Ye olde switcheroo

Perusing many emails from around the world, it has become evident that there's a lot of shuffling going on. Not playing cards, under sleepy oak trees where children while away their summer vacations, but evidence that the S.S. Legion is rearranging its deck chairs, so that (one might conclude) certain parties will be unavailable to the Visitors. From schools to various apostolates, superiors and directors who have been in a given place for five, ten, even fifteen years or more are suddenly needed elsewhere. Certainly, summer is the time for new assignments, but it's curious how many "fixtures" are already packing up and moving out of harm's way. One might connect the dots and suggest a trend, but surely the AV would recognise such an obvious tactic...

UPDATE I: Cassandra, in reflecting on this post, fleshes out the tactic with specifics. That's why I always defer to her as the real journalist in our midst.

UPDATE II: Oh my!

UPDATE III: And now:

Tom Hoopes, National Catholic Register editor, resigned this week. Together with Brendan McCaffery, Chief Operation Officer for Circle Media, let go last week, these represent decades and decades of experience at the highest level of Legionary operations in Connecticut

Mr Hoopes has been offered a position at Benedictine College in Atchison KS. There is no indication that he's anything less than positive about his years at NCR, so at surface level the move cannot be attributed to any frustration with Legionary policies. And, btw, the Register's accountant was let go last week as well. Keeping things tidy, I guess.

[One must realise that the employment contracts signed with the Legion all include a promise not to speak badly of the Legion after departure. Any legal eagles want to parse that element? This isn't like Kodak employees bringing information over to Polaroid.]

UPDATE: IV: Someone is very surpised by a quick shuffle:

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear RC members in Christ,
 
   I didn’t want to wait any longer to tell you the news. I have a new assignment for this fall in Rome. I will be the vice-rector of one of the sections of seminarians at our Legionary seminary there and will spend most of my time dedicated to the formation of future Legionaries. As of yet there is no departure date set for Rome.
 This comes as a great surprise to me and, I am sure, to you as well. Over the next couple of months, I hope to be able to thank everyone personally for your dedication to Christ and for the support you have given me in so many ways. I will miss St. Louis and Kansas and Nebraska and all the wonderful people who have opened up their lives and their homes to me. You are a great gift to the Church and to souls. Keep building the Kingdom!
 For now, my plans are to help the coworker girls spiritually as their chaplain. I am writing to you from Michigan where the course is taking place. Then, in the first week of August I will go to Rhode Island where I will preach a week of spiritual exercises to the young women candidates. I will also see my brother, Fr. Andrew, who has been working in Rhode Island for a month or so.
 I am also pleased to announce that Fr. James Perez will be taking my place as superior of the community and local coordinator of apostolate for the Heartland region. Please give him the same love and support that you have given me.
 Sorry to tell you this in an impersonal email, but I thought it would be better than waiting until I return to St. Louis on August 16th. I hope everyone will visit me in Rome. I’d enjoy showing you around the eternal city. Until then you are in my prayers.

Yours sincerely in Christ, Fr. Timothy Mulcahey, LC

We wish him well, while scratching our heads at the timing and implications. Could be nothing, really.

Comments

[Jacob]

This will backfire on the LC, it is so obvious. I think the visitors will be aware of any efforts to cover up. It just makes them look even more guilty. I would like to know if there is a list of LC or RC controlled organizations in the Atlanta Diocese, and if there is where can I find it? Thanks!

[auw]

Giselle, do you have a way of making the respective visitator aware of this?

[giselle]

We're all free to write to the Visitation team. Their addresses have been provided. I can send information over, but it's second-hand coming from me. Wouldn't it look better coming from "the horse's mouth?"

As far as my position in all of this, I'm simply one among many who chooses to write publicly. Remember, my last first-hand experience of the Movement (outside of on-going harassment) was in 2000. I'm simply a voice for others at this point.

There are repurcussions, but they have to be weighed against the harms, which I think are worth it.

[Mouse from Am Pap]

You know, I almost feel like the reason the Visitation has taken so long to start is that the Vatican is giving the Legion a chance to dig its own grave........

The more they scramble to save themselves, the more obvious their problems appear.

