"The beauty of family"

[ Some additional information on the author added. A lot of Anahuac degrees on that masthead, n'est-ce pas? Also, what's with the birthdays on the bios? ]

This is appallingly tedious, if that term is allowed. This woman's definitions of fidelity and gratitude are mind-boggling -- and that's with 33 years of formation in this Movement. This article has been bouncing around cyber-space, but now comes to us in English through the hard work of a reader (you know the drill, folks: offer him up!) I present it here "below the fold" so that you need not look if find yourself to be sorely saturated with sycophants. But if you peek, you must pray all the harder.

UPDATE: Btw, she's not just any laywoman, but one who's deeply involved in catechesis:

Along with her husband she is a member of the Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese of México and of the Bioethics Council of the Mexican Bishops Conference... In addition, Lucrecia is Catholic.net's representative to the RIIAL and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

[Nota bene: her insistence on the meaning of Lumen Gentium, 45 may be a point on which we all agree.]

Lucretia Rego, who declared herself the spiritual "daughter of Maciel" after the new scandal broke out, speaks out about the Apostolic Visitation of the Legion of Christ.

August 10^th, 2009, (by Trastevere). - This past February 4^th, the news officially came out that the founder of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado –   charged and later condemned by the Vatican for pederasty and abuse of his own seminarians – had a daughter. (It has later become known, though not admitted by the Legion, that he had more children who now claim their inheritance.)  That original piece of news, which spread quickly, had an immediate response of “understanding” towards the figure and works of Fr. Maciel from Lucrecia Rego de Planas, a Regnum Christi member for 33 years, and who labeled herself “the other daughter of Maciel.”

On the letter that Lucrecia Rego wrote the day following the news, she signed off stating: “I know many will walk away ashamed upon learning of the sins of Nuestro Padre. I shall stay here, with whomever remains, to continue the beautiful work that Fr. Maciel began, defending our foundational charism, so that none of the good that he left us as his legacy gets lost. I am 'the other daughter of Fr. Maciel' and, although I'm not news, to him, my father (“Nuestro Padre”), I owe but great respect, venerable admiration, deep filial love, and sincere and enormous gratitude. May God keep him in His Glory!”

A kind reader of this blog contributes today a piece with the interview done this past July 20^th  with Maciel's “other (spiritual) daughter,” and in which she talks about the Apostolic Visitation to the Legionary centers and institutions -- ordered by the Vatican and currently taking place – where she continues to affirm her admiration for Notre Pere's opus, and questions the existence of Maciel's biological daughter, something which has been officially recognized by official spokespersons of the Legion of Christ.

Lucrecia Rego de Planas is an actuary, mother of nine, a Regnum Christ member for the last 35 years, and director of the Catholic portal Catholic.net, according to what she states in her own blog “Otro punto de vista” (“Another point of view”), published in the blog community of the newspaper El Pais.

From Lucrecia's own blog, we copy this, her own transcript of an interview by 'Radio Amanecer.'  The photograph shown in this post features Lucrecia greeting Fr. Maciel.

Mrs. Lucrecia, you declared yourself recently “the other daughter of Fr. Maciel.”  What is your opinion on the apostolic visit to the Legionaries of Christ? What do you think about the Vatican “throwing the glove” at the congregation founded by “your father”?

LRP – Pope Benedict XVI is placing special emphasis on going over, and updating himself on the current situation of the Church and its members, mainly in the religious branch. There are over 340 apostolic visitations currently taking place, ordered by the Holy Father, to different religious congregations in the United States. The visit to the Legion is but one of them, and I think it will be very good for all the Church, just as the others will, because the Pope will be able to find out what everyone's doing, or not doing, how it's being done, and then he'll be able to give out directives and guidelines so that the actions of the Church are in synch with whatever he sees fit.

Fr. Thomas Berg has declared that the Legion must renounce its founder in order to survive. What do you think of these statements?

LRP – What can I tell you? Fr. Thomas is free to express his opinion, and I am no one to judge him. It saddens me, yes, that he'd express himself in such manner about Our Father Founder and of our current directors, because he, having been 23 years in the Legion, is who he is only thanks to the Legion, which wouldn't exist had Fr. Maciel not founded it.  I think he should show some gratitude, regardless of how disappointed he might feel.

But, do you think his statements might be true?  Do you think the Legionaries will have to   renounce their founder in order to survive?

LRP –  All the contrary. If you read what Lumen Gentium, number 45, says about the interventions by the Holy See in religious congregations, their objective is precisely to make sure that said congregations are faithfully following the charism established by their founder.

