Which was the good chapter?

Widely distributed memo:

Dear friends in Christ, I have received your questions about the latest media reports.  Here is what I can tell you for now.  As you know, in the wake of the revelations about Father Maciel’s private life, the past months have been a great challenge for all of us in the Legion and Regnum Christi.  In the past few days, some media began reporting statements from a Mexican lawyer who says he is representing three out of six people who claim to be children of our founder. The lawyer himself has made it clear that his presence in the media is part of a broader plan that can include lawsuits and further public interventions. In this same context, a Spanish newspaper has revealed the identity and some other details about two people related to these circumstances. This information till now had been kept in strict confidence, at their own request. The journalist has also published a series of speculations, rumors, and opinions that has been picked up by other media in various countries. Given the need to respect the privacy of the persons involved, the limits and partiality of the available information and the impossibility to evaluate immediately all the possible implications of these complex circumstances, the Legion cannot offer a declaration about this issue for now. In fact, it is likely that full clarity will not come anytime soon due to the confusion of historical record and still unknown aspects of our founder’s life.   For all of us in the Legion and Regnum Christi, the result is a situation that causes pain and requires great faith, hope and charity. All of us are saddened by these circumstances and express our deepest regret and apology to those who have been hurt or scandalized. We trust that with the grace of God and the help of the Church through the Apostolic Visitation we will be able to close this sorry chapter in the life of our Congregation, renew our service to the Church, and continue forward in our mission.

Jim Fair
Communications Director
Legion of Christ

Is this a "sorry chapter" because it's caused such headaches and pain, or because it came to light? I don't question Mr Fair's integrity (although perhaps his judgement) but I bet the upper echelon of the Legion is sorry for a different set of reasons than the rest of us.

Perhaps imbedded in this excuse matrix is the reason why they still cannot apologise properly to the victims. Surely there was daylight between the revelation and the lawsuit when the right thing could have been done...

Comments

[Jane]

I would like to write a letter back to Mr. Fair.

Dear Jim.
Did they know? Or not? Simple question. Yes or no. Spare me the spin, thanks!

Yours sincerely in Christ,
Jane, ExRC

[Juana Inés]

This is absolutely incredible. Your local second-hand car dealer would have a better communication strategy. So much for their 'formation'.

[Anon]

I think silence might have been a better route.

[LOA RC]

Fr. Bannon said in a fundraising conference call in March of 2009 that the Legion was "quietly getting in touch with the vicitms". Did that ever happen? Is it possible that the Legion will not give the proper public written apology because they are afraid of a lawsuit by the sexual abuse victims?

[Bigtex]

I like the logic of it.

Because some of the information may not be true, and because it will be a long time before we can verify every detail, we will proceed as if none of it is true. And of course it would show a lack of charity for anyone to do differently.

[giselle]

No apology to the original victims -- publicly or private. No contact whatsoever.

[PaulM]

So Bannon lied. I'm shocked!

[Jane]

See, this illustrates why it is pointless to "stay in" and "reform from within" (whether you are an LC or RC) because, after more than 6 months, the spin continues.

Sending my letter to the AV was the single best action I have taken. I implore you to write down your issues and send them to Abp Chaput (or the respective visitator to your country) You will not believe the peace it will bring you.

[Dominus Flevit]

Short version:

"You may have read some really devastating press reports about the Legion and its Founder. Here's what I can tell you for now. [Fill in a brief, anodyne summary of press reports, with the usual hints that the reports are coming from untrustworthy litigious troublemakers].

"The Legion has no comment on any of this. And since not every single detail can ever be known with ontological certainty, our plan is never to tell you what we do know.

"This is frustrating for us because we're sitting here watching the rats leave the ship and our cash flow dry up. We're waiting patiently for the Pope to tell everyone how great we are and encourage us to get back to our busy work."

[Jane]

Looking om the bright side, Fair is obviously responding to a deluge of mail. Maybe the RCs who have decided to stick around and "trust" are finding that it is growing more difficult to trust, and that some of the answers they have been given simply do not ring true. Good for them if they are finally demanding honesty. The Legion won't give them any real answers. RCs with the ability to think critically will see through this letter from Fair, which is nothing more than an insult to their intelligence. Shame on him, how does he face himself in the mirror?

[Juana Inés]

Even the lowliest local concern would have developed some sort of communication strategy by now. Thank God those evil people are so stupid!

[m]

This guy has no conscience and he must be making a butt ton of money to be able to face himself everyday and the people in public and spout off nothingness.

He used the words impossible & possible in the same sentence. He wrote a bunch of gobbledy gook that means nothing.

I can't understand how intelligent people can take this letter & not see it for the BS that it is & continue to stay in LC/RC defending it.

[Juana Inés]

Intelligent?

[Pete Vere]

The communication strategy appears to be the same one employed by Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal (minus the heartbreaking apology after it had dragged on for a while) - admit only small bits of information at a time, and only after the media uncovers it first.

[Freetobe]

"...requires great faith, hope, and charity."

How about a frontal lobotomy?

[The Emperor IS Naked]

This IS the chapter. The chapter that began when a deviant pedophile had the brilliant idea of using the appearance of holiness and church connections as a smokescreen to hide the fact he was starting an order of priests to provide himself with a seemingly endless supply of money, power, and opportunity for sexual abuse and predation. This pious fraud is the beginning and the end of this sorry, scandalous chapter in the history of our church.

The email of Jim Fair's would make me laugh out loud if it I didn't find it so offensive. I don't know how anybody can write these things with a straight face! I've often compared the Legion with Clinton when it comes to spin. I have to say the Legion beats Clinton hands down, and that's saying something.

If the Legion has a special talent and contribution to the world ("charism"?? LOL) it has to be spin. They should hire themselves out to the politicians of the world; they could probably make a whole lot more money at that than they will with their Catholic fundraising scheme now that the cat is out of the bag when it comes to their precious Nuestre Padre!

[Molly Callahan]

...."This information til now had been kept in strict confidence, at their own request."
REALLY??? How does Jim Fair know that?!? If the LOC had/has no knowledge of these additional children, how do they know what their wishes are?? Who was keeping this srtict confidence? Why did it have to be kept secret at all if no one knew of their existence. Surely these children are invisible like the rest of us malcontent exRC's.

[Joseph]

Yes, I agree that the statement is full of spin etc etc.

But there are two important things here. Firstly, he doesn't deny that Norma Hilda (Sr) is the mother of the daughter and that she gave the interview to a journalist. This is important. We can now be sure that she was in fact 26 when he, as a 66 year old, impregnated her.

Secondly, he doesn't deny the existence of the other children or the possibility that there are 6 of them.

These, for me, are significant. I do not trust journalists not to make stuff up. I have seen it too many times when it comes to the Church. The fact that he hasn't denied these things confirms a lot of information for us.

(Note: I accept all of the other criticisms and I see many other problems with the statement that have not been mentioned yet. However, I just wanted to draw people's attention to these two elements of the statement)

[Jon]

"This information till now had been kept in strict confidence, at their own request."

So this information was well known within the Legion.

It was just kept hush-hush.

Right, Jim?

[Johnny]

They are dead in the water. Reform has to come from with in if they are to survive. They have to show that they want to change but nothing has changed. It is business as usual. What a tragic story.

[Pete Vere]

Business as usual, or busyness as usual?