances. Although the two orders resemble each other on the surface, they could not be more different on the inside. The contrast is as different as the life of each founder. The first concerns each order's understanding of religious obedience. Jesuit seminarian Nathan O'Halloran, a graduate of Steubeville who initially considered the Legion, explains this difference in understanding here.

Secondly, as alluded to by Frank, Ignatian spirituality focuses heavily on the proper discernment of spirits, how to distinguish God's call from the devil's temptation. Along that lines, if one believes that the Legion's leadership knew nothing of their founder's "double life," leadership whereas the Legion's entire leadership, if we believe them, failed to discern some serious irregularities in their founder's behavior. This is not to say the majority of Legionaries are bad people for being taken in, only that it shows a certain lack of discernment.

Moreover, self-criticism and examination of conscience are a major part of Ignatian spirituality. Yet one of Fr. Thomas Berg's most pointed criticisms upon leaving the Legion is that the order seemed incapable of self-criticism. "That inability to see and honestly recognize the flaws and errors that so many people outside the Legion are able to see speaks volumes," he said. I agree. It says that the Legion and Regnum Christi were far too focused on the external trappings of apostolate, the numbers and the high-profile converts, and that something serious was lacking in the movement's internal spirituality - both collectively as an order, and individually as priests and brothers.

Which is why I believe the best hope for individual Legionaries right now is not the Jesuits. Certainly they have a lot to contribute to the healing process, but I question whether Legionaries are ready to embrace it. For the Legion and the the Jesuits share many of the external trappings of apostolate and obedience, but without the same internal understanding of these concepts. This creates the potential for confusion and brings with it a host of other temptations.

Rather, I think the big hope for individual Legionaries right now is the sons of St. Benedict. Individual Legionaries need to learn to pray again. They need to "retreat" from high-profile apostolate, and rekindle their interior life and their personal relationship with Christ as they work through the consequences of this scandal. A good dose of Benedictine "Ora et Labora" - that is, large doses of daily prayer coupled with simple work and apostolate - provides medicine for the soul.

So my suggestion to individual Legionaries who find themselves falling apart right now - whether it be physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually - is to visit your nearest Benedictine monastery.

Several readers have asked me whether Jose Bonilla, the lawyer for three of Fr. Maciel's alleged children, has a case against the Legionaries. Speaking as a canon lawyer, probably not. Fr. Maciel was a priest with a religious order. He was not supposed to own property personally, according to canon law, and most of what he raised was probably intended for the Legion, Regnum Christi, or various other apostolates - not for him personally, and certainly not for the support of his clandestine mistress and children.

Nevertheless, there might be a case if the children can substantiate rumors they were abused by Maciel. But this would be based upon their status as abuse victims, not as Fr. Maciel's children.

In terms of the civil courts, I don't know. I'm not a civil lawyer nor am I familiar with civil law in the Mexico, where these cases are reportedly being introduced. However, several readers have told me that Mexican civil law prohibits clergy from owning large amounts of property personally. So for the sake of the argument let's exclude this possibility as well.

What's left? Well, the court of public opinion.

From what Spanish-speaking readers are telling me, this has the potential to explode into South America's Boston. Bonilla presents a perfect David behind who the secular press can rally as he faces down the Goliath of Legion secrecy, influence and power. The average person can sympathize and identify with him. Not because he's a lawyer, but because he's the loving father of a preschooler who suffered abuse is an Legion/RC-affiliated nursery school, for which he won a civil judgment after the school failed to cough up the accused perp.

Few media images break through the stereotype of litigators as cold, calculating, money-grubbing ambulance chasers. But a father crusading to stop the abuse suffered by his own child is one of them. Who would want their child to suffer the same horror? Show me a mother and father who, discovering their child had suffered such a horror, would not devote the rest of their life to taking down the system that allowed the abuse to happen? Thus as parents we are all Jose Bonilla - at least for the fifteen minutes in which we filter the story through the media.

And Fr. Alvaro, who appears desperate to reassure members that nothing is wrong, is struggling through his fifteen minutes as former Iraqi information minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

Which brings us to something else that strengthens Bonilla's presentation before the court of public opinion: The Legion has allowed him to control the flow of information. In not fully disclosing the truth, in using vague terms to confirm only bits and pieces after the secular media reports it, the Legion is reacting to the scandal rather than guiding Catholics through it. This forces us to go to Bonilla and the secular media for information concerning the scandal.

We may question Bonilla's presentation of the facts. Did Pope John Paul II really know these were Maciel's children? We may wonder about some of the discrepancies in his presentation. How could the children, having received their First Holy Communion from Pope John Paul II, not have known their father was a priest until later in life? But with the Legion fog-tongued and stone-lipped (talk about a weird image!) even their most ardent apologists must turn to Bonilla for information about Maciel's "double life".

RC Is Not My Life touched a nerve with her recent post explaining how RC formation diminished her capacity to make everyday choices. Even picking out an ice-cream flavor caused her to question her faith, she states. (Click here)

I can understand how sharing her experience is therapeutic. But how does it help other consecrated, both current and former, who find themselves in the same situation? How do they overcome their paralysis of the will when facing the same choices as my eight-year-old?

Thankfully, RC Is Not My Life offers some excellent advice - again, based upon her experience - in a followup post.

(And for the record, I think RC Is Not My Life made the wrong choice. I would have chosen Rocky Road over Health Bar Crunch, which sounds like it's made from soy milk and contains tofu. Just kidding....OUCH!)

An anonymous reader wrote in the comments box below:

My wife is a member of RC, [...] On the one hand, she is quite shocked about the revelations concerning Fr. Maciel and disappointed in the current LC leadership (at least at the top) for failing to come clean, but on the other hand she likes and admires the LC priests and RC members at the local level. As her husband, I can say that she has developed spiritually in positive ways since joining, though sometimes I fear she is too influenced by opinions she hears by those in authority in RC. (In my case, I'd say that my experiences with LC have been rather mixed.) Here is the dilemma I am facing: though not a member, I am involved in an RC apostolate with my wife, and the question I keep asking myself and my wife is, at what point do we cease being victims of a cover-up and become co-perpetrators of it? In other words, naturally we don't tell the people whom we want to benefit by this apostolate about the allegations concerning Fr. Maciel or about the possibility that members of LC knew about Fr. Maciel's actions. We have made non-RC friends through this apostolate; naturally we don't tell them about the allegations. Do we have a duty to tell them?

One of the biggest allegations to surface during this scandal is that the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi (LC/RC) use their schools and apostolates as "recruiting mechanisms" for the LC seminary. Who is in charge of this seminary formation? The priests at the top, or those with who you and your wife rub shoulders at the local level?

Knowing what you now know about the Legion and its founder, and suspecting what you don't know with moral certitude but nevertheless feel has the "ring of truth" to it, are you comfortable with your son entering the Legion as a seminarian or your daughter consecrating herself a 3rd Degree member of Regnum Christi?

And what about these other parents you come into contact with? Would they be comfortable with either possibility for their children without knowing what is going on right now? Who will they blame if these allegations are proven down the road, once their children have been "integrated" into the movement? Will it just be Fr. Maciel and those at the top?

Will they still be your friends?

More importantly, can you live with your conscience? Knowing that you knew or had reason to suspect strongly, but intentionally concealed the information for the sake of "growing the Kingdom"?

Over at Life After RC, Giselle posts a poignant reminder that this scandal is not about Fr. Maciel or the movement he founded. This scandal, and the strong emotions it fuels among ordinary people, is about Fr. Maciel's victims. Especially since they were thrice-victimized: First through the sexual abuse they reportedly suffered. Second through the unjust persecution and tarnishing of their good name when they came forward with serious and substantial allegations. And third, through the Legion's failure to apologize publicly to them when strong evidence of Fr. Maciel's "double life" emerged in the media.

Which is why Giselle's point is one we cannot forget. As new evidence surfaces about Fr. Maciel's sexual exploits with young women, let us remember that Nuestro Padre's first alleged victims were the young men who entrusted their spiritual formation to his care:

Rome/February 28, 1997

Mr. Clifford L. Teutsch
Managing Editor
The Hartford Courant
285 Broad Street
Hartford, CT 06115

Dear Mr. Teutsch,

Regarding the accusations made against me in the Hartford Courant of Sunday, February 23, I wish to state that in all cases they are defamations and falsities with no foundation whatsoever, since during the years these men were in the Legion never in any way did I commit those acts with them, nor did I make any such advances to them nor was the suggestion of such acts ever mentioned.

During the time that these men were in the Legion of Christ and even after they had left, I spared no sacrifice to help them as much as I could-as I have always done with every person the Lord has put under my care. I do not know what has led them to make these totally false accusations 20, 30 and 40 years after leaving the congregation. I am all the more surprised since I still have letters from some of them well into the 1970s in which they express their gratitude and our mutual friendship.

Despite the moral suffering that this has caused me I bear no ill will toward them. Rather I offer my pain and prayers for each one of them, in hope that they will recover their peace of soul and remove from their hearts whatever resentment has moved them to make these false accusations.

Yours respectfully in Christ,

Marcial Maciel, L.C.

One of the things that amazes me about this blog is that most of the readers are smarter, holier and more eloquent writers than I am. So it behooves me that you come from all over the world to gleam what little insight I can offer. Nevertheless, it does have its perks.

For instance, I was struggling over how best to defend Pope John Paul II from allegations he knew of Fr. Maciel's children, when shmikey chimed in with the following well-written explanation::

It occured to me [...] that since the Legion insisted on addressing Marcial Maciel [MM] as [Nuestro Padre], that this may have been how [Maciel's] children may have addressed MM as pappa, and the Vatican would not have suspected that these were his own. This may have been all part of his deception. Many priests travel with family members, and no one suspects a thing. Many priests have nicknames that are familial and are used by only their family. This is just my suspicion as to how the Vatican could be innocent if these things happened as they are revealing in this summary.

