UPDATE:
– Mouse from AmP (Deirdre Mundi) is blogging again this afternoon and she deconstructs two myths of Legion/RC supporters: 1) God writes strait with crooked lines; 2) God brings good out of evil.
– A saint yells at a pederast? (and nobody notices?)
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Very busy today with other projects. However, there’s a lot going on for readers looking to make sense of the Legion of Christ/ Regnum Christi scandal:
– If found out late last night that the Jason Berry interview with Anderson Cooper had been postponed again due to the health-care debate. As soon as I find out what the new date is, I will let you know.
– Possible Changobeer sighting in the comments section of Eric Sammons’s blog. (Hat tip to Jane for mentioning this in yesterday’s post indexing of Changobeer’s blog).
– John Allen is back! He’s mounted a vigorous defense of Pope Benedict’s handling of the sex abuse crisis involving Europe and the Legion. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the National Catholic Reporter leading Pope Benedict’s defense against his secular critics.
– Aaron whacks a troll over at Erin’s blog, explaining his attempt to report to local police the abuse he [allegedly] suffered as a minor in the Legion.
– Let us join Giselle in praying to St. Joseph, Protector of the Universal Church, as the next stage of the apostolic visitation begins. (Click here).
– Nat has put together an interesting blog attempting to untangle the Holy See’s request to untangle the Legion from Maciel. (Click here).
– Bonum posts a letter from a grateful mother to her bishop, for helping her and her husband rescue their son from a Legion apostolic school. The mother lists several serious allegations against Maciel and the methology her son was subjected to. (Click here).
Tag: abuse
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Developing over at Erin’s blog:
Monk wrote: “Recently, I quoted John Paul 11 as saying: ‘you resemble the company you keep.’ […] RC seems new to these environs – and has managed to raise more than a few hackles. However, the substance of his remarks is bang on. He is well worth listening to – especially now before he ends up resembling the company he keeps!”
Red Cardigan wrote: “RC, you keep missing the forest for the trees. I’m not sure, given what you wrote about the ‘Gaia-worship’ example, that you even understand what an analogy is. I’m also not sure if you aren’t just a really annoying troll–you’re beginning to seem like one.”
Troll, formerly known as RC said: “Trolls ask inconvenient questions and point out flaws in thinking, especially those of analogies that don’t work.”
Lauretta said: “Would you like to tell Aaron Loughery from Ireland that there is no proof of Legion sex abuse? He is the one the stated that he was sexually abused, the man who abused him was sexually abused by a Legion priest, that man was abused by a Legion priest, who was in turn abused by a Legion priest who was abused by Maciel.” [To read Aaron’s allegations, click here and here].
TROLL said:
Aaron Loughery is a coward.
If he had any integrity, he would press charges, and let whoever was accused mount a defense in a proper court of law that would determine his guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt.
Instead, he mounts a whispering campaign, and you gossipers willingly participate. Where is that angel with the flaming coal to purify all your mouths?
Sandro Magister: LC trying to preserve positive image of Maciel
Many speculate about the future of the Legion of Christ and what the AV will hold, but few do so with the accuracy and credibility of Vatican correspondent Sandro Magister. Has he published even one prediction concerning the Legion that has not come to fruition? So his observations are always taken seriously by Vatican watchers – both inside and outside the Holy See.
This observation, from a piece Magister published today, scares me:
Priests and seminarians who until very recently were steeped in the writings attributed to Maciel will have difficulty finding new sources of inspiration, not generic but specific to their order. The current leaders of the congregation aren’t helping, either. On the contrary. One of Maciel’s former personal secretaries, Fr. Felipe Castro, together with other priests of the Legion, has worked in recent months to select from among the founder’s many letters a group of letters to be “saved” for the future, to keep a positive image of Maciel alive.
The dependence of the Legionaries on Maciel was – and for many still is – absolute. There wasn’t a shred of daily life that escaped the rules he dictated. Absurdly exacting rules. Which prescribed, for example, how to sit at the table, how to use a napkin, how to swallow, how to eat chicken without using one’s hands, how to debone a fish.
But this was nothing compared to the control exercised over consciences. The handbook for the examination of conscience at the end of the day was 332 pages long, with thousands of questions.
The whole piece is well worth reading. You can do so by clicking here.
Maciel manipulated Mormon methodology?
As I was taking out the trash this morning, I was struck by reader Patrice Becker’s observation in the combox yesterday: “The ‘unique methodology’ supposedly developed by Father Maciel was almost an carbon copy of the Latter Days Saints community methodology. Having lived amongst Mormons for over nine years, I recommend every RC member read Judy Robinson’s book Out of Mormonism to discover Fr. Maciel’s methodology is not unique at all.”
Okay, I don’t know Patrice personally, so I cannot vouch for the reader’s alleged experiences with Legion priests or Mormon bishops. However, I have read Robinson’s Out of Mormonism in addition to Andrea Moore-Emmett’s God’s Brothel. I definitely see some striking similarities in methodology between Maciel and Mormonism. From the focus on programming and recruitment, to the sometimes blurry lines between church and business, to the way the head of the Mormon structure is practically worshiped. This is making sense. Way too much sense. Thanks Patrice.
Hartford Courant – 13 years after Breaking the Silence
Many Catholics now tuning into the Maciel scandal, as well as many who have followed the scandal over the past few years, keep hearing references to Jason Berry, Gerald Renner and their investigative journalism for the Hartford Courant that first broke Maciel’s “double life” to English-speaking audiences. While doing some research this morning, I came across an online reprint of the story – including some images of the original publication.
The article was published 13 years ago under the title Breaking the Silence: Head of Worldwide Catholic Order Accused of History of Abuse. Most of you are aware already of the controversy it would spark. Many have read the Legion’s subsequent responses to the story, as well as Renner and Berry’s responses to the responses. But have you read the original story?
This is your opportunity to do so. Please click here.