The blogger Bonum, Verum, Pulchrum sounds like someone I would normally enjoy sharing a beer with. We both like Gregorian Chant, have served in the Canadian Forces, are critical of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, share a distaste for Gangsta Rap, and are big literary admirers of JRR Tolkien. As a Northerner, I can tolerate him being from southern Ontario if he promises to keep quiet about the spring bear hunt. (Unless he supports us, in which case I’m all ears.)
However, Monsieur Bonum reveals a serious flaw in his character when he proclaims himself an unrepentant fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. For American readers, this is Canada’s equivalent to cheering for the Buffalo Bills.
For non-sports fans, Leafs fans are hockey’s equivalent to Regnum Christi members. We’re not actually sure if they’re fans of the sport. They’re always making excuses for their team’s poor performance, either by diverting the discussion to individual Leaf players or by slagging everyone else’s team. (Just substitute Montreal Canadiens for Jesuits and even the conspiracy theories match.)
So it pains me to be a good sport when it comes to theological insights proffered by a Laughs’ fan. However, Monsieur Bonum has done an excellent job contrasting the alleged practices of the Legion’s apostolic schools with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. I encourage every concerned parent to read his entry by clicking here.
In the interest of fair play, I’ll omit the “SHUT. IT. DOWN” tag for this blog. There’s no hope of making the playoffs when you’re trailing every other team in the league except the Edmonton Oilers by at least eight points.
Tag: Legionaries
Better than 72,000 souls impaled
In his response to The monk who stole juxtaposition, Monk writes:
Nor do I indulge in speculation about the “final impenitence” of MM. That, I believe is truly beyond the pale and unbecoming of someone whose opinion seems to carry some weight for so many on this and “related” blogs.
For those just tuning into the conversation, the “final impenitence” (note Monk’s use of “scare quotes”) is a reference to the Like Founder, Like Sons thread.
To answer Monk’s question, is it beyond the pale to speculate about Maciel’s visible actions alleged on his death bed? I would agree if Maciel was merely a lone individual acting out his perverse fantasies – or nightmares, when one looks at the situation through the eyes of his victims.
However, Maciel was the founder of a large religious order and its lay auxiliary. He offered the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christ his (not His) methodology as a sure means of holiness and path to eternal salvation. Let’s assume, for the sake of the argument, that LC and RC are reporting accurate membership numbers. That’s 72,000 souls who have staked their eternal fate on the spiritual path revealed to them by Maciel.
Of course nobody but God is competent to judge Maciel’s eternal destination. And given that Maciel’s canonization is unlikely in the future, we will never know in this lifetime where he ended up in the next. Let us pray that he made his peace with God in his final moments. More importantly, let us pray that his victims make their peace with God before going on to the next life.
Yet with 72,000 souls at stake, the rest of us would do well to heed Maciel’s alleged signs of deathbed impenitence. What’s beyond the pale is that we would risk losing one more soul to his methodology.
SHUT. IT. DOWN.
Catholicism is out there
Another excellent reflection by Deidre Mundy (aka Mouse at American Papist) on the whole Legion fiasco. This time she tackles the secretive nature of Maciel’s practices, as opposed to open nature of Catholic teaching. Here’s a pithy snippet:
I keep hearing that I can’t really understand RC/LC, because I’ve never been on the inside. And ex-members have blogged about secret books (some plagiarized!), books only available to members, books that were supposed to be kept hidden in back bedrooms or at retreat centers.
THIS IS NOT CATHOLICISM. We don’t have ‘secret teachings.’ There are no ‘secret books of the Benedictines.’ Heck, even the ‘secret archives’ of the Vatican aren’t really secret–they’re just poorly catalogued and you have to make an appointment to work with them (like most archives). Heck, even the ‘secret’ parts of the Mass aren’t secret. Anyone can get a Sacramentary and see the parts the priest is supposed to say silently.
Read Deidre’s entire post here. The whole ‘special knowledge from being on the inside’ reminds me of the Church’s struggle with gnosticism during the early centuries of the Church. It’s another good reason to…
SHUT. IT. DOWN.
No go for Jo
Several readers have pointed me to this post criticizing critics of the Legion, authored by Jo Flemings at the Just Jo blog. I will not slag her for venting her heart. I believe I read somewhere – though I may be mistaking her for someone else – that she and her husband are converts, that her husband is a former Protestant minister, and that together they have around a dozen kids. From glimpsing through her blog I noticed her oldest daughter graduated from Southern Catholic College, that her husband and at least one child is RC, and that one of her sons is a Legionary brother (seminarian) while another son is at the Legion’s apostolic schools. Sounds to me like she was recruited.
She seems like a sincere and prayerful Catholic mom, which is why I believe God will honor her prayers vis-a-vis the LC/RC. When He does, the scales will drop from her eyes. And Jo will likely find herself in a world of hurt. Seen it dozens of times with other sincere Catholic moms in her position – including Giselle. Nothing we tell her now can prepare her for the pain of this particular cross is revealed. When one’s children confront one with the truth about their experiences in the movement. Pray that her children not lose their faith over it.
That being said, a good fisking is in order when it comes to her reader D.A. Burke’s response to her posting:
Jo – I couldn’t agree more with your sentiments. I am currently reading “Pope Fiction” which deals with the question of how and why we can stay confidently committed to a Church that has regularly been subject to scandal, and abuse, and… has regularly overcome its own sin enough (by God’s grace) to do more good in the world, time, and eternity, than any other institution known to man.
This book was written by Pat Madrid, a dear friend of mine. In fact we even co-authored another book together on extreme forms of conservative Catholicism. When we started writing More Catholic Than the Pope, Pat was a supporter of the LC and tried to recruit me to RC. By the time the book was published, he had left RC and come to share many of my reservations of the movement. Today Pat is openly critical of Maciel, the Legion, and how the movement has treated Maciel’s victims.
Those who would have us abandon the Movement because of the grave sins of the founder would find themselves in a completely untenable position under many of our past Popes.
This is called hyperbole. Outside the Legion no salvation is not a defined dogma of the Church, despite the best attempts of Maciel and his supporters to make it one through their mantra Lost vocation, sure damnation. The Church can exist without the Legion of Christ or Regnum Christi. The Church existed for 19 hundred centuries without either movement. Thousands of saints were canonized without the intervention of Maciel. Dozens among the Jesuits alone.
On the other hand, Maciel’s death reportedly showed all the visible signs of final impenitance – which Catholic theology traditionally holds to be the unforgivable sin mentioned by Christ in Holy Scripture.
Would they apply the same logic and leave the Church?
No.
The Church was founded by Christ. Christ is God. Christ is perfect. Christ guaranteed the Church’s indefectibility when He promised us the gates of Hell would not prevail against the Church. No such promise exists for any order within the Church. Especially not one founded by an incestuous and unrepentant pedophile. In fact, Christ makes other promises about incestuous pedophiles who harm children, not to mention religious authorities who abuse their office, and these promises are not nearly as cheery or reassuring.
Peter denied Christ! Is there any worse sin than that?
Yes, stating that one has never denied Christ (or the Holy Spirit) when one in fact was a serial child molester. St. Peter never molested or photographed himself molesting his eight-year-old child. He was, however, sorry for his sins.
Paul was a murderer before his conversion.
The word “before” here is key. Paul was not a murderer after his conversion. That’s why we speak of Paul as a convert.
Yes, they repented. Many of our corrupt Popes did not. What are we to leave?
Our false comparisons. Maciel was head of a movement. It was a movement he founded to feed his various perversions, by using the guise of Catholic piety (i.e. Vow of Charity) and orthodoxy to acquire, abuse, conceal and protect his access to unsuspecting victims. Thus the entire methodology is corrupt.
On the other hand, no Pope is head of the Church. Christ is. The Pope is merely the visible head. The Pope assumes a vicarious role on behalf of Christ. Yet Christ remains the true head of the Church.
In contrast, the longer this controversy drags on without proper apology or restitution to Maciel’s victims, especially for the role played by individual supporters in covering up for Maciel and persecuting his victims, the more it becomes clear that the movement is truly headed by the spirit of Maciel. I believe this is what other orders refer to, when speaking of the spirit of the founder, as the founding charism. In the Legion, however, the founder’s spirit has become a curse.
SHUT. IT. DOWN.
How do you define ‘juxtaposition’?
Thanks to the sharp-eyed anonymous poster at Life-After-RC who picked this up. According to the last paragraph of an article appearing in today’s IPS:
Another Mexican woman who had a relationship with Maciel lives in Spain with her daughter, who the order has publicly acknowledged as the daughter of the Legion’s founder. They live in comfort in a luxury apartment after apparently reaching an agreement with the order to keep quiet. (Emphasis mine)
Contrast the last line with the following letter written by Fr. Fr Carlos Skertchly, LC (ostensibly on behalf of Fr. Alvaro) to alleged Maciel incest victim Raul Gonzalez Lara:
However, in no way can we accede to your request for money in exchange for silence. While we value all of the pain and suffering that you have shared with us, and we deplore the evil of scandal that may follow, we will never accept petitions of this sort, which are also illicit. (Emphasis mine)
Am I the only one confused by the Legion’s stand on “extortion”?