[Still RC - For Now, Anyway]

Beware of any reshuffling that takes place during the traditional LC vacation month of July. The Legion is supposed to take this month off and they've always taken it off, as far as I've known. Our own RC section does not have any apostolic events nor any encounters planned this month, so that we may be consistent with the LC. I'm sure other sections are similar. So if significant positions or personnel are being shifted around at this time it would have to mean one of two things - either they're trying to keep Fr. So-and-So from inadvertently (or otherwise) spilling his guts to the AV, OR LC's are actually leaving the congregation and their positions are hurriedly being covered by someone else.

[gregorbo]

Or both.

[Juana Inés]

Don't you worry. They will have all the time in the world and all the means to find out whatever needs to be known.

[MPI]

Giselle...can you be more specific? I have no doubt of the veracity of your claim, but if you ware going to publish this you might want to include something concrete. Thanks.

[giselle]

Here is not the place. Given numerous similar accounts, I outlined the trend -- from there each section needs to assess if they are part of a larger scheme. The problem we always had in RC was that we were never to discuss things and always to trust. Thus, it was impossible to connect the dots.

[MPI]

Why is here not the place? I believe your claim because I have studied LC fairly extensively, but aren't you asking people to trust without giving concrete facts?

[giselle]

No, this is how it works. Giselle says, "Gee, it seems as though a lot of people are noticing that key players are being moved away from apostolates where they've been working for years."

Then the folks who read that post note whether that trend is reflected in their section. If it is, they can assess accordingly. If it isn't, they write in and say, "You're all washed up -- nothing has changed here."

I don't write to Rome as a tattle-tale. Also, I don't submit information that I cannot corroborate. Thus, this doesn't rise beyond the level of, "Hmmm -- interesting."

[Bigtex]

When I was in RC, reassignments happened after the August retreats. Never in July.

[fp]

FOX Red Eye Episode: Wednesday, May 6, 2009
RE :Father Morris
He's going to be in NYC for 6 months he said he is.on Sabbatical..

[Atlantaobserver]

small changes here in Atlanta... from an email sent July 2nd (includes a guilt trip)

"Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Ladies in Christ,
I hope you are well and enjoying the warmth of Hotlanta. Happy belated Canada Day!!! Did you all know that July 1 is Canada Day - the day of confederation? I hope you threw a prayer or two towards this Canadian priest yesterday. And while you are at it, please pray for Canada as a whole. It needs a lot of prayers.
We just had a triduum of renewal at Holy Spirit Monastery in Conyers this past weekend. Twenty-eight ladies were there. It was the BEST! I had never done a weekend there and it was so much better than I thought it was going to be. We always hear little stories about these places from the past, but all those negative stories were dispelled for me. It really felt like a retreat and a pilgrimage all in one. There were monks available to help with confessions. Such holy men. Fr Luke is 98 years old and has been there 71 years. He spoke to some of us about his real friend “Jesus” and how much he longed to get to heaven to be with Him forever. Everyone had their own private room. That meant a good night’s sleep for all. Food was simple but very fresh and tasty. Some were surprised that their order of steak and eggs and bacon for breakfast did not materialize, but I think IHOP stops on the way back Sunday filled the void. Lucy Honner preached with such grace and desire to move hearts. What a gift she has been to us this year! Mass in the crypt chapel had a catacombish feel that took me back to the earliest Mass experiences of the Christian Church in Rome. Hot, humid and a little dark. The early Christians loved the sacrifice and risk of these uncomfortable places for Mass because it was where they would receive Him in the Eucharist. He rewarded them with His Presence. The ladies this weekend had that same rewarding experience of Him in the crypt chapel.
We had nocturnal adoration two of the nights. We had exposition in the crypt chapel, but then made a simple procession with the monstrance up to the conference room close to the ladies’ rooms for the rest of the night. He was so close, some ladies laughed that they would genuflect every time they stepped out into the hallway. In the morning, another procession back to the crypt chapel and then Benediction there. It was so beautiful. I hope all of you have a chance to do a triduum there sometime.
That is all a little catch up news. Now, to the point of this letter. Today a Legionary priest is flying in from Rome. His name is Fr David Kluk. Years ago he spent time in Atlanta, preached retreats for some of our first people, incorporated some of our first members and was involved with Pinecrest in its earliest days. He is returning to Atlanta now for a very special and privileged assignment. A privilege I have enjoyed for six years. Fr David will be the section director for the two Regnum Christi women’s sections. He will be here to serve you.
After six years of being with you, I will now be turning all my attention to the Holy Spirit Preparatory School community and to being vice rector of our Legionary community on Spalding Drive. Many of you have been suspecting a change coming. I think it comes as a great relief. It was becoming impossible for me to be able to serve you and be available for all of you as you deserve. Fr David will be full time for you. This is a great change.
Back to where I started this letter - I was reflecting a lot while at the Monastery last week: “this is my last triduum.” It brings such mixed emotions. It really has been such a privilege to work with and know so many of you. Of course, all the pressures come to mind as well. Above all (being the melancholic that I am) I think of the ways that I could have done more or better for you. The one area that I feel like we have really slipped is in the deep desire to serve the souls in the local Church. The news of last February put an understandable hold on things for many of us, but some things should not have been affected. I am still troubled by the low attendance by RC members at the Eucharistic Congress this year. It baffles me how so many of you speak of wanting the Movement to better serve the Archdiocese more directly and yet when you have this particular opportunity to serve the diocese in a most fruitful way - other things became priority for you. Late afternoon or evening activities don’t exclude the possibility of being at the Congress in the morning. Where were our people?
We will have two State of the Section events this year. One for the north section and one for the south. The north will have theirs on August 30th in the evening. Location is to be announced. The south will have theirs on August 26th in the evening at Holy Spirit Prep Lower School campus. Fr David Kluk and I will both attend both of these events. It will be your chance to come and meet him. Please save the date for your section and plan on coming.
Thank you once again for the beautiful experience of being your priest for six years. You have been a great flock. Count on my prayers.
Yours in Christ, Fr Paul LC"