I ignore the reasons of the Holy Father in this case, but I can guess that the intention is to find out whether the legionaries have deviated from the foundational charism imprinted on their constitutions, and – if they've done so – to then put the means in place to return to it.

 

It's not difficult to foresee that this is, indeed, what the Holy Father intends. If one reads his speeches of the last few years to different religious congregations, he's told the same thing to all of them in one way or another: “You must recover your foundational charism and be faithful to it.”  To the Franciscans, he speaks about St. Francis; to the Jesuits, about St. Ignatius; to the Saletians, of D. Bosco; to the Benedictines, of St. Benedict. It's predictable, then, what the Pope will ask of the Legionaries (and of the other 340 other congregations currently being visited): that they are to remain faithful to their foundational charism – the exact opposite of “renouncing their founder.”

In every instance that you mention, the founders have been saints. In the case of the legionaries, it's become known that Fr. Maciel is accused of great, terrible sins.  Doesn't this make a difference?

LRP –  No, it makes no difference. Fr. Maciel never told us he was a saint. On the contrary, in all his letters he recognizes himself to be a miserable creature in need of God's mercy.

 

Regardless of whether he had many or a few sins, large or small, no one can deny that he was the instrument chosen by God to found the Legion.  And God could not have made a mistake when he chose his instrument, because God makes no mistakes.

So, if God wanted to choose him to impress the Legion's charism, every legionary will have to be faithful to their foundational charism if they wish to fulfill what God has planned for them from the beginning.

What's your opinion on the performance of the current leaders: Alvaro Corcuera, Luis Garza, Evaristo Sada? Do you agree with their having treacherously hidden these truths, deceiving the legionaries, and becoming accomplices themselves of the sins of the founder?

LRP –  To accuse the Fathers of such things is nonsense.  No one is obliged to reveal another person's sins. On the contrary, they would've been traitors had they revealed them. The fact that they kept it secret is a sign not of complicity, but of their faithfulness, fondness and respect. There's nothing to complain to them about.

Jesus Christ gravely condemned the sin of scandal.  Don't you consider it scandalous that Fr. Maciel, being a priest, had a daughter, and that he then diverted vast sums of money from the Legion to provide for her?

LRP –  First of all, I must say that I find the whole story of the alleged daughter of Nuestro Padre to be quite implausible.  An elderly many of 68... it's very difficult at that age to even be capable of having a sexual relationship.

 

But let's suppose it's true... that, yes, the woman seduced him and was able to achieve (who knows by what means) said relationship and conception.  Following this supposition, we cannot know the degree of culpability of neither the woman nor the priest because we don't know the circumstances. Thus, there's no scandal, because we don't even know if the act meets the conditions to be a sin (full knowledge and full consent).

 

About the “large sums of money” that is said Fr. Maciel gave the mother of the girl... the press has mentioned the amounts of $5,000 to $10,000, which Fr. Maciel carried with him now and then. Are 10,000 dollars given now and then a scandalous amount to provide for a family? Absolutely not. It's barely enough to ensure that the child (who has no guilt in the story) gets clothing, a home, food, and an education in a place that is dignified and decent. What we do know is that Nuestro Padre worked much for the Legion and that, humanly speaking, he had every right (as laborer and director of an enterprise) to dispose of some money for his personal expenses (in this case, providing for this implausible family).

Then, do you defend with all your might the founder of the Legion?

LRP –  I said it on the letter I wrote on February 5^th. I neither hide nor defend, nor justify any of the bad that he might have don in his life. I simply say that I continue to love Nuestro Padre because... I still love him!

That's the beauty of family (of every family): you know you'll always be loved, whether you're good or evil. The love you have within your family doesn't depend of your good or bad behavior.  A mother won't stop loving her child if he/she takes a wrong path.  A daughter won't stop loving her father even if he becomes an alcoholic, a drug addict, or a goon. The marital promises are a perfect example of what I mean: “I promise to be faithful to you in good times and bad times, in sickness and in health, and to love and respect you all the days of my life.”  This means that true and faithful love is not dependent on the behavior of the loved one. You love him and respect him always, in good times and bad times, when he behaves well and when he behaves poorly.

 

Anyway... I once again affirm to you, as I did on February 5^th, that my love, admiration, and gratitude to Fr. Maciel has not been undermined. Just as every Legionary and Regnum Christ member does, I owe Nuestro Padre much of who I am. Thanks to him, I came to know Jesus Christ, and just because of that I owe him deep respect, great admiration, and enormous gratitude.  As the blind by birth said, I say also: “If he's a sinner, I don't know. I only know that I was blind before, and now I can see.”

