Time Magazine has weighed in on last week's scandal involving the Legion of Christ and allegations Maciel molested his eight-year-old son. Particularly pointed in the concluding paragraph:
While the Legion's website message last week was sympathetic to Lara and her sons, the order made a point of exposing José Raúl González's private demand earlier this year that the Legion pay him $26 million to keep quiet about his father's sexual abuse. The order insists it did not pay, suggesting that as the motive for the tell-all radio interview. Masferrer says the Legion has also circulated reports that Maciel was surrounded by exorcists in his final days, suggesting that his immoral acts were the work of demons and not the priest. That's a Hail Mary ploy at best. And it does little to obscure the fact that it's up to Benedict now to decide whether Padre Maciel's Legion is itself possessed of enough demons to warrant more severe penance.
To read the entire article, please click here.
Shut. It. Down. As 'Back to Basics' pointed out on Jo's blog the Legion is like the vine that did not respond to the efforts of the vinedressers in Luke 13:
`Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
At the time Fr Maciel was sent away to live a life of prayer and penitence, the Pope made it very clear that he was disgraced. Yet merciful like God, the Vatican did not order the dissolution of the order and movement created by Fr Maciel. He told us, that 'apart from the founder' the Legion and Regnum Christi are good. The chance was given for LC/RC to separate themselves from this pedophile whose life of lies was known at that time to the Vatican and to key people in the Legion. Was the Legion obedient to the clear decree of the Pope? NO.
Yet in February last year, after the scandal was made even more public in such a way that the Legion could not continue to deny it, a further year was given for the Legion to clean their own house and begin to bear true fruits for the Church. Sadly it has failed to do this. The fruits borne in the last 12 months have been confusion, scandal, calumny, impenitence and arrogance.
The poisoned tree bears only poisoned fruit; the good branches grafted onto the poison tree slowly begin to bear fruit that is more and more poisonous, albeit shiny and pretty.
Though main stream media usually does a poor job reporting church related issues, this TIME article is actually pretty good. Imagine seeing this level of reporting in any local diocesan newspaper. Don't hold your breath.
Its amazing how some people have such a shallow perspective.
Being Irish I have seeing my fair share of scandals within the catholic church and not just in Ireland, where priests have fathered children.
Not that I condone the reported behaviour of the legion, in any shape or form, but should we really condemn the legion and if so should we condemn the catholic church as a whole, let's face if we compare the reported sins of the legion in comparison to the reported sins of the church, in which direction to you think the scales would tip?
"if we compare the reported sins of the legion in comparison to the reported sins of the church, in which direction to you think the scales would tip?"
Answer: The Legion
Stephen, I would invite you to go back through the archives of this blog as well as Life-After-RC.com and read past discussions of the comparisons between the Legion and the Church.
The comparison simply doesn't work. First, the Church was founded by Christ for our salvation, while the Legion was founded by Maciel to feed his lusts and perversions.
Second, there's a difference between churchmen not living up to the standard set by the founder, and a founder who perverts and corrupts the standard set by Christ.
Lastly, Maciel's supporters appear too focused on themselves, too sure of their innocence, and have yet to offer a full and satisfactory apology to victims. It's what Fr. Berg deemed the lack of introspection.
Additionally, as the then-Cardinal Ratzinger points out in a commentary upon Christ's parable about the Pharisee and the Publican, the inability to recognize or admit one's sinfulness means one closes oneself to God's grace. The Publican was closer to Christ, despite having likely committed more sins than the Pharisee, because the Publican realized he was a sinner and asked God's forgiveness. Thus he opened himself up to God's grace.
REFOUNDATION
Pete, some have said the Legion might be refounded. How would that work? If the Legion were to actually repudiate Fr. Maciel, wouldn't that be admitting that Fr. Maciel didn't impart a genuine charism of the Holy Spirit? And if that's so, what would the refoundation be based on? Can you start a congregation without a charism? It can't be enough merely that this group of priests has been formed in the same manner (especially given the manner!).
Thanks for your insight.