I agree.

Nevertheless, I can understand why people are suspicious and raising questions. They trusted Fr. Maciel because of his perceived closeness to Pope John Paul II. Moreover, they were taken in Fr. Maciel's appearance of holiness, orthodox and living sanctity. And how could nobody at the top have noticed, either in the Legion or at the Vatican? Add to this the fact the Legion spent decades denying Fr. Maciel was anything but a saint, and that the Legion has not been forthcoming publicly with answers to these question, and people - including many within the movement's middle ranks - are going to grow suspicious.

Which brings me to another point. Many blog commentators, particularly those who understand Spanish, are discussing Lucrecia Rego's recent Catholic.net article. This is the one in which the high-profile RC member blasts former Maciel followers for disloyalty (click here) because they believe the allegations and are discussing them openly.

While she speaks passionately about loyalty to her priest friend, absent from her article is any discussion bout loyalty to the Church. I find this troubling. Loyalty works two ways. One should not expect loyalty if one is not oneself loyal.

Which raises several questions:

- How is it loyal to Christ to lead a movement bearing his name, and not apologize publicly to those who were seriously harmed by the movement's founder in Christ's name?

- How is it loyal to the Church when all Catholics are tarnished by a Catholic movement's founder, including those who are not part of the movement, and the movement's lack of public disclosure allows the founder's "double life" to be dragged out indefinitely in the media?

- And how is it loyal to allow the name and reputation of a deceased pope to come under dark suspicion, because the movement is not more forthcoming about who knew what, when and how?

So in one sense I agree with Lucrecia. Most of this scandal could be avoided is those calling themselves good Catholics showed more loyalty.

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you." (Proverbs 25:21-22)

"The hands of the King are healing hands, and thus shall the rightful King be known." (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King)

As many have noted, Fr. Maciel spent his life warning his followers about the Jesuits. For their part, the Jesuits have mostly ignored Fr. Maciel and the Legion - at least in public - secure in the knowledge that centuries of canonized saints is proof of the Ignatian charism.

Which is why it's surprising to read Fr. Orlando Contreras, S.J. weigh into the controversy. For those who understand Spanish, you can read his reflection here. For those like me whose Spanish is far from perfect, Babelfish offers an uncharacteristically clear translation of key points. (Click here).

What's noticeable in the cyber-translation is the Jesuit knack for discerning spirits, speaking the truth through Charity. What's also noticeable is the clarity of his thought. Even the babelfish translation for the most part sounds like normal English.

So here are some of Fr. Orlando's thoughts, courtesy of babelfish:

"The truth, however painful, help, purified and cries out for justice for the victims, their relatives [...] Truth also asked for forgiveness and mercy to the victimizer, first, of their victims, as seen in the same report-and of God that God is more than ever when you can show and reveal his infinite mercy. And because the P. Maciel did not believe that, as Church, we have to apologize to victims for the damage he did this brother of ours.

"Truth also does justice to the Church and the Congregation founded by Fr Maciel: The Legionaries of Christ. This is because many would not see or hear what was happening in the intimate environment of its founder. So the sin of one step to be the sin of many who have hidden and silent truth.

"No doubt that all who are part of the Legionaries of Christ (priests and laity) must be suffering a lot with this painful truth. Many of them have been cheated by hiding the truth. They also should apologize to them.

"The mercy of God with Father Maciel, the Legionaries of Christ and the Church leads to the personal and communal conversion. This conversion makes us think, first of all victims of these abuses and to seek, as far as possible, [to] repair the damage. We say as far as possible because we know it is impossible for humans to repair the damage. But what is not possible for us is possible with God. So we have more confidence in what God can do that in what we do because the latter, always fall short."

If Fr. Orlando is any indication of what his brother Jesuits are thinking, it would seem that the Jesuit conspiracy is centered around truth, forgiveness, and abandonment to God's mercy. No wonder Fr. Maciel feared the Jesuits.

UPDATE: RC Is Not My Life has now posted English summaries of part 3 and part 4 of the CNN Spanish-language interview with the lawyer representing Fr. Maciel's children.

Initial Post

ExLC has posted the youtube (in Spanish) here, with an English summary of key points here.

RC Is Not My Life is also providing a more detailed English summary of the interview here. Apparently Fr. Maciel concealed his true identity from his mistresses and children until 1997, when he became the center of media attention:

Q: At what point do the kids know who MM really was?

Jose, who was the one closest to MM. In June or July 1997, he gets a phone call from his father saying someone was coming to give him some money. He was to then take a cab and go and buy all the newspapers he could. This was the first time MM made it onto the cover of newspapers (probably included were all the allegations of abuse that were swirling in 1997, but they don't say that). It was at this moment that Jose discovered MM's double life. He didn't tell his mother or brothers b/c he didn't know how they would handle it. He keeps it a secret. Some people came later and took all the newspapers/magazines (he doesn't say who).

Click here to keep reading part 1, and here to read part 2. (And check back with RC Is Not My Life later today for summaries of parts 3 and 4).

A quick blog entry while on lunch break. Over at ExLC, readers are discussing the Holy See's 2006 communique "inviting" Fr. Maciel to retire to a life of prayer and penance. (Also posted is a youtube of a recent 40 minute CNN Spanish edition interview with the lawyer representing three of Fr. Maciel's alleged children.)

Says first anonymous reader: "If it was a suspension, why didn't they just make that clear? Why leave it open to spin by the LC? And who the hell tacked on the 'Apart from the founder' clause? That has caused more confusion than anything the LC could have done."

"I hope a canonist could help us," adds a second commentator.

Around the time the communique was published, one of the best explanations came from Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. This is ironic given that up until its appearance Fr. Neuhaus had been one of Fr. Maciel and the Legion's most able defenders. Father even goes so far as to employ the expression "moral certitude" in his belief of Maciel's innocence.

Nevertheless, Fr. Neuhaus is an honest man. And thus he is forced to admit in the August/September 2006 edition of The Public Square:

I do not know all that the CDF and the Holy Father know and am not privy to the considerations that led to their decision. It is reasonable to believe that they concluded that Fr. Maciel did do something very seriously wrong. To censure publicly, toward the end of his life, the founder of a large and growing religious community is an extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented, measure in Catholic history. Moreover, because the only public and actionable charges against Fr. Maciel had to do with sexual abuse, the clear implication is that that was the reason for the censure. In view of the public knowledge of the charges, it is not plausible that he was censured for some other and unknown reason.

Now Fr. Neuhaus still did not believe Fr.Maciel's accusers. But it's clear he believes Fr. Maciel was guilty of some serious violation of the Sixth Commandment. It's also clear that Fr. Neuhaus had stopped believing the Legion's version of the story, and he expresses some discomfort with the Legion's immediate response comparing Maciel's suffering to that suffered by Christ on the cross.

What I found most prescient, however, are Fr. Neuhaus's comments about the Legion's charism in light of the Holy See's request that the Legion separate its work from the founder.

Now comes a time of daunting challenges for the Legionaries of Christ. At the highest level of the Church's leadership, a deep shadow has been cast over their founder. In view of his age and the way the decision was made, it is almost certain that the shadow will not be lifted in his lifetime, if ever. In the historical experience of religious orders, the founder and the charism-meaning the distinctive spirituality by which the community is formed--cannot be easily separated. The Legion has been particularly intense in its devotion to its founder, who has been revered as a living saint. It is understandable that Legionaries who have known Fr. Maciel for many years simply cannot bring themselves to believe that he is guilty of the charges that have been brought against him. Whether misplaced or not, such devotion is not untouched by honor and faithfulness to a father and friend. But, in the future of the Legion and Regnum Christi, belief in the innocence of Fr. Maciel cannot be made an article of faith.

Nor is it helpful to speak of the Holy See's decision as yet another cross imposed on Fr. Maciel and the Legion. A "cross" may mean any burden to be borne, but, in this context, "bearing the cross" clearly suggests a wrong or injustice. The cross imposed on Christ was unjustly imposed. To continue to speak of the censure as a cross imposed could have the effect of putting the Legion on a collision course with the papacy. At the heart of the congregation's charism is wholehearted adherence to the ministry of Peter among us. The leadership of the Legion has unambiguously reaffirmed that adherence in a private audience with the pope following the censure of Fr. Maciel.

[...]

The future of the Legion and Regnum Christi cannot depend on the innocence or guilt of Fr. Maciel. Founder and charism may not be entirely separable, but they can be clearly distinguished.

In short, Pope Benedict XVI's 2006 invitation to separate themselves from the life of their founder was a test of the Legion's charism. Had they trusted the Holy See and done so, in spirit and in law, their charism would have emerged after much needed internal reform. However, Legion superiors continued to yoke the movement to Fr. Maciel, despite the Holy See's recommendation they do otherwise. My apologies for the mixed metaphor, but that yoke has now become a giant millstone around their necks. The only way to stop sinking is to remove this millstone

UPDATE: On second thought, there is something to be added to Giselle's comments. Something addressed to LC superiors only, and not to rank-and-file LC/RC:

The scandal is not about you or your feelings; it's about Fr. Maciel's victims. They are the ones most deserving of an apology from you. The longer you wait, the angrier Catholics become. This includes a growing number of your members, in my experience, some of who blind carbon copied me their letters and emails to the apostolic visitators. And they're asking why, seven months later, the victims still have not received a public apology from you.

So you need to apologize to Fr. Maciel's victims for the abuse they suffered. Then you need to apologize to them again for the harm they suffered to their reputation. Then you need to apologize for not apologizing sooner.

Initial Post

With Fr. Alvaro visiting the RC's Atlanta section this Thursday, a Legion priest has apologized, kinda...

