Finger on the pulse

The news from Connecticut (home to the Legion's Cheshire and Orange operations) is in the mode of "consolidating teams and simplifying structure" during this "difficult chapter of [their] history." (That still begs the question about what any Legionary considers a good chapter, considering that the Movement has been a spiritual sham that hid a perverted fraud for over 60 years. Is there a year -- even a month -- when a young boy was not sodomised?) But then if one remembers Legion-speak, "difficult chapter" is the new "serenity." 

In this consolidation, the priest who's sharing the new landscape finds joy in the path, since it allows them to "[come] back to the basic essentials that drew us to Regnum Christi in the first place: a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, a spiritual family, the joy of living in God's love." Er, not so much. As I recall in the recruiting that I was exposed to the talking points were:

• the pope loves us!
• be a co-founder and make history!
• God called you from all eternity!
• souls depend on your fidelity!
• this is God's plan for the new millennium!
• look at our numbers -- that proves God's predeliction for us!
• mass media apostolates and youth formation!
• time is Kingdom!

But I digress.

Besides the shifting of key personnel who will  be unavailable to the Visitators for questioning, we are discerning a movement of Regnum Christi members who will no longer do critical work for the numerous apostolates. Now, just as the departure of Legionaries or consecrated women is never explained to their companions ("s/he has been called away on a secret mission" is familiar coded language to hide an anguished trip home sans adieux) when workers in RC men's or women's sections leave, it is papered over with stories of illness, job-related changes, or pressing family concerns. (Or in my case, they just told the section [heavy sigh, whispers for prayers, please] that I was having marital problems.)

Does anyone want to share section news of this sort, anonymously if appropriate, so that a larger pattern can be discerned? This is not for the sake of idle gossip (and no names are necessary), but to counter the claim that the Legion is growing and dedicated to the mission without a ripple (of which "50 ordinations in December!" is a standard element).

Comments

[Anon in STL]

I have found this to be true and I tried to get around it by directly contacting as many people as I could to say I was leaving, wished them well, etc. It was my hope that it would prevent any such insinuations but I have no idea if it did.

[Recovering from RC]

I left a year ago, after a suprising prompting from the Holy Spirit during adoration followed by several months of discernment. (Much credit goes to Archbishop O'Brien for his clear and courageous leadership.) I had been somewhat high-profile in the Section (speaking at various events), but I lived in a "diaspora" city 2 hours away. I chose not notify the women, thinking I might somehow upset them. I regret very much that decision. I was contacted by two women: One heard that I was having a "crisis of faith" and wanted me to know she was praying for me (nice sentiments based on wrong information!). The other informed me that my salvation was at stake, and that by "saying no" to my "vocation" to RC I was also putting my marriage and Catholic faith at risk. "What will you leave next?" Awful. It still amazes me how RC was able to co-opt the faith I ALREADY HAD and make it seem as if they held the patent on mere Catholicism! "Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!"

[finally free]

I can only speak to what I have been told and what we have experienced first hand.

Back in February a very good friend left the Movement. She was responsible for my introduction to RC. I was told that due to many health & financial pressures over the past few years she needed to leave. Basically the message was: "She's been through so much, that the news of our Founder just overwhelmed her."

The following month I went on a 2nd degree retreat where the LC priest spent the first day or so calling us to remember that our first vocation was wife & mother. The last day though he did this weird senario about a second degree woman who was a spiritual adviser, had a strong prayer life blah blah blah...but then suddenly she began to neglect her prayer commitments & miss some of her team meetings. Her husband, who had lost his job, started pressuring her to go back to work (Fr. D. didn't hide his obvious disapproval.) He even made some kind of a comment about how the husband was pushing her to do this b/c of his own insecurity/ inability to provide for his family. Over time, he explained, "it just became easier to neglect those entrusted to her care until she finally left altogether."

Somehow I knew he was speaking about my friend b/c there were other details (loss of her father, health problems etc.) that would just be too coincidental.

For us personally, when we wrote to tell the Section leaders we were leaving I received a call from the woman's side. My husband has yet to hear from the men's side. All she wanted to talk about was our son's illness & then went on to say "I know all of this has made it so much more difficult for you & your husband to bear the news about Our Founder." I disagreed & said, "No, even without any other medical issues, I'd struggle with the fact that he hurt those boys!"

The rest of the conversation was something out of the twilight zone...her so @ peace,trying to convince me that the Vatican is basically going to get the report from the AV and will give them a big ole stamp of approval b/c after all "we have been told by Rome to grow!" (she's referring to Cardinal Rode). She also went on to talk about how Rome continues to give the Legion more responsibility at the house in Jerusalem(?) and the college in Atlanta.

So the message being:

So far we've had 5 leave the team....somehow I think there will be more as more of the spin continues....we need to continue to pray for those "stuck on the fence".

[giselle]

Phenomenal. I understand that the RC member thinks that the Legion purchased Southern Catholic College out of obedience to the Vatican, who wanted them to grow? Bizarre.

