Legion of Christ/ Regnum Christi: November 2009 Archives

I don't normally respond to anonymous commentators who leave false email addresses while engaging in whisper campaigns. However, Anonyman (aka "Nothanks@youdonotcare.atall") provides me with an opportunity to re-visit a piece Jacqui Rapp and I co-authored after the marriage breakdown of several celebrity Catholic couples. Anonyman writes, in response to my post asking whether LC/RC can repent, the following:

The adulterous "professional" never will have to repent. He can divorce his wife with the blessing of the Church, knock up his little baby girl and stay with her for the good of the children and even apply for nullity, which some canonist quack like Vere or his ilk can't wait to grant. [cut]

I know this to be true. I am living it. Pete knows this to be true as well, but I am sure has some lame excuse. All canonists do.

This story is stupid.

I'm on record several places as to why the surge of annulments among Catholics who did not practice Church teaching in Humanae Vitae: it's the consequences of theCulture of Death. For instance, see this Catholic Light post from 2003.

But what about the breakdown (or major strain) in marriages among Catholics who accept Church teaching in Humanae Vitae? What about the breakdown in marriages between couples who practice NFP and are active in pro-life and Catholic apostolate (Which I imagine describes most of you reading this blog)?

Some whisperers will find it lame, but here's my excuse: It's taken from my experiences watching the breakdown of such marriages... As married laypeople, some people lose sight of the fact God called them to the married state, and not the consecrated or clerical state.

It's that simple. It's also tempting to overlook when one believes oneself engaged in God's work. Yet it's the reason I've dropped off the Catholic circuit and slowed down my writing apostolate since God blessed us with child number four last year. It's the reason I will blog two or three times a day for a month, then stop for months at a time. As much as I love you, dear readers, my first duty is toward my wife and children.

A couple years ago, Jacqui Rapp - who often co-authors with me on issues concerning marriage, family life, and annulments - and I, noting the breakdown of marriages involving several people in high-profile Catholic and/or pro-life apostolates, wrote the following article: Family Before Apostolate: Pro-Life Activism Begins at Home.

The article was written (originally for Catholics United for the Faith) as a conversation between Jacqui and me. One of Jacqui's more important points is the following:

As our Lord teaches in the Gospels, "The harvest is bountiful but the workers are few." It is not unusual for the few to find themselves overworked. Given the persecution of marriage and family within modern society, we can become so committed to combating the culture of death that we lose sight of our own marriages and families. This is one of the reasons the Roman Church has traditionally required her clergy to remain celibate.

Now, this is not to say that the married state is incompatible with ministry or apostolate. Personally, having a family has helped me become more compassionate, while at the same time remaining faithful to the Church's teaching in my work as a lay canonist. Being married and having children often opens us to graces and personal discoveries not previously experienced. As lay judges, both Pete and I understand certain nuances of marriage and family life that can easily be overlooked by our peers in the world of canon law who are celibate priests..

To which I responded:

In contrast, as married laymen we cannot devote the same time and effort to spreading the Gospel as that devoted by our ordained colleagues. Spouses have needs, as do children. Each of us undertakes these responsibilities toward our respective spouses and future children when we get married. The legitimate needs of spouse and children must come before the needs of our apostolic work.

Coincidentally, given that it just arrived back from the printer yesterday and is being shipped out to bookstores this week, Jacqui and I expanded this essay into the last chapter of our new book on marriage and annulments, which you can order from publisher Saint Anthony Messenger Press here.

So yes, changing diapers and plunging a toilet after my three-year-old flushed his rubber dolphin is rather lame when compared to the cloak-and-dagger excitement of taking on a codename and engaging in whisper campaigns for the Kingdom of God. But as lame as it is, it's my vocation as one called to the married state.

One of Genevieve's readers has translated an early report concerning the apostolic visitation to the Legion of Christ. You can read it here. If this report is accurate, then I find it significant for two reasons:

1 - The reason Maciel's earlier victims have not received an apology is because LC/RC leadership reportedly don't want to admit the probability of Maciel's guilt.

2 - The Holy Father is reportedly concerned that LC/RC are still following the "vow of charity" in spirit, even though His Holiness has suppressed it in law.

If both these allegations (reportedly alleged by LC rank-in-file troubled by their superiors' response to crisis) are true, then we're looking at a deeper question. Namely, are LC/RC leadership capable of repentance?

I cannot claim credit for the question. It comes from a friend of mine who asked me to preserve his anonymity, citing his ecclesiastical status as a local ordinary. He has been following the LC/RC meltdown with great interest because of the effect he feels the movement has had on the people of his diocese.