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Regnum Christi brothers and sisters in Christ,

I want to thank you for all your prayers during these difficult times. I would like to reach every one of you to ask for forgiveness for all the hurt you are going through, especially this year dedicated to the priest who ministers God´s mercy. I know that time will heal and the grace of Christ, who is always with us as a good Friend, will never abandon us. This is his work and we are only his instruments.

With this in mind I am pleased to announce that Fr. Alvaro, our general director of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi, will be in Atlanta on Thursday, August 27th and celebrate mass for us. The mass will be at Pinecrest at 7pm and an informal reception will follow at the Upper School Dining Hall.

I am very grateful to Father Alvaro for his visit. Thank you for all your hard work and support. Keep praying for us!

Yours in Christ and the Movement,
Fr. Emilio Diaz-Torre, LC
Local Coordinator of Apostolate, Atlanta

There's little I can add to Giselle's commentary.

...none of which is related to the LC/RC. I hope to be back Saturday. In the meantime, check out Life After RC, ExLC and RC Is Not My Life for latest news and commentary on the Fr. Maciel situation.

In her inaugural post, RC Is Not My Life responds to my last entry about Fr. Maciel making special exceptions for his mother (Mama Maurita). Here's what RC Is Not My Life says:

At first I thought, you know, let's leave Mama Maurita out of this. But then reading the post later it just dawned on me the number of cases of favoritism I saw in the Legion. The Mama Maurita exception, while problematic, was just the tip of the iceberg.

And just like that, as instantaneously as I came under their spell, the scales came falling off of my eyes. I woke up. I could see the Legion for what they were. And then my entire life came crashing down. So many questions. So many red flags I did not see.

I totally understand where RC Is Not My Life is coming from. Initially, I too debated whether to drag Mama Maurita's name into the debate over Fr. Maciel. While many wonder whether she is material for sainthood, nobody seems to question that she was a devout Catholic woman. Is it her fault that her son grew into a fraud and a pervert?

Probably not. However, Mama Maurita is part of the story. Not because she gave birth to Maciel, but because he and the Legion's public relations machine have dragged her into the story, much like they did Pope John Paul II. Fr. Maciel's critics may have raised her name in the most recent debate, but this is long after Legion sources used pseudo-messianic language to put forward her cause for beatification (click here). That and much of what we thought we knew about Mama Maurita comes from Fr. Maciel - a man who lied about his priesthood, his dedication to God, and possibly his mother. So she is now part of the story. And Catholics looking at her beatification process are trying to sift fact from fiction.

This is the spiritual legacy of Fr. Maciel's spiritual deception. And by covering up the deception - and not being more forthcoming with the truth and an apology to the founder's victims - those closest to the founder find their reputations singed by his deception. It's not unlike what happened with former U.S. president Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinski scandal.

Clinton survived with his presidency tarnished, but still intact. However, his sexual escapades and subsequent coverup destroying the presidential aspirations of his closest advisers. Just ask Al Gore and Hillary. Despite not having participated in the adulterous act, they got pulled into the scandal when the president was less-than-forthcoming about the truth. Clinton survived the scandal by crippling future presidential runs of his wife and his vice-president. They took the fall, not for Clinton's illicit sex, but for the subsequent coverup.

This is similar to what's happening with those close to Fr. Maciel. In not being more forthcoming with information, in allowing Catholics to discover what's happening through the secular media rather than Church sources, Fathers Corcuera, Garza, Álvarez and others at the top now become part Fr. Maciel's story.

A young army captain ordered his training platoon to march 25 miles, shouldering full fighting gear and 100-pound rucksacks, on a blistering summer day. His commanding officer looked at him and said: "You're marching with them."

The commanding officer had little patience for officers who failed to appreciate the burdens of the average soldier under one's command.

Which brings me to the Legion and its reported communication strategy of pray, pay and ignore the media. The media fog created by those in charge may help them avoid uncomfortable questions in the immediate aftermath; however, it's a poor long-term strategy. It ignores the reality by which most rank-and-file RC members live - especially when these members are also being pressured to meet increased fundraising and recruiting goals. Where do Regnum Christi (RC) members recruit and fundraise? Well, from orthodox Catholics who are asking serious questions about the allegations, and who are appalled by the Legion's vague answers.

Nor is it the reality lived by LC priests and RC consecrated RC on the ground - those who rub shoulders regularly with people outside the movement. And thus, like soldiers stranded in the battlefield, they begin making decisions that allow them to get by in the real world, ignoring the unrealistic orders of superiors. This is where the fog of war sets in.

It's easier to coordinate a battle plan if you have clear chains of command leading up to one person. When you have lots of small groups making decisions on their own, the goal of each being simple survival rather than winning the war, confusion sets in. One group's method of survival may contradict the next group, thus giving birth to conflict among those on the same side..

Why do I mention this? Well, if recent rumors are true, we are now seeing this happen in the LC/RC.

Late last week Fr. Maciel apologist (and Catholic.net founder) Lucrecia Rego, a high-profile RC member in Mexico, published a blog highly critical of those who believe and discuss the allegations against Fr. Maciel. You can read her blog entry here, in which she makes clear in her response to readers that she is defending Fr. Maciel. The Spanish version of Catholic.net also ran Lucrecia's apologia here, which makes me believe that the LC/RC-affiliated Catholic.net is standing by Fr. Maciel. (Although I'm curious to see whether its English counterpart will run a translation.)

My Spanish isn't strong, but Lucrecia's argument seems to be that we cannot trust the allegations against Fr. Maciel unless we ourselves witnessed his heinous acts. To do otherwise is to gossip and backbite. Moreover, Lucrecia questions the existence of Fr. Maciel's daughter. Okay, most of this has been standard Legion response thus far.

Except that Legion critics are now receiving reports of a different approach in the RC's highly active Atlanta section. Reportedly, Fr. Maciel has been denounced there as "pure evil". Giselle has the preliminary report here. If this report is true, then it suggests the chains of command are breaking down within the movement.

It's no secret that American members have been the most critical of Fr. Maciel, as well as the Legion's handling of this crisis, while the Mexicans have been the most supportive (although that too appears to be breaking down, judging from Lucrecia's complaint that fellow Mexican RC are believing the allegations, and the fact Lucrecia felt the need to respond publicly). What we have here are two responses from LC/RC sources, each contradicting the other in order to appeal to their particular segment of the RC population. In short, it's a matter of survival as the fog of war sets in.

Can such a communication strategy work in the long-term? As Our Lord says in the Gospels, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

UPDATE III Thanks to reader gto for pointing out that Regnum Christi appears to keep another website selling Fr. Maciel's works - including those on love and dating for young couples. You can access it here as of 7:50 p.m. Eastern today.

UPDATE II The links in the initial post are no longer working. They worked this morning because I tested them after posting this blog. But other readers are also reporting the links down, both here and at Giselle's blog. If this is a sign the movement is finally purging itself of Fr. Maciel's toxic influence, then I hope the next step is to apologize to his victims.

UPDATE Giselle just blogged an entry on a similar topic, which is also worth reading (click here).

Initial entry

Several readers have told me that pictures of Fr. Maciel are still hanging in certain Legion of Christ/ Regnum Christi (LC/RC) houses. I hope you will forgive me if I beg off this discussion, but it's been years since I last visited a LC/RC house of formation. So I have no clue whose picture is hanging where.

That being said, Fr. Maciel and his LC/RC apologists often state we should never believe the rumors we hear, only the questionable practices that we see with our own eyes. So here is what I saw this morning when I visited the Center for Integral Formation website.

A line at the bottom of the website states: 'Patrocinado por los Legionarios de Cristo y Regnum Christi, al servicio de la Iglesia.' My Spanish is far from perfect, but I believe this translates as: "Sponsored by the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi, at the service of the Church." So my own eyes lead me to conclude that this online bookstore is connected to the LC/RC, and that its resources are intended to serve the Church.

Now here are some of the titles I saw for sale, including a short summary of each work posted at the website:

Called to Love

Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC Read Fr. Maciel's letter on the greatest subject of all time. Fr. Maciel reflects on life as a vocation, he addresses God's particular call to parents, Grandparents, young people, women,priests, consecrated men and women, and all members of the Regnum Christi movement. Booklet

Price: $2.95

***
Dating and Engagement

Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC The beauty of love is shown in its practical application in engagement and relationships reflecting genuine love - not the counterfeit love prevalent in the world. Booklet

Price: $2.95

***
Dear Young People...

Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC This is Fr. Maciel's invitation for young people to take advantage of the precious gift of youth. The address reflects on life and poses challenges. Booklet

Price: $2.95

Dear friends in LC/RC! As long as a bookstore you sponsor still carries Fr. Maciel's works, it's a moot question whether you hang his photo. You're still promoting his works as serviceable to the Church, despite his exposure as a sanctimonious fraud. The sale of his books at Legion-sponsored websites, unlike rumors of his picture, is something we can see with our own eyes.

This simply doesn't sit well with other Catholics. Nor can one dismiss the issue by saying there is good Christian teaching in these books, but Fr. Maciel simply never lived up to it. To quote Marshall McLuhan, the renown media theorist and Canada's most famous convert to Catholicism, "The medium is the message."

Your medium here is Fr. Maciel.

As noted by Fr. Damien Karras in Leave the Bathwater. Take the connoli, one cannot separate Fr. Maciel's spiritual advice from how he covered up his failure to heed this advice. And Fr. Karras should know because he spent close to thirty years with the LC, defending Fr. Maciel until this past Februrary. As Fr. Karras puts it:

But while Fr. Maciel masqueraded as the saintly founder, the admirable priest, apostle and 'suffering servant of Yahweh' that all the LCs sought to emulate in their own vocation, his writings were veritable treasures that we meditated and quoted, memorized and preached.