[MPI]

Hi Giselle,

I didn't suggest that you should write to Rome, only that you might want to try and back up your claim with some concrete examples, otherwise it appears to be nothing more then you trying to get folks worked up.

[Me]

A priest leaving the Legion has been assigned as associate pastor at St. Frances of Rome in Cicero, IL.hi name has not been announced.

[K]

Atlantaobservor,

Do you think this is the whole story? There really isn't much for him to do at Holy Spirit Prep. He has been the chaplain there for 6 years. I think something else is going on with him. I really don't think he will be long with the LC. Too many people have been praying for him to have a conversion like St. Paul

[Daniel]

Perhaps the shuffling of men is in preparation for the desertion of the 23 LC priests we heard about a while back. That would explain the sudden changing of the guard for many priests who have been working at the same posts for years now. I certainly hope Fr Paul, mentioned above, is one of those who will be leaving the Legion soon, to serve the Church as a priest free of the Maciel cancer. Fr Paul is a very good guy. He and I were novices together. He would have very little difficulty adjusting to a normal priestly life, a life without ulterior motives, secret goals, quotas, and numbers to produce for his superiors at their monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings. God bless him.

[Still RC - For Now, Anyway]

K, I agree with you. "The news of last February put an understandable hold on things for many of us"?? That comment certainly doesn't jive with the LC claim of needing to grow "by directive of the Holy Father". And the ladies didn't assist or even show up at the Eucharistic Congress this year? Very, very different from previous years.

Atlanta is supposed to be the "model section" for the US territory and as it goes - for better or worse - so goes the rest of the territory. The leadership of many apostolate programs as well as the territorial HQ are all there. Does anyone have some perspective on how Atlanta RC is doing these days?

[Rocky Anonymous]

Does it bother anyone else that Fr Paul puts the name of Jesus in quotes?

I don't thunk Chaput will notice any switcheroos. He's sort of a legion asset anymore.

[k]

Daniel,
I bleieve in the goodness that exists deep within his soul but I also know that he has been a "faithful legionary" according to the twisted methodology he learned from MM. He will definitely have some deprogramming in store for himself and some amends to make to the people he has hurt "for the sake of the movement."

[jon]

I wouldnt put it past them, but this seems a little but paranoid and like something just to feed the conspiracy theories.

[Guest]

Cassandra's post on this appears to be removed. I saw it earlier and now the link does not work?

[Elsa]

Just type http://cassandrajonesing.blogspot.com/

[S.J.]

It looks as if Fr. Mulcahey at Gateway has been moved.