To finish, Mrs. Lucrecia, what results do you think the apostolic visit will accomplish?  Do you think that the Pope will order the dissolution of the Legion?

LRP –  I think I already answered that at the beginning of this interview. I believe, based on what I've seen from other congregations, that the Pope will simply tell them that they must return to being strictly faithful to their foundational charism.  He might reprimand them on certain specific points where some legionaries were not being faithful: small infidelities in the liturgy of the Mass (such as folk offertories, where t-shirts, kerchiefs, or soccer balls were being offerd, instead of just the bread and wine), and on relaxation in the formation of some seminarians to speed up multiple ordinations; or special concessions to some personalities that the world considers “important,” just to be on their good side; or relaxation in the academic level in their schools to adapt to worldly fashions and criteria... and things like that...Frankly, nothing to scandalize anyone about.

I think the Pope will tell them simply to return to their militant, persevering and heroic faithfulness and effort, characteristic of the Legionaries of Christ; that they are to once more take seriously their responsibility to Teach, to Educate, and to Form – in their schools and seminaries – people that are truly wise and holy, and that they must be careful not to let themselves be carried away by the world's relativistic spirit.

That's what I think, but frankly I am nobody to be thinking anything since I'm not the official voice of the Legion, nor do I have a position of government within it. I'm just a rank-and-file member or Regnum Christi.

 

At any rate, the results of the apostolic visit won't be made known to us, because they are never publicly revealed.  The results will be known by Fr. Alvaro Corcuera and that's it. So it's useless to even try to speculate about it. We don't know it now, and we won't know it then.

Thank you for your time, Mrs. Lucrecia.

LRP –  Thank you all. God bless you.

Comments

[Mouse from Am Pap]

Wow. Honestly, that's mind-boggling. Though I wish I could have seen the interviewers face during that exchange....

She is right though--congregations follow the example set by their founder. (shudder) The implications are chilling.

[Still RC - For Now, Anyway]

"The marital promises are a perfect example of what I mean: “I promise to be faithful to you in good times and bad times, in sickness and in health, and to love and respect you all the days of my life." ”

Well, now I've heard everything - Lucretia has just raised the personal call to RC to the level of a sacrament. Frankly, I shouldn't be surprised.

Actually, I really should NOT be surprised. I now recall the same comparison made by an RC formator in my section in the wake of the MM news last Feb. Apparantly she had just returned from an RC-sponsored Marriage Renewal evening and the preacher (a diocesan priest, BTW, NOT a legionary) mentioned how his own parents persevered in their marriage through prayer and sacrifice despite infidelity, etc. The conclusion of those hearing this news: "No doubt he was encouraging us to persevere in our vocation to RC". Of course. After all, it was a MARRIAGE renewal evening but I guess it's always about that vocation to RC.

I can't even imagine what needs to be done in order to correct this level of malformation.

[anonymous]

This woman reminds me of my sister, an ardent RC member, who of course defends maciel...and who also defends our biological father, who sexually abused us.

Both women seem to be broken, in a deep and tragic way.

[Molly Callahan]

Seriously, there are no words.

[m]

This is just completely sick. I see why my RC friend is stuck without the ability to see reality. It's so scary that there are probably thousands of people out there thinking the same way -- that MM was perfectly fine.

When Pope Benedict XVI came out with that statement on how people need to get back imitating the lives of their founders, I took that as a warning, not as a High Five for RC/LC members. It seemed very obvious to me, but not to any of the RC people.

It seems like step one was "separate yourselves from the founder," and step two was "If there's a valid charism, then follow your founder."

Doesn't it seem so obvious? Hello, you were supposed to separate & you didn't, so here's the next warning. Pope Benedict is being very diplomatic & generous with his patience, but he's dealing with people who are completely blind. If it's bugging ME, it must be driving him bonkers!!!!!

[gregorbo]

Anonymous--I'm so sorry. Please know that there are those of us out there praying for you. I hope all is well. God Bless You. He knew you in the womb. He has counted all the hairs on your head.

[Freetobe]

We were told in retreats that we received our "vocation" to Regnum Christi at baptism and it is irrevocable. "It was the big umbrella that all other vocations fit under".

What a crock, but nevertheless, very binding for the gullible and naive.

[Still RC - For Now, Anyway]

I like what my pastor told me once:

"If it helps you spiritually, stay. If it doesn't, you can drop them like a hot potato no problems whatsoever". Anything else is just bunk. The RC vocation is a PERSONAL CALL with no binding commitment. It's not to be confused with any covenant made through one of the sacraments. It's not a substitute for Christ nor is it Christ. It's there if we need it to progress in holiness. If we don't need it, or don't need it anymore, we can drop it.