Once we found out who he truly was, those same writings have turned into the cruelest of jokes, a most unholy parody of true spirituality and religious tradition, a sacrilegious satire that should make us all ashamed of having once proudly called ourselves 'co-founders'.

And that's what the outside world sees as well.

I received the following testimony from a young lady who spent several years as a Regnum Christi consecrated. Her experience speaks for itself, as one shared by many consecrated now grappling with the truth about Fr. Maciel. She has kindly allowed me to share it with Catholic Light readers on condition that her identity remain anonymous:

Moving Through the Bitterness

When I left the consecrated life of Regnum Christi several years ago, I promised myself one thing -- I wouldn't let myself get bitter.

I don't know why, but it always kind of bothered me how former Regnum Christi members, or brothers leaving the Legion, would dedicate themselves to constructing Internet Web sites that spewed hatred about how the movement and Father Maciel ruined their lives. I guess to me it showed a certain amount of immaturity. I mean, we all make our own decisions in life. We can't blame others for the paths we take that didn't turn out as we planned.

While I decided I needed to take a break from the RC scene and find myself, I never officially left the movement, and I never allowed myself to regret the years I spent as a consecrated member of the movement. Those were the best years of my life, I would tell myself and others.

During my post-RC years, every once in a while I'd run into a Legionary, or one of those super-star Regnum Christi members (there are certain members who are truly famous in RC circles), and I'd want to get involved again. I should really get back into the swing of things, I thought. I should join a team or help out an apostolate. I wanted to be in the thick of things. It is, after all, my family! No matter what happens in my life, they will always be there for me, and I'll be there for them.

Then 2006 happened, and Father Maciel was asked to retire to a life of penance. He's innocent, I thought. This is just like the persecution he'd always prayed for; Father Maciel is being asked to give the ultimate sacrifice -- to die in complete and utter ignominy.

But after 2006, something interesting happened. A veil started to be lifted little by little from before my eyes. I couldn't explain it at the time, but small aspects about the Legion or RC and its members -- things that I always just took in stride -- would start to grate on me.

I'd see loyal RC members be assigned to important apostolic posts that they weren't prepared for just because the Legion knew that in a pinch, they could count on them, and it would annoy me. I'd meet up with an old RC friend of mine who couldn't bring herself to say anything bad about the Legion or Father Maciel, and I'd come away with a bad taste in my mouth. I'd catch up with an ex-consecrated member of the movement and listen to her experience inside the Third Degree (that's what the consecrated branch of RC is known as), and wonder why her experience could be so different from mine. I'd look for more information on Father Maciel's case on the Legion Web site, and only find vocation stories, and wish the Legion would be more transparent.

And then there was a close friend of mine -- also a fallen-away RC member, and although she had never been consecrated, she had been involved in RC apostolates for years -- and together we'd talk for hours about the Legion and our experiences in RC. We'd go over the good times and the bad times, and convince ourselves at the very end that there was more good than bad. Every organization is going to have some bad elements -- it's just human. Even the Church has bad apples. We can't be surprised that at some level there is nepotism, favoritism, corruption, etc...

Coincidentally, both of us were having serious doubts about our faith. Both of us were depressed, disillusioned with life and where our paths had brought us. Both of us were angry that the best and most productive years of our lives were behind us, and we didn't take advantage of them the best we could. We were passing through the most existential of existential crises, and we both refused to believe that all of this could have had something to do with RC and our experiences in it.

Then Father Maciel died. I was sad, but I prayed for him and I tried to see things in a "supernatural light." (Did you know this is a virtue? It's the ability to see all events through the light of faith. It's easy to do, but only if you are able to suspend your reason and critical thinking skills).

I was a little taken back, however, when I read that he died in Florida. I don't imagine retiring in Florida is what Benedict XVI had in mind when he suggested prayer and penance, but I let it go, as I let so many things go.

But what I couldn't let go was this feeling that my life wasn't where it should have been. What I couldn't let go was that before meeting RC, I had this path I wanted to follow, and I took a detour -- almost a decade-long if you count the years it has taken me to come to grips with my experiences. What I couldn't let go was that I couldn't go back. I lost a decade of my life, and I couldn't go back. Your late 20s and early 30s are the most pivotal of your professional and social life, and mine were gone -- lost.

And now, as I'm reading about Father Maciel's love child, and prescriptive drug addiction, and his possible other children, and how he used Legion money to fund his philandering, and how the Legion hierarchy is spinning the truth in order to keep the "mystique" alive, I'm seeing things so clearly. And I'm angry, and I'm disillusioned, and I'm depressed, and, oh yeah, I'm bitter.

I'm bitter because I believed all the lies. I'm bitter because I wasted the best years of my life on a fraud. I'm bitter because people I trusted, people I looked to for guidance, people I admired, lied to me -- lied right to my face. They told me stories about what a good man Maciel was, what a saint he was. They taught me to see life through a "supernatural light." They convinced me that I was doing God's will, that I had been blessed by God with such a beautiful vocation. They brainwashed me. They used me. And then when I was of no use to them, they threw me away. And then, I thanked them.

I'm bitter because I was loyal. I'm bitter because I wouldn't let myself turn against them, I refused to see all the red flags that are so obvious to me now. I'm bitter because the movement and those involved in it meant more to me than I meant to the movement. I'm bitter because, in the end, I lost. I lost years, I lost dignity, I lost my way.

As I see it, my anger and bitterness -- what I most wanted to avoid -- is actually my way out. I'm passing through the grieving process. I'm grieving my lost years, and my lost innocence. No longer the naive 20-something, so eager to do God's will and ready to sacrifice everything for the cause of Christ, I find myself almost an entire decade older, and an entirely different person. Holier? I wouldn't say that. Smarter? Tons. Wiser? Time will tell. Ready to move on? You have no idea.

I'm away today doing canonical research, so I won't have telephone or Internet access until 8. p.m. at the earliest. Before I leave, however, I just want to comment on something that's been troubling me in emails, phone calls and blog comments from friends still on the inside of the Legion of Christ (LC) and Regnum Christi (RC). It's the widespread belief that as individuals most Legionaries are good priests.

I can accept that they are fervent, as well as doctrinally conservative for the most part. Prayerful might also be an adjective that describes most Legionaries.

However, I simply don't see evidence of the moral courage that I would expect from good priests. Especially among an order that has adopted a military motif. Of course it goes without saying that I am judging actions, and not what is in each Legionary's heart. Nevertheless, unless God has granted us the grace to read souls like He did to Padre Pio, actions are what we must go by.

As some readers know, many of my friends and readers are military. One of the basic virtues instilled in soldiers by the military is that of courage. Soldiers are taught two forms of courage. The first is physical courage, like when a soldier faces down a terrorist firing an assault rifle at him.

The second is moral courage, which is the courage to do the right thing despite potentially uncomfortable consequences. A friend of mine witnessed an example of moral courage during his basic training. He and his fellow recruits were having a difficult time learning a new parade drill under an extremely crotchety drill sergeant (or what the Marines would call "Heavy Hat" during Marine Corps basic training - that is, the sergeant who is perpetually grumpy and picks apart everyone over the slightest mistake). The sergeant was so upset by their failure to learn the move that he kept them an hour into their next timing.

Now I have to pause here to add a few details. Timings are sacrosanct in the military. If you're not on time for something, then everyone else suffers. And in theater the suffering can be fatal if another group of soldiers are relying on you for cover from the enemy, supplies, etc. Additionally, the timing happened to be a lecture being given by a Major, which is a senior officer. You simply don't keep senior officers waiting, especially for an hour. The marching NCO, whose job it is to get recruits to their next timing on time and who I will call "Corporal Bloggins," had reminded the sergeant a few times that he had gone over his time limit. (Oh, and one last detail, the recruits were very grumpy too because it was a hot summer day on the black parade square.)

Suddenly, the drill sergeant looked at his watch and said: "Oh my goodness, we're an hour over our next timing. The Major is going to be upset." (Okay, I'm paraphrasing in somewhat less colorful language given the family nature of this blog.)

The drill sergeant had several options. He could blame the recruits for marching like a sack of hammers due and lacking motivation that afternoon. He could also blame Corporal Bloggins, the marching NCO, for not having been more forceful in his reminder. Instead, the drill sergeant turned to Corporal Bloggins and said: "You will march them over to their next timing right away, and I order you to tell the Major that it is my fault they're an hour late. It may be your duty to get them their on time, but the Major is to hold me responsible."

That was the moment, my buddy tells me, that the recruits went from dreading the drill sergeant to admiring him. Why? Because of his moral courage in taking responsibility for a major faux pas. As upset as he was with the recruits' poor performance, he didn't pass the blame down to them. Nor would he permit the marching NCO to take the blame for keeping a senior officer waiting for over an hour. The recruits knew that their drill sergeant was a soldier who practiced what he preached, holding himself to a higher moral standard than that which he held the recruits.

Most importantly, the recruits now knew that they could trust the drill sergeant. There was moral substance behind the show. He wasn't just spit-shined boots, razor-thin creases, starched hat and snappy drill movement.

So how does this relate to goodness among Legionary priests?

Well, with the exception of Fr. Berg (and a couple of others) who has now left the order, I have not seen the moral courage that I would expect from soldiers, and definitely not what I would expect from priests. I'm not saying that it isn't there - that isn't for me to judge; I simply haven't seen it.

To quote George Orwell: "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." This is especially true when universal deceit threatens the salvation of souls, negatively impacts the reputation of good men such as Pope John Paul II, and destroys the reputation of legitimate victims who showed moral courage in bringing the truth to light. All because nobody appears to want to take responsibility for the Legion's questionable handling of Fr. Maciel's actions. In short, good priests don't allow their founder's sexual vices and deceit to endanger the eternal salvation of souls. Good priests don't allow their founder's victims to continue suffering unjustly with sullied reputations. Good priests don't drag out public scandal to Catholics and non-Catholics by employing Clintonesque communication strategies.

