Additional Visitors

ExLC translates additional information from Sandro Magister. In addition to Bishops Urquidi, Chaput and Versaldi, there are two more bishops assigned to visit the Legion:

– Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, Archbishop of Concepción, Chile, in charge of Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela, where the Legion has 20 houses, 122 priests and 122 religious seminarians;

– Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Bishop of Bilbao, Spain, in charge of Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Holland, Poland, Austria and Hungary, where the Legion has 20 houses, 105 priest, and 160 religious seminarians.

The investiture of the five visitors took place on Saturday morning, June 27th in the Vatican, at a meeting with Cardinals Tarcisio Bertone, William J. Levada, Franc Rodé and Stanislaw Rylko. The five were give a letter containing the conclusions for the investigation of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith which lead to Maciel’s being sanctioned in 2006. Each prelate was given a travel budget of 10,000 Euros. They will give their first report to the Vatican in the autumn.

We count on the Holy Spirit to guide. We also note that this undercuts the Legion's curious explanations about the timing and the "size" of the endeavor. Kindly keep these men in your prayers.

Comments

[PaulM]

That's curious. My wife and I haven't received any communication from the LC/RC leadership regarding the visitation, who the visitors are, that it has begun or even for prayers that God's will be done...nothing.

Lots of info about the Year of the Priest though.

BTW, still no notification to the RC members (that I'm aware of) about Fr. Thomas Berg leaving the order.

Curiouser

[JJJ]

I agree, Giselle. Fr. Scott Reilly idiotly called it a "low" visitation. Whatever the heck that is.
Five visitators. And all are bishops.

[JJJ]

Wow.
(I had forgotten the "wow" above at the end of that comment.)

[freetobe]

Will the visitors speak with people that have left? If they do, how will they go about that task? We plan on sending our contact information to Archbishop Chaput but we have not seen any formal invitation for people to submit testimonies, etc.. How could they possibly have any valid conclusions without that being an integral part of the process?

[Dr Astrid Windfuhr]

Somewhere a few months earlier, I think on AmP Giselle suggested to put in writing in a respectful manner any concerns you may have. I don't think now is the time to wait for an invitation to speak up!

Also according to the reports in the press, the official visitation begins on the 15th of July. Apparently an official announcement of this is to follow.

It will be interesting whether the LC will actually let RC know or whether members will have to find out through other means .... again?!

[The Emperor IS Naked]

The Legion will probably let the RC know---in glowing terms---that the Vatican's "show of solidarity" for the Legion has begun and that all should rejoice that the Vatican has chosen to honor the Legion in such a fashion. LOL!

[Mouse from Am Pap]

I'm wondering if, since the visitors apparently have all the CDF stuff from 2006, they might not feel like they NEED to speak to the people who left---they probably have a ton of damning testimony right there....

Also, if they're using the CDF stuff as their jumping off point, the question is probably "Has the legion shown any signs of improvement/de-macielization"--- and the answer "Well, after febuary we started letting our seminarians read non-maciel authors" is pretty bad for the legion.....

Maybe this IS just about breaking it up gently.... (also, has anyone compared the vatican #s for legionary priests and seminarians listed in the report to the legions own counts? How do they come up?

[giselle]

Excellent comment, Mouse. While the Legion has been making up their statistics for decades, now they will be held accountable to show all those bodies. That's a good thing.

Yes, they have much information and many depositions in hand. What they don't have is the minutiae -- the soul by soul account of shredded families, lost faith and crushed vocations. Perhaps this is strictly an accounting for the Legion (as opposed to RC) but sending those details in (by the box full) will only make the appropriate point: the Legion is toxic.

[Mouse from Am Pap]

Giselle-- adding up the numbers from the article, I got 975 priests.....

They have less than 1000 priests?!?!??!

No wonder most Catholics haven't heard of the visitation... they're a tiny order compared to the big 5 (Jesuit, Dominican, Franciscan, Benedictine, Carmelite)

Heck, the Crosiers, who are perpetually sheepish about the smallness of their order, have 400 members!!! And they're considered REALLY TINY!!!!

It also makes you wonder how such a small, insignificant order has such an oversized footprint......

[Mouse from Am Pap]

More perspectivce, and then I'm off to chores.... The TRAPPISTS have 2500 brothers and 1800 sisters. And noone thinks of them as huge! (Cool, yes. Admired, yes. But they're a small order...)

[Mouse from Am Pap]

Just one more, and then I'll go, honest---

The Redemptorists? 5,500.

