A reader asked me what I make of Danielle Bean’s commentary on the Legion of Christ over at the Faith & Family blog (click here). Erin Manning has posted an excellent response here, while Giselle breaks down Danielle’s argument as follows:
1. MM did some very bad things;
2. MM’s congregation gives us lots of money;
3. We do good things with that money;
4. We don’t account for his bad deeds, only our good works;
5. Therefore, don’t worry about the connexion; the pope will figure it out.
My own thoughts? I don’t doubt Danielle’s sincerity in pointing to – in her words – “the good things we do at Faith & Family, the dedicated men I know who are Legionary priests, and the many good men and women I know who are members of Regnum Christi.” However, in reflecting upon this argument, I am reminded of Our Lord’s encounter with the demoniac of Ger’asenes:
And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” (Mark 5:9)
Notice two things about this encounter:
- Although the Bible provides several names for Lucifer and his fallen angels, “Legion” is the only name in Holy Scripture that these evil spirits give themselves.
- The evil spirits boast of their great numbers.
As Christians we stand not upon great numbers. We stand upon Christ. We stand upon the truths of His teaching. This is clear from chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. Driven by personal need, a multitude witnessed and partook in the miracle of loaves and fishes. Only twelve remained after Jesus preached difficult truths. And one of the remainder was a devil, the evangelist reminds us.
But to quote Simon Peter in verse 68: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”