Moreover, while I speak for no military, I know of no soldier who would trust a person lacking in moral courage. Especially if the person avoiding responsibility is a man of the cloth, in a position of responsibility over others or claims to be a soldier of some sort. Failure to own up to the truth and accept the consequences of one's actions is not simply a mistake, but a failure of character in the opinion of most soldiers I know.

This may seem harsh to those who consider themselves part of a spiritual elite building God's Kingdom, but that's the real world. If one soldier in uniform sins, especially if that soldier is among the senior ranks, then all soldiers are tainted with the scandal. All soldiers in the unit are held in disgrace by the public. And the stain to the unit's honor and reputation can only be removed if the fault is corrected, the perpetrator held responsible and the truth made known. All of which require moral courage.

Nor do I buy the excuse we cannot judge because we're not in their position. As my Tyranny of Nice co-author Kathy Shaidle often says, to put forward this excuse is to assert cowardice as one's defacto position. Moral cowardice is contrary to goodness and the example of heroic virtue lived by the saints. Look at St. John Fischer. Nobody reading this blog lived under the reign of King Henry VIII. Yet none of us as Catholics invoke the intercession of the other bishops living under his reign - those who followed their monarch into schism because they lacked the moral courage of St. John Fischer. Those who were kept from speaking the truth openly because of pressure from above.

Now western society no longer has kings who lop off the heads of clergy for expressing Catholic orthodoxy. Rather we have media barons who make or break reputations. A good example of such, in conservative circles, is Sean Hannity at Fox News. Hannity is a former seminarian who believes the Church's traditional teaching on contraception is outdated. Which of the following is an example of moral courage among the priesthood? Going on national television and correcting Mr. Hannity, or using one's position at the same media outlet to publicly attack a brother priest for zealously defending Catholic teaching and admonishing a Catholic in error?

Of course the former, a retired Marine, understands the value of moral courage. And thus his actions provide a living example of the Marine motto Semper Fi ("Always faithful"). Which is why I and many other pro-life Catholics look up to him as a good priest.

Therefore - and I am speaking now to each and every Legion priest reading this blog - it is your responsibility before God to show moral courage, come forward with the truth, and repair the great injustice that your founder's deception has inflicted upon the Church. This is the way of a true soldier and a good priest.

In a story circulating South American and European media, Santiago's Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz appeared nationally on Chilean TV and said: "Los médicos cercanos al padre Maciel han dicho que tenía dos personalidades distintas. No solamente un tema de doble vida. En un momento era el fundador y en otro era un pobre hombre."

Here's how a Spanish-speaking reader translates His Imminence's words: "Doctors close to Father Maciel have said that he had two distinct personalities. [....] In one moment he was a founder, and in another he was a poor man."

The article also states that Fr. Maciel injected himself with Demerol, my translator tells me, adding that seminarians ran the pharmacy for him. Coincidentally, Demerol is believed to have been Michael Jackson's pain-killer of choice. This begs the question whether Fr. Maciel apologists, attempting to gain sympathy for the founder, are now shifting from the Clinton strategy to the Michael Jackson strategy. (Maciel and Michael are both reported to have suffered a stormy childhood at the hands of abusive fathers, both attracted millions of followers making noise that people wanted to hear, both faced legal investigations over allegations of sexual abuse involving minors, and now the addiction to Demerol allegations.)

That being said, there's serious questions to be asked if the dual-personality explanation is taken at face value. Why do no one in the Legion notice Fr. Maciel was switching back and forth between personalities? If it's because he was never the "hombre" when around the Legion, then how was he able to switch so conveniently between personalities? And how sure is the Legion leadership that the Hombre Maciel personality never played a role int eh founding of the Legion of Christi/ Regnum Christi movement?

I'm afraid this attempt at an explanation raises more questions than it resolves.

***
Speaking about cardinals and Fr. Maciel, Cassandra has just posted another blog entry on who knew what in the Holy See. Cassandra speculates that recent news reports implicating Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone in the coverup may have confused Pope Benedict's longtime loyal supporter with previous secretary of state Cardinal Sodano. Not only is Sodano a close friend of the Legion, but his relationship with the current pope has often been stormy, and he has reportedly tried to undermine Pope Benedict's papal authority in the past.

As Cassandra states:

Sanjuana Martínez reported in CIMAC that one of the babymommies alleges that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, is implicated in the payment of hush money. That would make for a stupendous scandal if the churchman organizing the apostolic visitation had been previously involved in silencing witnesses, especially after calling for "transparency" in the letter announcing the visitation.

I do not and will not believe that allegation without further evidence. But I wondered if either she or Martínez could have meant to name rather the emeritus Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, whom we know to have been at the service of the Legionaries in the past.

In response to my earlier post Maciel, Mom and the Messiah, Still RC - For Now, Anyway shares an interesting comment at Life-After-RC:

My understanding of "Mama Maurita's consecration" is that it happened shortly before she died (within a year perhaps?) and that she was exempt from the ban on smoking cigarettes that all the consecrated must follow. "NP" himself exempted his mother and no one I know complained of "special privilege" because, really, are you going to tell your elderly mother she can't smoke?

Did Christ exempt His mother from suffering at the foot of the cross?

There are two reason why I find Fr. Maciel's exception for Mama Maurita so interesting. The first is that special exceptions for the founder (or those close to him in this case) is one of the red flags canon lawyers use to determine that something is amiss in a new religious movement (click here and scroll down)..

The second reason is that many people report that Fr. Maciel was perpetually accusing the Jesuits for having lost their charism of fidelity to Rome. So how was Fr. Maciel's reaction any different than than the Jesuit response to Pope Pius XII's ban on religious smoking?

Over at the Life as a Coworker blog, Molly Hodgdon expresses excitement about her new detail as a Regnum Christi coworker. As the young lady expresses in her blog entry today (and I've kept a screen-capture for future reference):

I am assigned to Regnum Christi girls (the older teens) I will even be going to help out with the RC teams at a couple of colleges (including Steubenville) [emphasis mine] so that may be a bit intimidating at first to work with girls that are older than me! But it will also be fun to do some traveling this year :)

I have no doubt that Miss Hodgdon is a nice young lady who is eager to serve the Church through her talents. But correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't the Legion banned from Franciscan University Steubenville? (Click here).

One of the big questions readers ask in private emails is the following: What should I tell the apostolic visitator?

Only you know the answer to this question. This is because your experience with the Legion of Christ (LC) and Regnum Christi (RC) is uniquely yours. While there is much validity to the allegation that the LC/RC takes a "cookie cutter" approach to formation, you remain an individual uniquely created by God.

Having said that, here's what I suggest if you're still stuck for words:

1 - Pray first, to the Holy Spirit and Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.

2 - Tell the truth, all of it, sticking closely to your experience.

3 - Note any of the following 20 signs of trouble within a religious movement, providing examples that you witnessed. (Click here and scroll down).

A friend in Regnum Christi draws my attention to the following news release, which shows up on Marketwire complete with Legion of Christ logo:

SOURCE: Legion of Christ Aug 19, 2009 15:10 ET

Four Women Called to Serve Christ; Their Stories Available on CD

GREENVILLE, RI--(Marketwire - August 19, 2009) - Why does a woman choose consecrated life over a business career, husband and family or the opportunity to compete as a world-class athlete? The CD gives the answers.

As in Abraham's day, God continues to call, and souls continue to answer. The new CD "Count the Stars," created by the Regnum Christi consecrated women in Greenville, RI, tells the story of four women who heard that call and answered with their lives.

On the new CD, Luly Fernández and Lauren Hawkesworth both read their stories in first-person. Lisa Small reads Mary Maher's story, while Stephanie Kielhorn reads Dorrie Donahue's.

The "Count the Stars" audio book also features an original song, "Question Answered," composed by the sophomore class at Mater Ecclesiae College, the institution of higher learning where the consecrated women of Regnum Christi prepare for their life of service to the Catholic Church.

The CDs are on sale at the price of one for $15 or two for $25. For online or credit card payment options, or if you have other questions and comments, please contact Susan Girard at (401) 949-2820 or send an e-mail to msilva@inteducators.org.

For more information on both the book and the CD, visit the Mater Ecclesiae College web site at www.materecclesiae.net.

Regnum Christi, with more than 70,000 members worldwide, is the lay movement of the Legionaries of Christ.

For an interview with one of the "stars" of the CD contact:

Jim Fair
Communications Director
Legion of Christ
312-953-9864

Former Legionary of Christ exorcist Fr. Damien Karras weighs in with a new commentary here. As is typical of his blog entries, he shares a lot of inside information, which can overwhelm at first. The whole piece is worth reading, however, allow me to pull out and comment upon just a few of his insights:

The Secretary General is on a whirlwind tour of LC centers spinning the yarn that there is a basis to the Legion that was not invented by the disgraced Founder and was never contaminated by his web of secrecy and falsehood.

One cannot help but think of the baptismal promises one makes every Easter: "Do you renounce Satan and all his evil works?"

Because of its 'mystique', the Legion can and should remain untouched by the scandal of its Founder's life, the glaring questions about its internal structure and operations as a religious congregation and the lethal virus of doubt and distrust spreading silently through the ranks of its members.

This is my experience as well. The sense of "detachment" is a complaint I hear frequently from those on the inside. "Our superiors don't live in the real world," they tell me. "Their reaction to this scandal makes no sense."