[Frances]

The fudging of the numbers during rc and post-rc always perplexed me and raised those famous red flags.
When I was in a woman's religious order, we knew at any time our numbers: in Canada and in other countries: postulants, novices, temporary professed and those with perpetual vows. None of these infamously rounded off numbers.

[freetobe]

I just read the article on Cassandra Jones and I am shocked. The first visitation included accusations of sexual abuse! We were told by LC priests that there were NEVER accusations of sexual abuse until the 90's when the accusers "jumped on the band wagon" of the broader scandal in the Church. I am sure that the priests that told us that were just repeating the propaganda. These visitors are going to need to do a lot of late night reading. What a shame that they dodged the first one...so many people that have been hurt since then and it all could have been prevented.

[The Emperor IS Naked]

Reading about the first visitation actually made me feel much less hopeful about the second one. I am really having to fight a feeling of despair (which I know is wrong). But the church hierarchy does NOT come out smelling like anything close to a rose after the first visitation, and I can't help but think that the hierarchy will want the Legion to clear the 2nd one just so that the dirt from from the first does not get exposed.

For the general public to find out that this man held up as an efficacious guide to youth by the Pope was a known child molester to members of the hierarchy as far back as the 50's will make the Church look very bad. Especially in light of all the sexual abuse scandals that have come to light this decade.

I can't help but think the Vatican will want this thing to go away as quietly as possible, which will probably mean allowing the Legion to continue as is with a few little tweaks here and there as a nod to those outraged by the LC/RCs.

Did anybody else feel that way after reading the account of the first visitation? How did you deal with those feelings if so? I'm praying for God's Will in this 2nd visitation, but I don't believe that justice is always done on this earth. I DO, however, believe that justice happens in the end.

[giselle]

Please understand that everything is different now. There are still Macielistas in high and strategic places but we've learned so much after the steep learning curve of the sex abuse scandal. If Boston taught the Church anything, it was that "the truth will out." You cannot sweep perfidy under the carpet forever. Benedict will not be fooled, and the fact that the Visitors know authentically healthy religious life is a very good thing. The enviroment is also very different now, and there is not the fawning clericalism that the hierarchy could count on from the faithful. The Church is on the ropes and only holiness will carry her through. No more games.

[gregorbo]

I don't think, under Benedict, we should expect anything other than a thorough investigation. Don't hold your breath, however, for any kind of public humiliation either of Maciel or the Legion. The Holy Father will be careful not to foment scandal and will do his best to preserve the dignity of all members--even if, or perhaps especially because the Congregation is suppressed.

But best to put your concerns in writing. Avoid ranting. Keep it short and dignified. Await the July 15th announcement to confirm Visitators, and then send your testimony forthwith.

[The Emperor IS Naked]

Giselle and Gregorbo,

Thanks so much for the encouraging words. My only hesitation with believing Benedict will do everything he can to right the wrongs is that wasn't he the one in charge of the cursory investigation in the 90s that was opened and shut without much ado? And the rumor (hopefully it's not true) that he told a Mexican bishop that "nothing could be done" about Maciel because he was so very dear to the JPII isn't very encouraging, either. Why were his hands so tied? Are his hands still tied in some way? Just because somebody is Pope doesn't mean he can't be hampered by Vatican politics.

I'm personally frustrated at my lack of willingness/ability to write the visitators (and don't worry, no ranting would happen.........I get all ranting/venting out anonymously and am extremely diplomatic when using my real name! LOL) because some VERY close family members are under Legion employ (and in this economy, it's darn HARD to find jobs that will support a large family), and I have no doubt the Legion would dispose of them post-haste should it become known I had written the visitators.

Again, thanks for the encouragement and the realism. You are right, Giselle, it IS a different Church. And Gregorbo, you are also right in that the satisfaction of a public humiliation of Maciel and those who aided and abetted his deviance and abuse is not likely to happen.

[gregorbo]

Dear Emperor--I completely understand your concerns. Esp. regarding family members in the employ of the Legion.

But don't you see that is precisely why you MUST speak out? Yoh freely admit the lack of integrity of the Legion in terms of your family member(s)' employment in the expressing of fear of retaliation for telling the truth. I suffered similar "soft" threats in the form of gentle warnings that in speaking of my experiences I would not want to jeopardize any future employment in the Church (i'm a lay catholic who once worked indirectly for the Legion). I understood this to imply that if I said too much, people with connection might make things, um, difficult for me.

This only inspired me (and not with fear).

And don't forget: Benedict quietly shelved the Maciel investigation but never closed it. Then, just months prior to JPII's passing away, it was then Ratzinger (now Benedict) who very quietly re-opened the Maciel investigation and sent an emissary back to the U.S. and Mexico to re-interview the original accusers and who also interviewed "more than 20, fewer than 100" others with stories to tell about Maciel and the Legion.