The question arose as he was telling me about about a pastoral situation he found himself in as a young priest. A successful professional wanted to divorce his wife of several years, abandon their children, and run off with his much younger assistant. My friend asked the professional to think it over, reminding him of his marriage vows and explaining the after-effect this would likely have on the couple's children. "Can you face God on Judgment Day knowing full well that you have torn your family apart for selfish reasons?" my friend asked.

However, the professional was obstinate. The spark had died in his marriage, he protested, and he was madly in love with his young assistant. "Besides," the man said, "I'm basically a good person. I volunteer at the food bank and donate my time and money to many local charities. God sees the good things that I do in this community. And speaking of God, you priests are always preaching God's forgiveness. Are you telling me now that it's a lie? That God cannot forgive me if I follow my heart, despite all the good things I do?"

My friend was stumped. How to explain to a man looking for any excuse to bolt his marriage that God could forgive him, without appearing to retreat on the importance of remaining faithful to one's marriage vows and seeking marital counseling. My friend sought advice from a more senior pastor who was experienced with these types of pastoral intervention.

The more senior pastor said: "Tell him that God can forgive him if he follows through with his plan. Then add: 'But in making this decision with full knowledge of the consequences it will bear on your family, will you be capable of repenting?'"

That is the question. (Although he could have added the following as well: "Or will you spend your life denying the consequences of your intended actions, refusing to admit you were at fault? Digging in to salve your conscience as you try to justify yourself to your children when they turn against you?")

This is the situation in which members of the LC/RC now find themselves. The good works to which they appeal does not justify the grave evil they appear to gloss over by their actions. Maciel's earlier victims are still waiting for an official apology, in public and in private. And can anyone show any attempt on the part of LC/RC officials to restore the good name of Maciel's victims?

Like many other orthodox Catholics, I was prepared to cut the Legion some slack when news first broke last January. This was a great shock to those who had previously believed Maciel to be a living saint. People needed time to absorb the news and understand its implications. However, over nine months have passed since this broke. Moreover, it now seems probable that LC/RC leadership knew about this beforehand. That's plenty of time to apologize in accordance with one's Catholic obligations, and obligation in justice as taught in every orthodox Catholic children's catechism.

And thus my question is as follows to those who, with knowledge of Maciel's probable guilt and the injustice done to his victims, continue to promote and defend the movement, citing its reported good works, while refusing to acknowledge the gravity of the injustice to Maciel's victims and the movement's responsibility to correct the situation: "If you continue along this road, will you be capable of repenting?"

And as an added question to fellow parents, should your children clue in and turn away from the movement before you do, will you be able to keep them from turning against the Church as well? Or will you be too busy engaging in apostolate, promoting your "good works" despite the naysayers?

Thanks for everyone's prayers. They're much appreciated!

I've managed to sneak away and find a location where I can access the Internet unrestricted a couple times a week. Usually my wife and I message back and forth, but tonight I wish to respond to Michelle's recent comment to this old thread. The reason being, she brings up a couple of points I have heard from other apologists of LC/RC, including a few high-profile ones.

Michelle writes:

[God] led me to RC. I joined because I fell in love with FAMILIA training.

Here's the thing. FAMILIA wasn't invented by the RC. Rather, it was taken over by the RC - the programme's founders given the boot - as reported here.

So what if the founder Maciel fell from grace? He won't be the first or last.

If it was just a matter of the founder falling from grace, this controversy would be over by now. As we have seen over the past nine months, there's some deeper issues troubling orthodox Catholics:

1 - It's become more-and-more clear that the LC/RC is an embodiement of the mindset that allowed Maciel to live his "double life". Thus the movement's charism and methodology are suspect.

2 - The lack of adequate apology or recognition of Maciel's earlier victims by the movement's leadership is very troubling, especially since the victims were for years made out to be liars by members of the movement. So orthodox Catholics recognize that the movement still owes a dept of justice to Maciel's victims.

Until these two issues are resolved, orthodox Catholics will continue to hold the entire movement as suspect. So will the world. Hence any good the LC/RC tries to accomplish will be overshadowed by the great evil perpetuated by Maciel and those who covered up for him and defended him.

Thus to answer LC/RC apologists asking: "Why can't we just focus on the movement's good works?" Good works alone won't cut it. We're Catholic, not Pelagians. As long as grave evils remain unaccounted for, the good is poisoned.