Actually, it does. And it speaks to the debate over the Legion of Christ (LC) and Regnum Christi's (RC) charism. The detachment apparent among the movement's superiors is not unlike the detachment lived by the founder. Remember that the spirituality preached by Fr. Maciel was severed from the life that he lived. Remember too that the Legion's current superiors were handpicked by Fr. Maciel for their detachment; they themselves admit that they failed to notice his detachment from the doctrine that he preached. Thus Fr. Maciel imparted to his inner circle his detachment from what was real.

There's an old saying in Catholic spirituality: "One cannot give what one has not received." This is why the priest communes before the faithful during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He must first receive Christ before giving Him to the faithful.

Fr. Maciel's detachment was not Catholicism. Ours is a very real religion, existing in the physical world. What separates man from the angels is that God bound our spirit with flesh, giving our bodies five real senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch). What separates us from non-Christians is our belief that God took on this flesh for Himself, real flesh from the womb of a real virgin. And what separates us as Catholics from our protestant brethren is that God continues to grace us through the sacraments, which are real and tangible acts of God's love. Hence the reason we refer to the Eucharist as the Real Presence. Real bread and wine become the real Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, giving us the opportunity to experience God through our physical senses.

To detach oneself from the real world, as Fr. Maciel and the Legion have done, is completely contrary to the spirit of Catholicism.

At the same time, a book recently distributed internally, 'Cristo al Centro', offers an anthology of Fr. Maciel's writings and sayings - unindexed and sometimes slightly retouched - mixed with quotations from other, less dubious sources as a thinly disguised attempt to revindicate the Founder's contribution to LC spirituality. Now we can quote the Founder without mentioning his name, read some of the things he said and wrote without that direct and oh-so-uncomfortable reference to his person. They're already talking about revisiting the writings of Fr. Maciel some years down the road when all this 'persecution' has blown over...

It seems that every thousand years or so, the Church must wrestle with those Christians who profess secret knowledge. Gnosticism was the bane of the early Church, while the medieval Church faced controversy over the Knights Templar (who allegedly kept a double set of books and initiated new members through secret rites).

The Superior General has just sent an eighteen page letter meant, apparently, to motivate and strengthen the LCs in these difficult times. The meandering missive never even names the problems that are rocking the congregation to its core and basically offers three bits of advice to its confused, anguished and frustrated priests: pray, don't read the newspapers and trust the superiors.

Thus Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, the Legion's current General Director, continues to pass on what he received from Fr. Maciel. This cannot but speak to the debate over the Legion's charism. The time has come for the LC/RC to get real.

UPDATE: Damian Thompson also weighs in on the controversy, over at the London Telegraph blog.

****
Cassandra Jones, one of the most insightful commentators on the Fr. Maciel expose, is back. This time Cassandra tackles how this crisis with the Legion of Christ is hurting the papal legacy of John Paul II. (For an earlier blog on this topic, please click here.) I've quoted some of Cassandra's more pithy observations:

The circus nevertheless threatens to distract from the issue more important than Father Maciel's personal depravity, which, if not fully, we knew about already: accounting for the damage the Legionaries have done to the Church. What interests me is how the scandal now threatens to derail the legacy of Pope John Paul II.

[snip]

What the Legionaries used to say in their vile and dishonest attempt to discredit [Hartford Courant reporter Jason] Berry's triumphantly vindicated journalism, that he is an enemy of the pope, was distortedly true insofar as Berry has expressed unsympathy for orthodox Catholic understanding in some matters. To have decoupled truth from Gospel witness in its members is one aspect of the disaster the Legionaries have inflicted on the Church. The National Catholic Register used the same voice both to proclaim pro-life and their loyalty to John Paul and to lie in defense of a serial child rapist.

Cassandra is right. Without some serious evidence to corroborate accusations that John Paul II was aware of the situation, we ought not allow this scandal to undermine our affection for the late pope. However, we must recognize that he was not perfect, and that he made a serious mistake in trusting Fr. Maciel.

Moreover, Legion apologists should recognize that they are doing themselves, orthodox Catholics and the memory of Pope John Paul II a great disservice in invoking the pope's approval.

While ExLC was translating the latest news to come from Spain (click here) and Giselle was surveying Regnum Christi membership decline in local sections (click here), I thought I would take a moment to poke through alleged LC constitutions available on Wikileak. (As an aside, has anyone heard from Cassandra or Fr. Damien Karras concerning recent allegations?)

I won't go into the Legion's structure, or ask why they include regulations on how to properly tip one's soup bowl when dining. Rather, what stood out to me in glancing through the documents was the following hagiography of Mama Maurita, venerated among LC/RC as Fr. Maciel's mother. In fact, the movement is currently pushing her cause for beatification:

Historical material pertaining to Our Founder

472. To gather historical material pertaining the family of Our Founder, especially Mama Maurita [the mother of Marcial Maciel Degollado], the instrument chosen by God to give life to Nuestro Padre and to prepare the earth in which his vocation as a Christian, a priest and the Founder of the Legion of Christ would germinate.[emphasis mine]

473. We consider it appropriate at this time to inform you that the Commission for the Cause of the Beatification of Mama Maurita has now been put in place and will in time be releasing information on the steps which it has been taking. Meanwhile, the Chapter Fathers invite our legionary brothers to intensify their prayers so that God may grant us the grace of seeing in the not too distant future Mama Maurita placed on altars, for the good of the Church, of the Legion and of the Movement.

Okay, anybody else troubled by this?

Not to say Fr. Maciel's mother wasn't a holy woman. She may or may not have been - I don't know and that's not where I'm going here. However, whatever her level of sanctity, does she deserve the same to messianic hagiography as the Blessed Mother, who prepared the way for Christ? Especially given that Fr. Maciel ended his life a disgrace to the Church.

The contemporary Church doesn't even use this type of messianic language for St. Monica, who bore St. Augustine - a great convert, confessor, father and doctor of the Church, not to mention founder of the institute bearing his name. However, in Advent-like narrative, Mama Maurita was uniquely chosen by God to prepare the earth for and give birth to Fr. Maciel!

Suddenly, I understand why Fr. Maciel compared himself to Christ suffering on the cross in silence when the Holy See invited him to retire to a life of prayer and penance.

I'm wondering whether Rob Zombie will announce that his next film project is a biography of Fr. Maciel...

Yesterday's El Mundo, which I am told by Hispanic readers is Spain's second-most-widely read newspaper, and which carried the original interview with the mother of Fr. Maciel's daughter, has just published a new article alleging that the Fr. Maciel illegitimate children count is up to twelve. ExLCBlog has an English translation here.

The only positive is that at least nobody is accusing Fr. Maciel of sending his concubines off to the abortuary. Of course, who knows what new allegations will arise tomorrow?

The French have saying that whoever eats of the pope will choke on him. This saying comes to mind as I survey those questioning the canonization process of Pope John Paul II in light of recent revelations about Fr. Maciel's "double life." The secular press and certain anti-papist strains within protestant fundamentalism aren't the only ones questioning the appropriateness of John Paul II's potential canonization. Adding their voice to the chorus this week are CrunchyCon's Rod Dreher and Renew America and Liberal Traditionalist blogmeister Eric Giunta.

For the record, I believe Pope John Paul II probably was not aware of the evidence against Fr. Maciel. Given what we know about JPII, I put the odds of him knowing and not doing anything about it (and in fact continuing to praise Fr. Maciel publicly as an excellent example for youth) at about the same percentage as several young women, independently and years apart from each other, breaking into the hospital room of an elderly priest-founder and stealing his semen to impregnate themselves.

Possible? Yes. Probable? I'd sooner bet on the state lottery.

Having said that, this incident may still slow down Pope John Paul II's canonization process. Because of the nature of canonization, it's important that we know everything we can about the late Supreme Pontiff. Especially when allegations are as high-profile as those concerning Fr. Maciel. Thus the devil's advocate will have his job cut out for him.

Nevertheless, over at the other end of the Church spectrum, some LC/RC supporters are still using the pope to try and shut down discussion of their movement's charism. A recent example of this comes from Mark Polo in the comments section of the AmericanPapist blog. Mr. Polo writes:

The charism is not the same as the founder. The charism is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which at this point, is guaranteed by the Church in its approval of the Constitutions. While this is not an infallible act of Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict would be fully free to make changes or even remove this approval of the Church entirely, the assumption at this point has to be in favor of the validity of the charism. Any other attitude is really moving away from the respect that is due the Holy Father. (If we can decide that John Paul II was obviously wrong about this matter, and abused his power as Pope to approve these Constitutions, the next step is to start questioning everything else the Holy Father says. This is not a road I want to see people going down.)

Others commentators have refuted his errors in logic, so I'll set those aside for now. The road that ought to be avoided is that of eating of the pope by continuing to invoke an approval of one's founder and movement that was gained through deception of the founder's piety. This was the deception used to gain papal approval, to provide oneself with the cover of Catholic orthodoxy, and persecute the founder's victims while silencing the movement's legitimate critics.

That being said, I am sure that many orthodox Catholics like myself, who are part of the Pope John Paul II generation of Catholic activists, will continue to defend our pope during this time. This is not to say, however, that we will be silenced by the mere mention of Pope John Paul II's name, or that in his name our anger toward the LC/RC will dissipate.

Unlike other attacks against Pope John Paul II, this recent volley was completely avoidable. HAD THE REST OF THE CHURCH KNOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT FR. MACIEL. The controversy also could be cut short by the LC/RC coming forward with the truth and apologizing to Fr. Maciel's victims.

Nevertheless, Fr. Maciel and his movement chose to invoke the pope as shield against serious allegations concerning the founder's proclivity towards violations of the Sixth Commandment. An example of this can be seen in Sandro Magister's 2003 interview with Father Miguel Cavallé Puig, LC - a Spaniard who at the time was part of the LC's general secretariat (click here). In responding to former LC seminarians who accused Fr. Maciel of sexual impropriety, Fr. Puig states: "the true target of the accusations is not so much Father Maciel, but the church, and the pope."

