The letter is here. I was going to parse it but there's nothing to say. The Church is moving forward with this Congregation firmly in its bosom. The great good is affirmed, most of the evil died with the Founder and what remains will be shaken out in the General Chapter to come. Where Benedict thanked the tenacious "media" for persevering with their charges of duplicity, now those voices are a "great clamor," a "whirlpool of public opinion" that have sadly undermined vocations, and are "not able to tell clearly enough truth from falsification."
Despite the open Visitation of the 3gf's, they are encouraged in this letter to simply be quiet and look forward to the coming revisions. I cannot overstate the confusion this causes--since they are just beginning to solicit input, but it would seem that our work is ended with this. I don't regret anything that I have written from day one (or the tremendous people I have encountered along the way) but now I have other projects to attend to. God's most holy will in all things.
Giselle and everyone who has ever posted on this blog:
I am sorry. I felt like I was reading a script from a really bad movie when I read Abp. DePaolis' letter.
We know that our pain was/is real. We know that our experiences were not our imagination.
Personally, I felt insulted by the "whirlpool of public opinion" comment. Does Abp. DePaolis mean to second guess all the seminarians and priest who have left this order over the decades? What about parents whose children were spiritually manipulated? Was their concern just a loud clamor?
I guess I need to trust Jesus more, but I feel like we've taken a real step backward today.
Posted by: White Tree | October 20, 2010 at 03:32 PM
Screw the Catholic Church.
Posted by: Done with the lying bastards. | October 20, 2010 at 03:36 PM
With regard to the letter, I must say I'm not surprised. This is, in my experience, the way the "Church/Vatican" operates. Much as I think it's a mistaken approach, in this day and age, it's the only way they seem to know how to manage a crisis. They have much to learn from Toyota and BP.
Getting upset over the letter may help vent deep emotions - but all I can do is to pray for the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed,and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
Posted by: The Monk | October 20, 2010 at 03:52 PM
If this is what Catholicism is supposed to look like looks like, then I've made a huge mistake in thinking it was the right Church; if these people are good Catholics, then I don't want to be one.
Posted by: Jeannette | October 20, 2010 at 03:53 PM
This is about the best letter I have read to date. I don't know why everyone isn't jumping up and down with joy! My goodness!
(Not being sarcastic). More soon.
Posted by: gregorbo | October 20, 2010 at 03:57 PM
"Their ability to read their situation in a supernatural dimension allowed them not to go astray or become lost. The guiding star of fidelity to the Church and obedience to the Pope saved them from easy discouragement and abandonment."
So what does that say about Fr Berg, Fr Richard Gill, Fr Jack and even Monk who left because they all saw serious problems with Maciel and his methodology and were standing up for truth? What is wrong with being a diocesan priest or leaving to become a diocesan priest?
Something does not read right to me here.
Posted by: Anon out of RC | October 20, 2010 at 04:03 PM
Thank you, Genevieve.
Posted by: PaulM | October 20, 2010 at 04:15 PM
Well, I guess we can see where this is headed. I am sad but not totally surprised. Sure, it'll be hard to see the even smugger faces of RC members as they seize on every word of this after having ignored previous communiques. People keep telling me that we are not meant to have happiness on this earth. I guess that goes for justice too.
Posted by: Johnna H. - Never Again Anon in STL | October 20, 2010 at 04:29 PM
Giselle, are we to understand that this blog is coming to an end? It doesn't sound like much will change. People will continue to be hurt, but now they won't have anywhere to go.
My main problem with Abp. De Paolis' letter is not so much that it buoyed up the Legion, but that it minimized its critics:
"I ardently invite you to set aside all suspicion and distrust, and work concretely and positively for the good of the Legion, without lingering still on the past or feeding divisions."
I know he's speaking to the ones who remained (apparently, most of them), but for everyone abused by the Legionary system, that admonition stings. It sounds as if a fair number of Legionaries are suspicious of their Superiors, but the Delegate is brushing aside their concerns.
Also, I think this tendency to downplay the harm done can be seen here:
"More than one have spoken of their initial reaction of anger and almost fury, with the feeling of being betrayed, but then they recovered."
Really? That quickly? I was never even in RC, and I was crying just this morning!
What about all of the testimonies people here have posted? Do they just dissolve and melt away?
Posted by: White Tree | October 20, 2010 at 05:09 PM
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Genevieve.
This blog was therapy for so many, who were scarred by Maciel and his cohorts.
God bless you and don't lose heart- let us persevere in prayer and not lose hope in renewal- For God Makes All Things New!
May God hold all of us in the palm of his hand.
Posted by: Basta! | October 20, 2010 at 05:12 PM
I meant to add one more thing.
What about the U.S. Bishops who have banned or curbed Legionary activities in their dioceses? Were they wrong? Are they supposed to throw open their diocesan doors now that the Legion has been officially reconfirmed as "approved by the Church?"
Posted by: White Tree | October 20, 2010 at 05:12 PM
The blog isn't going anywhere, but both sides have agreed that the Church would have the last word. I don't understand the word, I don't get the backhand to victims and those who persisted in making the truth known, I don't know how else to bury the hatchet and set aside suspicions other than to walk away and tend to my baptismal call in other venues. There are plenty, and lots of work left for us all to do.
We made the best case, we played by the rules and now the Church will pursue what it sees as the best strategy (and ftr, I trust Benedict). The real strategy may not be what we see on the surface, but counter-point is no longer welcome in this "great clamor." It thereby becomes an occasion of sin for me to persist, although the testament to five years of ardent discussion is here for those who wish to dig into it. Quite a rich assortment of insights from amazing people, which cannot be overstated. How we have grown over the years!
Posted by: giselle | October 20, 2010 at 05:16 PM
Thank you Giselle !!! You helped many people.
Posted by: enough already ! | October 20, 2010 at 05:31 PM
Thank you Giselle! I started looking at this site after I decided to leave RC. It's been a big help.
Posted by: No longer RC | October 20, 2010 at 05:44 PM
OK, I'm probably grasping at straws here, but if there is any good news in this, maybe in a backward way, DePaolis has made it easier for some LCs to leave. Maybe the LCs who've been hanging in there, hoping for significant reform will read the writing on the wall, which says not much is really going to change. Sure, the most "integrated" will never leave no matter what. But for the men who have freed their consciences enough to be distrustful of their superiors, to question who knew what and when, to demand answers about their history, to care about justice for victims, maybe there's no going back. Maybe this letter will be followed by a trickle of departures? I pray!
Posted by: Original Jane | October 20, 2010 at 05:47 PM
Another glimmer of hope for me is the number of new visitors to Life-After-RC, who have left RC in recent months. Maybe in the long run, the better way for LC/RC to die is for members to finally reach a point where they leave because they discerned it on their own, and not because the Vatican gave them no choice.
Posted by: Original Jane | October 20, 2010 at 05:54 PM
Thank you soooo much Giselle! I will forever be grateful to you. You are my hero!! A true daughter of the Church!
Posted by: ExRC2009 | October 20, 2010 at 05:58 PM
Was the news a week or so ago that Fr. Garza was on the way out accurate? Or is he still in charge?
Posted by: mpi | October 20, 2010 at 05:59 PM
Don't know how to parse that information, but his departure was being explained by LC's on the inside. I guess reliable communication is still not their strong suit.
Posted by: giselle | October 20, 2010 at 06:03 PM
Dear bloggers, I know Vaticanese is a difficult language for you. My reading of this letter is that we have won the ideological battle. The Legión will be renewed according to Vatican II criteria. And VdP says clearly that the Legion's drama is that even its General Director does not get that, so the mission of VdP is to get this messagge through. This is not enough though, we need to win also the political battle to really make things move.
This blog has been a wonderful space for debate and it needs to keep on moving, but it is obvious that the Church is not going to dissolve the Legion. Anyone who thinks that should be the case will be inevitably disappointed by this letter. But for people like me, that trust BXVI bet on the future of the Legion, what VdP presents is the only way forward.
Posted by: Arminium | October 20, 2010 at 06:06 PM
Gregorbo! I anxiously await your analysis!
Posted by: mpi | October 20, 2010 at 06:07 PM
mpi | October 20, 2010 at 05:59 PM
The way I heard it is that he would not be the territorial director for Italy - just one of his responsibilities.
Posted by: The Monk | October 20, 2010 at 06:13 PM
I hope I am right when I suggest that initial reactions (here) to the letter may be the result of unrealistic expectations.
Although I don't know Gregorbo's reasons, I'm inclined to take the letter as just another important step in a longer process. To have expected more is reasonable. From the perspective of how the Vatican handles such matters, this is par for the course. Important statements are made. More will be forthcoming. Change will come about, slowly. As for me, this particular communication in no way affects - negatively - my faith in the Church. Dysfunctional families take time to heal and find their new life. It's not a short term process, and for the Legion, it's just the beginning. Hope I'm right.
Posted by: The Monk | October 20, 2010 at 06:19 PM
No surprises here. They know which side their bread is buttered on.
Posted by: ExRC now ExChristian | October 20, 2010 at 06:20 PM
Okay, let me get this straight. We are trading up secularism for fraudulent Catholicism? Great job! No wonder people leave the Catholic church decade after decade. The good old boys network in the Vatican is alive and well.
Thanks Giselle! I appreciated your blog and found it helpful through very trying times. God bless.
Posted by: MBR | October 20, 2010 at 06:50 PM