The Jerusalem Centre is a different story (not bought under obedience to grow, to be sure). It was a white elephant that the Legion has turned into a PR machine for religious tourists.

http://www.notredamecenter.org/

[Johnny]

It is dead in our area. Most of the movers left. The membership is maybe 10% of what there was when the machine was churning at its peak. I have the feeling they are running out of people that are willing to talk with them. Previously they were way too busy to be available. Now they are pursuing me and asking to have a meeting. If you check their websites that help locate the various apostolates you will see that the numbers are way down. In our section the Legionary that serviced our area had 21 Conquest clubs. There is a fraction of that now. Why would anyone want to kill themselves like we all did for an order founded by a sex pervert, liar and criminal.

[Anon in FL]

I was in RC for 4.5 years and was a team leader in an area ready for growth, but a bit removed from the main part of the section. I left just before Lent began after a month of agonizing over the growing situation. I wrote a 6 page letter to the Section Director and her assistant to tell them specifically why I was leaving, which was because there had been lots of things that had bothered me for some time (apostolates for wealthy and only for recruitment, glorification of NP, etc.) Archbishop O'Brian's comments were key for me, as were the reaction of LC higher ups who thought there was no problem to be dealt with.

I felt I could not recommend the movement and therefore could not stay. I wound up taking my team of 5 members with me. The SD and her Asst. were very polite and thanked me for all the hard work I had done as TL and as local director of Familia (which I had resigned from in December). I received an email from another member several weeks later who did not know I had left. I told her and have not heard back. I am friends with a woman who left last year due to conflict with the SD and what she saw going on, and another RC couple who left when the scandal broke this year. To me it is all very sad.

[SlaveNoMore]

Our family got OUT. My children were in L/C school for 8 years. As my children got older I saw them BECOMING MORE CULT LIKE.

It has been 3 years since we escaped but we still suffer. Our local Catholic Church is filled with these R/C SPACE CADETS and their children. They are still out recruiting Families at Daily Mass and on the WELCOME committee at our Local Church. Our Pastors do not know who is R/C.The L/C have a school 1 mile from our Church.

I was at the hair salon the other day and a lady was sitting beside me and introduced herself and invited my daughter to her Challenge group. She said its great if your children are not in a Catholic school.

I am NOT in contact with any R/C members (a VERY HOLY Priest told us to HAVE NO CONTACT WITH ANY CULT members) and give our mind time to HEAL. Something was STOLEN from us during all my years, that is I DO NOT TRUST ANYONE ESPECIALLY ANYONE THAT APPROACHES ME IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. I have trouble with my Catholic Faith because this is still going on in MY OWN CHURCH.

Why is this allowed in THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. All the DEVOUT Catholics in our Church got sucked into L/C and we have few to help in the REAL CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Finally I will say that when I met FR Maciel a few years ago I DISCERNED something was not right I know now it was the Holy Spirit letting me know. Maybe it was seeing people trying to touch his coat with a piece of cloth to take home. Maybe it was seeing people kiss the Baptismal font in Cojita,Mexico that made me sick. Maybe it was HIS BIRTHDAY celebration with his GIANT photo and candles below burning and little kids kneeling in front of this to pray HE was still alive.

Thank GOD we escaped.

[nyota]

My mother and I attended a conference where MM spoke. As he walked out, were were shocked to see people RUN to line up on both sides of the aisle, reaching out to touch his clothing as he passed by. As he walked, he smiled and nodded and looked around at everyone. It was creepy.

This was the only LC/RC conference I ever attended; anyone know if this was a regular occurance?

[Ex aedibus]

As a former Mormon, I am very sensitive to these sorts of things. All of these claims are meaningless. Yes, their numbers are impressive. But then, so are the numbers that the Mormons claim!

The things that I read here make me sick. It makes me sick and angry to realise that something like this could happen in the Church which I love so very much.

Fr Alvaro does not seem to have the same charisma that the founder did. Ergo, it will be harder to keep it all together.

[Steve]

At different times I was our Section's "R" and "E" on the AFIRE. Quit back in 2005 over an incident with our Section assistant related to a scheduling snafu.
Rejoined right after the scandal broke in February (the Section Asst remained a good friend and was impressively honest about the gravity, reality and impact of MM's scandalous life.) I guess part of me is drawn to watching gigantic train wrecks in slow motion.

Am in email contact w/ several LC priests. A number of the Americans are really trying to do the right thing in all of this. The international leadership still appears to be drinking the MM koolaid.

Our own section was started w/out any help from the LCs (or even the national RC office.) We simply had a number of super intense Catholic men who had made a retreat w/ an LC 18 months prior to their kickoff meeting.

We appear to have avoided many of the RC pathologies and LC micromanagement seen in other sections. Still, a number of people have quit, but at least 70-80% still seem to want to give it a try.

I'm encouraging my brothers and sisters in RC to go out to these blogs and read what is being said. Our Section Asst is doing the same thing (amazing, no?) The only path forward that I see is in complete transparency, total rejection of MM's legacy and a total evaluation and expunging of all the cult-like characteristics of the "charism" and "mystique."

Apparently, a number of American LCs are already moving slowly towards the door. It is sad, because at least in the case of our own Section, we could see a goodness in the Movement that wasn't overly tainted by the sickness that seemed to affect so many others.