In short, Fr. Puig, like his founder Maciel, ate of the pope in the name of the movement. And for all we know, the movement may have bitten off a chunk of the Holy Spirit in proposing Maciel's mother - Mama Maurita - for potential canonization. Do we have any outside corroboration of holiness and heroic virtue? Is anyone outside the LC/RC putting forward her cause? (Unlike the case of Gabrielle Lefebvre, whose cause has always been independent of the SSPX, Mama Maurita's cause appears completely driven by the LC/RC and its supporters)

And thus the LC/RC finds itself choking on the very lie which it ate. Yet the movement's supporters continue biting off more chunks of the pope, warning others of choking hazards in an attempt to stop them from noticing that the movement is choking.

Please, dear LC/RC member, I beg you. For the sake of Maciel's victims, for the sake of your own members, for the sake of the Church and Pope John Paul II supporters embarrassed by your founder's lies, please come forward now with the truth. You've eaten of the pope. So please cough up the truth and stop the choking.

I'm off to the in-laws for supper, but there's lots of good discussion on the Legion of Christ (LC) and Regnum Christi (RC) on other blogs:

1 - Life After RC has posted LC communication director Jim Fair's statement on recent revelations from Spanish-language new sources. You can read the statement here. Some commentators have asked whether the LC have a communication strategy. Sadly, in reading this statement it appears that the Legion has adopted the Clinton strategy during the Monica Lewinsky scandal (minus the heartbreaking apology after it had dragged on for a while): Admit only small bits of information at a time, and only after the media uncovers it first.

2 - Quoting from what appears to be LC constitutions, Pat Madrid asks: Who was Fr. Maciel's moderator?

3 - Former LC priest Fr. James Farfaglia, who now pastors a Catholic parish in Texas, asks some pointed questions of current LC chief tomato Fr. Alvaro Corcuerra, L.C. here.

4 - Saving the best for last, ExLC blogger Landon Cody has blogged a pithy reflection on this past week. Chief among his insights, in my opinion, is the following:

The unfortunate part of all of this disaster is the fact that the day to day rules and regulations in the Legion and the Movement, the spirituality focus, and the identifying characteristics of the "Legionary Type" radicate in the pathological behavior of a man who created an institute where he could exercise complete power and control with no oversight or accountability, and live a life diametrically opposed to that of the gospel. The key is that the very institute and its rules and way of life was what permitted him to live this life on the margin of clerical respectability while using the typical modus operandi of an abuser: the search for complete power and manipulation. At the same time, the mirror image of this depravity of control became the Legion of Christ: an institute designed with a centralized, top to bottom control structure that Maciel micro managed and taught his successors to micro manage, complete with more rule books and norms and detailed minutia than any other order, congregation, or religious institute in the history of the Catholic Church.

Cody's entire reflection is well worth a read, as is the ensuing the blog discussion. You can check it out here.

When the Fr. Maciel story first broke, I went on record publicly stating that the Legion of Christ (LC) and Regnum Christi (RC) could continue without renouncing its founder. I assumed at the time, based upon the American reaction of Fr. Thomas Berg, Tom Hoopes, Jay Dunlap and others of like mind, that the LC/RC would renounce the founder's example (which is different than renouncing the founder), apologize to his victims and offer them restitution. And to their credit many of the movement's American membership followed Fr. Berg's example in doing so.

What I did not expect (at least after the first month) is for the movement's upper echelons to try and carry on "business as usual". After all, their modus operandi is what landed the LC/RC in so much scalding tequila to begin with. Which is why I puzzle at this recent Spanish-language interview with Lucrecia Rego, the founder of Catholic.net and a high-profile Regnum Christi member from Mexico. She remains one of Fr. Maciel's most ardent apologists, having declared herself "Maciel's other [spiritual] daughter" when the scandal first broke.

Life After RC has posted an unofficial translation here, of which I found the following excerpt troubling for two reasons: 1) It offers us a glimpse into the mindset of some of the movement's higher echelons; 2) In attempting to defend Fr. Maciel, the interview confirmed my gut feeling that the LC/RC can only survive as a Catholic institution by completely renouncing their founder.

Anyway, read the following and draw your own conclusions:

What's your opinion on the performance of the current leaders: Alvaro Corcuera, Luis Garza, Evaristo Sada? Do you agree with their having treacherously hidden these truths, deceiving the legionaries, and becoming accomplices themselves of the sins of the founder?

Lucrecia - To accuse the Fathers of such things is nonsense. No one is obliged to reveal another person's sins. On the contrary, they would've been traitors had they revealed them. The fact that they kept it secret is a sign not of complicity, but of their faithfulness, fondness and respect. There's nothing to complain to them about.

Jesus Christ gravely condemned the sin of scandal. Don't you consider it scandalous that Fr. Maciel, being a priest, had a daughter, and that he then diverted vast sums of money from the Legion to provide for her?

Lucrecia - First of all, I must say that I find the whole story of the alleged daughter of Nuestro Padre to be quite implausible. An elderly many of 68... it's very difficult at that age to even be capable of having a sexual relationship.

But let's suppose it's true... that, yes, the woman seduced him and was able to achieve (who knows by what means) said relationship and conception. Following this supposition, we cannot know the degree of culpability of neither the woman nor the priest because we don't know the circumstances. Thus, there's no scandal, because we don't even know if the act meets the conditions to be a sin (full knowledge and full consent).

About the "large sums of money" that is said Fr. Maciel gave the mother of the girl... the press has mentioned the amounts of $5,000 to $10,000, which Fr. Maciel carried with him now and then. Are 10,000 dollars given now and then a scandalous amount to provide for a family? Absolutely not. It's barely enough to ensure that the child (who has no guilt in the story) gets clothing, a home, food, and an education in a place that is dignified and decent. What we do know is that Nuestro Padre worked much for the Legion and that, humanly speaking, he had every right (as laborer and director of an enterprise) to dispose of some money for his personal expenses (in this case, providing for this implausible family).

Fr. Maciel's apologists will tell us not to judge Fr. Maciel, citing Our Lord's injunction in the Gospel of St. Matthew, but Lucrecia appears to have judged the mother of Fr. Maciel's daughter either a liar or a seductress. This is as far from Fr. Berg's reaction (even before leaving) as one can get. And while we're on the topic of Fr. Berg, Lucrecia also sends some charity his way:

Fr. Thomas Berg has declared that the Legion must renounce its founder in order to survive. What do you think of these statements?

Lucrecia - What can I tell you? Fr. Thomas is free to express his opinion, and I am no one to judge him. It saddens me, yes, that he'd express himself in such manner about Our Father Founder and of our current directors, because he, having been 23 years in the Legion, is who he is only thanks to the Legion, which wouldn't exist had Fr. Maciel not founded it. I think he should show some gratitude, regardless of how disappointed he might feel.

What we see here in my opinion is the movement's institutionalization of Fr. Maciel's narcissism. It's not the Holy Spirit, the Church or the intercession of St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother that made Fr. Berg who he is. Neither the saints nor the Church's teaching. It's Fr. Maciel and the Legion, this high-profile RC member asserts. Was it in Fr. Maciel's name that the bishop laid hands on Fr. Berg and raised him to holy orders? You get the point. Everything still centers around Fr. Maciel and the LC/RC, and the LC/RC only insofar as they center around Fr. Maciel. Outside of Maciel's reach no salvation. Lost vocation, sure damnation.

This is why the LC/RC must sever themselves completely from Fr. Maciel. Since the Legion likes to invoke catchy Latin phrases, Roman military imagery, and thoughts of subjection to Rome, give serious consideration to the ancient Roman practice of damnatio memoriae.

Over the past week, several Regnum Christi members (both current and past) have shared with me their heart-wrenching experiences as more accusations arise against Fr. Maciel. Most of these Catholic are mothers of families, although some fathers and singles have written me as well. The big question, I keep hearing, is the following: What do we do to help those left behind, those who refuse to believe any of the allegations, and who don't want to discuss the truth?

Simply put, we pray for them. That's all we can do. They have had over six months to digest what's happening, and to make sense of this information. If they still are not ready to do so, or if they have done so and arrived at a conclusion different than your own, or wish to await the outcome of the apostolic visitation, then we must respect their consciences. Perhaps some may still change their minds, at which point they will come to you.

However, don't remain idle until then. Here is something else you can - and should - do. That something is to become a cofounder and formator to the family God gave you. Your family is your first priority before God. Spend more time with them, enjoy their company and lead them to Christ.

God works in mysterious ways and the message to focus on family was hammered home to me on at least four occasions this week:

1 - The first was Tuesday evening when many of the new accusations against Fr. Maciel were still breaking. I was tempted to work on it well into evening, given the queries I had received, but my wife was physically exhausted. She has held the family together for the past six weeks while I was away doing ministry for all of July and then catching up with my day-to-day apostolate upon my return in August. So she and the baby went to bed, and the other kids and I went to the auto races like I had promised them.

I used the time driving to and from the racetrack to pray several decades of the rosary with my children, teaching my three-year-old the words to the Hail Mary. Come Wednesday morning, the LC/RC still had its problems. However, my wife was feeling rested, my children were telling all their friends what a good time they had, and my three-year-old was running around in a pull-up praying to the Blessed Mother.

LESSON: You have one priority as a parent when it comes to apostolate. That's your family. Become a cofounder with Christ to the family God has blessed you with.

2 - Had a short conversation sometime this week with a friend of mine who use to dabble with schismatic traditionalism. He has since returned to the Church, but we spent years hammering each other online. However, our conversation this week had nothing to do with traditionalism. We simply exchanged pointers for ministry among friends and family, how to bring them closer to Christ despite the challenges of today's culture, and how to overcome personal hurts to evangelize. He signed off telling me how spiritually rewarding it felt to be a father to his children, introducing them to their prayers and Church teaching. This is something he never felt as a keeper of liturgical minutiae. Nevertheless, the arguments we engaged in a decade ago are still waging, despite the fact neither of us participates in them any more.