Now, how about if THAT were told to us by our spiritual guides, our team leaders or by Fr. whozeewhat LC at our Triduum of Incorporation?

Nothing like a little Breath of Truth, compliments of the Holy Spirit.

[Joseph]

There are SO many problems with this interview.

Some key points:

There are not 340 visitations in the US. There is 1 visitation of female religious congregations. This is largely because female religious congregations have gone off the rails and need to be drawn back to their charism. This 1 visitation covers hundreds of religious houses, but it is still one visitation.

There are two key problems with these two paragraphs:

"It makes no difference. Fr. Maciel never told us he was a saint. On the contrary, in all his letters he recognizes himself to be a miserable creature in need of God's mercy.

Regardless of whether he had many or a few sins, large or small, no one can deny that he was the instrument chosen by God to found the Legion. And God could not have made a mistake when he chose his instrument, because God makes no mistakes."

The first is that Fr Maciel placed himself on a pedestal. Fr maciel said very clearly that he never said no to the Holy Spirit. My wife heard him say this with her own ears. She had this drilled into her when she was consecrated. What is this except calling oneself a saint?

Secondly, one cannot state that God chose MM to found the congregation and that because God makes no mistakes that all is fine. it is not necessarily correct that God called MM to be a founder. MM may have had only human motivations in his founding while God, who works everything for our good, brought about good fruits and blessings from the humanly inspired institution of MM.

Finally, this paragraph is so troubling:

"About the “large sums of money” that is said Fr. Maciel gave the mother of the girl... the press has mentioned the amounts of $5,000 to $10,000, which Fr. Maciel carried with him now and then. Are 10,000 dollars given now and then a scandalous amount to provide for a family? Absolutely not. It's barely enough to ensure that the child (who has no guilt in the story) gets clothing, a home, food, and an education in a place that is dignified and decent. What we do know is that Nuestro Padre worked much for the Legion and that, humanly speaking, he had every right (as laborer and director of an enterprise) to dispose of some money for his personal expenses (in this case, providing for this implausible family)."

Actually, in most civilised countries, and in morality as well, even the sole owner and director of a company cannot take the company's funds and use them as they wish. There is a strict legal separation between the company and its owners and directors. Using a company's cash for personal purposes is called corruption and theft and there are people in jail for such crimes. Perhaps some cultures have a more easy going attitude to financial corruption.

But of course, we are not dealing only with a company here, nor are we dealing with mere positive (man made) law, and the moral requirement of probity and honest behaviour is much higher under Divine Law...

[another exLegionary]

Exactly Joseph! "I have never said no to God," he said it again and again, it was held up to us by superiors as an example of fidelity, to encourage us to fulfill the 640,00 little rules of daily life so we would blow our nose correctly and sharpen our pencil correctly and take a dump correctly.

Lucretia is doing more good to show what is wrong with LC/RC than anything ReGAIN could possibly come up with. She will be silenced ex post haste, probably moved.

Her text is a prime example of consecrated talk. Prime example. If you want to know what it's like to live in a consecrated center, read that interview and pretend you're listening to a conversation, and repeat it about three or four times until you're ready to barf.

I think now it's clear aliens have landed in Rhode Island, sucked out their brains, and are now pretending to be human.

[another exLegionary]

"Fr Thomas Berg is who he is only thanks to the Legion."

Only? Really? Does the Legion now create people ex nihilo? That's a neat trick.

I think AB Chaput should be armed with a Thorzine dart gun before he steps foot on LC soil. Just to be safe.

[Jeannette]

I'm sorry, but all I can think about is how we're always told to look at the "fruits of the Legion".

[Dominus Flevit]

Indeed, here are the Legion's fruits.

Which turn out to be nuts.

[exRC]

I also heard MM say he never once said no to the Holy Spirit. It was in the Palacio de los Deportes, during priestly ordenations.
I also know Lucrecia personally, and what troubles me more is that it seems really hard to believe that she is saying all these without her spiritual director or section director's permission, since, at least until some years ago, she was second degree, third "matiz". I don´t think she would be making these statements without permission, although I can not be sure.
At least I know some of MM family is in the same denial attitude. One of MM´s sister´s family is still saying that he was a saint, that all this is an ingratitude, and that when his daughter was conceived he was sick (because of the brain surgery) and all that nonsense.
But what another exLegionary said is true: Lucrecia´s words do good, because they help everyone see the fanatism and brain wash that takes place in this group.

[HH]

Well there is now a son born 28 years ago, well before the brain surgery or injury that occasioned it. Tell that to Sis Maciel.