This re-upped investigation resulted in the Vatican communique announcing Maciel's censure.

So, even if the Vatican does not operate like a political organization guided by mere men, do not be disheartened. Benedict's past (extremely astute and careful) actions bode well for the truth.

Take heart!

[giselle]

Additionally, there are two key gatekeepers surrounding John Paul II who are no longer in place. That makes a world of difference.

[Daniel]

I find the selection of apostolic visitators to be very heartening. I'm a little disappointed that the Jesuit won't be part of the group anymore, but maybe he was never part of the group in the first place. Maybe the info offered to us on the visitation in the past few months wasn't completely accurate. Now we know who will be responsible and who we can diligently send our letters to.

I could never live with myself for the rest of my life if I passed up this opportunity to write my personal concerns and experiences about having been a Legionary and sending them to the man responsible for investigating such concerns in my corner of the world. I think all who have had personal experience in the Legion and RC should do this simple, yet terribly important act of justice and charity for the sake of the whole Church. If you only have positive experiences and praise to tell the bishop about, then great, that adds to the whole picture which their Excellencies are trying to piece together. It's the bad craftily mixed in with the good which has so many of us deeply concerned about how the LC/RC continues to operate and exist, just as it always has in the past.

The first visitation was a sham, but now we are blessed with another chance to have it done properly, in a world, Church, and time which are drastically different from the ones that existed 50 years ago. I am very hopeful and confident in the success of this visitation. My prayers are with the visitators.

[PaulM]

One thing that struck me as I reread the account of the first Apostolic Visit on Cassandra's blog was the threat of excommunication for those seminarians who lied or mislead the visitors. I wonder if the same consequence will loom for those during this second visit. That would be a pretty big motivation for me to tell the truth regarding the Legion - MM-inspired formation notwithstanding.

I'm optimistic regarding the outcome of this visit. In today's climate of clergy sexual abuse, the MM revelations, a failed first visit 50 years ago, I think the Holy Father is determined to get to the bottom of all this nonsense once and for all. His choice of visitors leads me to think this.

Putting things in perspective, the American Catholic church makes up only about 6% of the worldwide Catholic Church yet we tend to think we *are* the church. The Legion is relatively small compared to other orders as Mouse has pointed out. The Body of Christ can do very nicely - even better - thank you very much without the parasite that is the Legion.

[K]

Please consider praying the following novena for all involved in any way with this visitation. In order that it be more efficacious please consider adding a sacrifice each day as well. Thank you!

Novena To
St. Catherine of Siena

Heavenly Father, your glory is in your saints.

We praise your glory in the life of the admirable
St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church.

Her whole life was a noble sacrifice
inspired by an ardent love of Jesus,
your unblemished Lamb.

In troubled times
she strenuously upheld the rights
of His beloved spouse, the Church.

Father, honor her merits
and hear her prayers for each of us,
and for our whole parish family dedicated to her.

Help us to pass unscathed through the corruption of this world,
and to remain unshakably faithful
to the church in word, deed, and example.

Help us always to see in the Vicar of Christ
an anchor in the storms of life,
and a beacon of light to the harbor of your Love,
in this dark night of your times and men's souls.

Grant also to each of us our special petition...

(State your need here...)

We ask this through Jesus, your Son,
in the bond of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

St. Catherine of Siena,
Pray for us.

[Frances]

The Emperor IS Naked, gregorbo:
If my memory serves me correctly, when Cardinal Ratzinger was involved in investigating the various cases of clergy abuse specifically on Fridays, he called those days, "Black Fridays".

Also, in his Letter to Clergy for the Year for Priests, he writes:
"There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgement of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realisation of the greatness of God's gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors...".

I find great hope in these words. I choose to remember that Benedict is Peter's successor and desires that truth prevail so that true healing may take place.
"K" - thank you too for your novena.

[gregorbo]

Thanks, Frances. I too was heartened by Ratzinger's work. He had the worst job in the world when it came to the abuse scandals. But shortly before John Paul the Great passed away, when asked about the Maciel case specifically, Ratzinger slapped the reporter's hand and said, "When the time is right."

Many catholics were outraged, but I thought I heard something then that many missed: that there would be a "time."

And, indeed, after his elevation (actually, just before) the time for Maciel "came around" and this Visitation is one of the first fruits of Ratzinger's paying attention where others either turned a blind eye or actively worked to scuttle any investigation of the truth.

[Anon in STL]

Thanks for sharing gregorbo. I hadn't heard that story!