LESSON: There will always be a surplus of apostolate in the outside world, as well as religious arguments and people willing to argue them. So don't neglect your immediate family and friends.

3 - My parish pastor approached me about starting a catechetical program for young married couples in the parish. "You write for every Catholic publication in Canada and the United States promoting family," he said. "And you travel all over the place promoting family. But young couples and families in our parish are falling away from the practice of the faith because I have nobody to put together a family religious education program in the parish you attend every week with your own family." Point well taken.

LESSON: If there's not enough apostolate in your family to keep you busy, there's plenty in your local parish.

4 - I was reading one of St. John Chrysostom's homilies on the New Testament after having read several messages from people discussing how much pressure they had felt to send their children to apostolic schools, or enroll them in this or that apostolate directed toward young people. "Don't leave your children's spiritual education to monks," the Church father and doctor said, before exhorting parents to raise their children in the ways of the Lord.

LESSONS: A) There is much spiritual wisdom and advice in the saints and Church fathers that you can rediscover in your free time. 2) The Church has always recognized parents as the primary educators of their children, particularly in spiritual matters. Don't neglect your own children's religious education to boost your checkmarks on the apostolic deeds column.

In the end, pray for those who are taking the news hard, and keep a shoulder open for them to cry on when they need it. However, do a careful examination of your current priorities when it comes to apostolate and the prioritization of your time. Your family should come first. You should first become a cofounder to the family God gave you. This is what Christ has called you to do.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - Jesus, (John 8:32)

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" - Jesus, (John 14:6)

Both of Our Lord's sayings come to mind as I ponder recent revelations concerning Fr. Maciel. What's damaging to the Legion is not the revelations themselves. Reasonable people, Catholic or not, have long ago concluded Fr. Maciel was a fraud and a scoundrel. So what's damaging to the Legion is that they were not more forthcoming with the truth about their founder, or with an apology to his numerous victims.

In a word, the scandal here is the coverup. The attempted coverup, for so many years, is why the Legion appears so helpless as the facts unfold.

Two autumns ago, while camouflaged in the Northern Ontario wilderness waiting for a bear to sniff out day-old doughnuts at the foot of the tree-stand, I read a report of a true exorcism. It had taken place around the turn of the 20th Century. I believe the report was written by a priest who played a role in the exorcism.

The possessed was like most LC/RC members I have met during my lifetime. She was a devout Catholic, she prayed her rosary regularly, and she had a strong desire to receive the sacraments and grow in holiness. But something stood in the way of her spiritual growth.

That something was a devil (ironically, when pushed by the priest to name himself, I believe the devil claimed to be the Legion who Christ confronted in the Gospels) along with the condemned soul of the possessed's father. The latter was an immoral scoundrel in life, who had attempted to rape his own daughter. When she rebuffed his incestuous advances, he cursed her to the devil. And upon his death he joined the devil in his daughter's possession. Thus even in death the father continued to impede his daughter's relationship with Christ.

Why do I mention this? Besides the obvious metaphor, another important bit of information was revealed during the actual exorcism. The exorcist began casting out devil and demon, but they entrenched themselves even more strongly in the woman's body. They then made it known that they wouldn't leave without a fight. Thus they attempted to sow discord among the exorcist and his human assistants by blurting out their past sins.

Shocked, one of the assistants asked the devil why he hadn't mentioned a major sin in the assistant's life. Apparently the sin was known in the community.The devil resisted answering the question, if I recall correctly, until the exorcist ordered him to do so in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Because you have confessed it before the priest and received absolution," the devil said. "Those sins are cut off to me."

In other words, we may bear temporal consequences for our sins even after confessing them, but they are cut off to the devil. The evil one can only hold power over us through that evil in our lives that remains unconfessed before God. Thus Christ really is the truth, and truth really will set you free.

Now analogies can only carry so far, and I would be a fool to claim that every member of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi is possessed by the devil. Heck, it would be just as foolish for me to claim the majority (or even a large minority) are possessed. However, although far from an expert in demonology and exorcism, I believe the Legion of Christ as an entity may be haunted by a demon. This demon may be spiritual, or it may be psychological, or perhaps it is both. I'm not an expert, I don't know.

But this demon is Fr. Maciel. As long as the truth of his sins remains hidden, the devil will continue to hold a certain power over the Legion and Regnum Christi, working the evil of Fr. Maciel's sins in the shadows, and impeding the spiritual growth of the Fr. Maciel's spiritual children.

There is but one means to expel this demon: Embrace the truth and make it known. Renounce Fr. Maciel, his sins, and his influence over the movement. (And part of this process must include an apology to Fr. Maciel's victims, along with offers of restitution.) Embrace the truth, embrace Christ who is the truth, and use the truth to bring freedom to countless members of LC/RC seeking sincerely to serve Christ.

My heart is broken as I contemplate recent media reports surfacing from the Spanish-speaking world over Fr. Maciel's children. It is broken for his children, their mothers, his victims, and members of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi now digesting this new information. It is heartbroken for Pope Benedict XVI who bears the burden of sorting out this mess within a divided orthodox Catholic movement.

One thing we call all do right now, from the Legion's most ardent apologists to it's most vociferous critics - and everyone in between - is pray for Pope Benedict XVI and the apostolic visitators. Pray that God gives them the grace to discern a solution equitable to all parties, and one that will heal current divisions without compromising truth.

St. Joseph presents the perfect intercessor for this intention. He is foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, whose name the Legion claim. He is also the protector of the universal Church, the universal protector of family and the virtue of chastity, and a perfect example of manly virtue.

Toward this intention, I've started another novena to St. Joseph facebook group, where all sides to this debate can gather to pray that God's will be done in the months ahead. To join, please click here.

A discussion is brewing on Life After RC about Fr. Maciel's child(ren) possibly inheriting the Legion's property. Unfortunately, in death, as in life, Maciel's legacy remains a tortured mess to navigate.

The issue would be simple if Maciel had owned and run a business like any other during his life. His child(ren) would inherit his property as well as his share in the business.

However, an institute of consecrated life is not a business. It's a highly-public spiritual work of the Church. Its property does not belong to the individual who founded it, but to the Church. So from a strict canonical perspective, Maciel's mistress and daughter would have rights against the Legion as victims, but not as inheritors.

Secondly, as Church property, all spending on the part of the Legion must conform to the intention of the donors.

In canon law, the "intention of the donors" when it comes to managing ecclesiastical goods is almost as sacrosanct as the inviolability of the sacrament of confession. Donations are to be used according to the intentions expressed by the donors in making the donation.

The reason this issue is treated so seriously is because the Church lives and dies by the donations of the faithful. No donations, no apostolate. Clergy and religious take vows or promises of poverty, but they still need to eat, sleep and have access to the basic necessities of life. If the donation process is called into question, or falls into disrepute, then everyone is hurt as the faithful become wary about donating to the Church.

So....the Church does not mess around with the intention of donors.

Having said that, it is doubtful that the majority of faithful donated to Fr. Maciel and the Legion with the intention of contributing to a luxurious upkeep of his mistress(es) and child(ren). Rather, although I have no statistic or empirical evidence to back me up on this point, I would imagine most probably donated to Fr. Maciel with the intention of "furthering the apostolate" of the Legion's spiritual undertakings. Thus it was probably donated with assumption that the money was not going to Maciel personally, but to the Legion.

Therefore, from the perspective of the Church, the money and property belongs to the Legion (and not Fr. Maciel) to be administered according to the intentions of the donors. This is why the Church cannot simply turn a chunk over to Maciel's mistress(es) and child(ren) as an inheritance.

That being said, what about the natural rights and inheritance of Maciel's daughter as his daughter? Keep in mind she is not suppose to exist as siring children contravenes the promise of chastity Fr. Maciel made prior to his ordination. Hence the great mess as her rights as inheritor clash with the rights of the Catholic faithful as donors.

I don't know the answer, except to pray for Pope Benedict who has a real mess on his hands to sort out.

ExLC has blogged the Spanish article here, and is translating it into English as we speak. Head on over to his blog. She appear to claim that her relationship with Fr. Maciel began when she was still a minor. Here's the first paragraph as translated by ExLC:

"I would have never chosen this path for my life...When I met this man, I was under aged. Neither my daughter nor I knew who this man really was until the very end." It is the first time that Norma Hilda Baños puts her story in words, and with these words, the long guarded secret, the sin which pursues her, finally takes shape. Thinking about it brings tears to her eyes. The Cronica found her in her sanctuary, in a luxurious residential area of Madrid, Spain. She seems to be taken aback. Dialogue is not easy. Beyond the opening, which stretches out from the doorway, there is a space of 3,500 square feet. She has live here for years with her daughter. The home has no husband or father. It has never had one. Her daughter is the fruit of a prohibited relationship. Who knows what kind of stories this woman had to invent when asked about the father of her child? Anything but telling the feared truth: he was the founder of the Legion of Christ, Fr. Marcial Maciel, who left her pregnant when she was 26 years old.

If true - and at this point, I believe the balance of probabilities leans greatly toward the accuser - the only way forward for LC/RC leadership is to finally admit that Fr. Maciel was an abuser (and not simply that he gave in during a moment of weakness), renounce his influence as founder, and publicly apologize and offer reparation to his victims.

For some time I've been meaning to start a group for people interested in praying a perpetual novena to St. Joseph. Thanks to Facebook, the group is now up and running. You can join by clicking here or by simply praying the following traditional prayer to St. Joseph each morning:

O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen