life-after-RC

Legion 500

That's a hybrid between the Legion and Fortune 500 companies -- meaning that the Legion seems to be implementing a proven business model in order to bolster sales recruit and fundraise. Take a moment and imagine Francis doing this (or Ignatius, or Benedict, or Bruno, or Dominic...):

The POC [Participatory Organizational Council] is a key element in the process being used by the North American Territory that is facilitated by the Adizes organization.  Adizes (named after the last name of the guy who started and runs the company) is a global consulting firm with a rather renowned reputation.  Google the name and you’ll find books, articles and all sorts of interesting things.  Adizes has helped the Legion with several projects, both in North America, but also in Brazil and Spain.

We started in March with 33 Legionaries, consecrated and lay members gathered at Thornwood for several days devoted to identifying areas where we need improvement.  It was a rather broad discussion, with more than 400 PIPs identified.  (A PIP is a “potential improvement point” and the group clearly thought we had some areas where improvement was possible.)  Then the group narrowed down the list and the POC was appointed to decide what opportunities to address first and get working on them.

Adizes helps an organization identify its strengths and weakness and make sure the organization is structured to be more effective.

[While this involves common sense] if we knew how to sort this all our by ourselves I guess we wouldn’t have found it so easy to identify more than 400 things that need fixing.

Here are a few specifics:

• Guidelines for a locality fundraising model
• Communications model/flow tool and message mat (if you aren’t familiar with these and would like to be, contact me personally and I’ll be happy to explain….if you have a team of people, I’ll be happy to set up a training webinar)
• Study about subsidiarity, what it really is and how we have implemented it in various places and levels of our organization
• Training on administrative procedures to a variety of centers
• Teams to support the development of the Dallas and NY localities
• First ever survey of all Legionaries, consecrated and lay members in North America, generating more than 1500 responses.  The results of the survey were critical in the creation of the territory’s Mission Action Plan.
• A Process for the implementation for the MAP.

Yes, I understand that parishes -- even bishops -- use such things as business models, projections and development teams, but they know what they're about and why they exist. I think what baffles me is that such a large amount of money and energy is being spent by a group that has yet to amend its constitutions or define its mission. Don't many of these things depend on charism and the structures of authority that are an integral part of the congregation -- structures that have yet to be defined and approved? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? Or is the charism something that Adizes will find? They are a top notch crew:

Adizes is a worldwide consulting organization serving clients who are involved in many diverse industries, and range in size from start-ups to members of the Global 100. At the heart of the organization is the Adizes Institute where research, licensing and training in the Adizes Methodology™ is conducted. The Institute is also associated with the Adizes Graduate School, which offers master and doctoral degree programs in organizational transformation.

Since 1973, Adizes has provided thousands of organizations with a powerful and comprehensive change program that unlocks their hidden value and enables them to achieve leadership positions in their industries.

Btw, the whole Adizes site is fascinating, especially these courses, complete with methodology and integration workshops for managing people, change, and success. (There's even healing resources, which explains the "comparative principles of healing drawn from non-allopathic therapeutic systems, shamanism, Buddhism, Zen, and Taoism." I fully trust that the Legion will stick to the sacramental system -- no matter what the PIP data suggest.)

Let's revisit the "cult" word

Pete provides this valuable link on red flags in religous settings, which provides comparative lists of characteristics. One list includes:

1. The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment. 
2. The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
3. The group is preoccupied with making money. 
4. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
5. Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s). 
6. The leadership dictates sometimes in great detail how members should think, act, and feel (for example: members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children, and so forth). 
7. The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity). 
8. The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society. 
9. The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations). 
10. The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities). 
11. The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them. 
12. Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group. 
13. Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group. 
14. Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

Do scroll through the various lists and see what applies to this Catholic Movement. Remember, even a few accurate points are enough to be problematic -- you don't have to hit 100% to be a cult.

ADDENDUM: to clarify how Regnum Christi fits the cult mold, consider this sleight of hand, which has only been exposed in the last year:

The pope’s envoy running the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order says the 1,000-plus rules governing the cult-like life of some of its members are invalid and will be whittled down to a core set of norms.

The rules that the Legion’s consecrated women and men live under cover everything from how to eat a piece of bread (tear off bite-size pieces, don’t bite into it) to what they can watch on television to how they interact with outsiders and family members.

The Legion scandal ranks as one of the worst in the 20th century Catholic Church since Pope John Paul II held the Legion’s late founder the Rev. Marciel Maciel up as a model, even though the Vatican knew for over a decade about credible allegations he was a pedophile.

One of the greatest scandals concerning the Legion’s consecrated members is that for years they were told that the 1,000-plus rules they lived by had been approved by the Vatican, when in fact only 128 general statutes had been approved.

Former members have complained that they were told that disobeying any one of the rules was tantamount to disobeying God’s will — a heavy onus that created an unhealthy striving for perfection over the most meaningless of norms.

But in a Nov. 21 letter, the pope’s delegate for the Legion, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, said the rules had no legal status since they were never officially approved. He said a small commission would be formed soon to “extract” from the rules only those that are “strictly necessary” for the life and governance of the group.

This core set of rules will guide the consecrated until their whole governing statutes are revised, he wrote. Significantly, this revision process will be carried out almost independently of the Legion — part of the autonomy De Paolis envisages for the consecrated members.

The rules aren’t public but were at one point posted on Wikileaks. The etiquette norms specify how to eat specific types of food: an orange (with a knife and fork); spaghetti (cut, not rolled around a fork) and chicken (with a knife and fork, except on picnics when it can be eaten with fingers).

Members have defended the rules as a way to create unity in an international movement with people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Critics have said the excessiveness of rules masks a lack of spirituality and constitutes a red flag about the cult-like nature of the movement.

"A proper autonomy"

From a 3gf living in Chile:

In September while in Rome, we had the opportunity to meet with the papal delegate, Cardinal Velasio de Paolis, who has been following Regnum Christi on this journey of personal and institutional renewal. From that meeting emerged the letter we recently received. This letter is a "sign" that we are unequivocally in the hands of the Church and the Pope. The Delegate together with his counselors came to tell us that the Regnum Christi is a work of God and that He is the first interested in her. He said that he wants to help take care of this work to reach the fullness of God and thus to remain for the Church and the world a tool through which many souls come to know the love of Christ.

For some, this letter says a lot and others may not say anything. What it is clearly expressed its desire that we be joined with the Church at this time: "You are not alone," he tells us. "We're here to help," were words that constantly repeated in this meeting.

The Bishop himself made that clear, and that "in the apostolic visitation was found that the consecrated members are grateful for our calling and live with joy our consecration to God according to the evangelical counsels, well aware that we offer a precious service to the Church."

The Regnum Christi should be a response to what the Church needs today. Therefore, the Cardinal does not speak of a relaunch or a separation, but a rightful autonomy, "generally perceived a positive assessment of the relationship between the Legion and consecrated persons in the Regnum Christi."

At the same time is saying it will ensure "a proper autonomy, in which consecrated persons should live a partnership with the Church", keeping with the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ "a link in the participation , albeit differently, in the same charism, spirituality and apostolate, keeping a precious treasure that they have inherited." Therefore, we seek "proper configuration, which corresponds to canon law, to safeguard, promote and further develop this treasure."

There are three levels to this insight, a personal one, which is placed before God with all your being so that you will be enlightened and make a decision and personal choice. Another, sharing with our brothers in their vocation, for while God speaks directly through His Word, He also speaks through our brothers ...

How enriching it is to listen to others living with you, who are on your side, who are part of your life because you are all living the same challenge! The third level concerns the superiors, whose decisions are to to be made with the participation of all who are engaged in the same orderly structure. This level is the one that the Church will consider in the coming months.

We are accustomed to a world of quick and easy answers, but we must trust our beloved Church and know that her answers are full of wisdom, deep reflection and prayer -- and seek always to please and serve God.

We must be aware that we are growing in "oneness" in "being a family", the family of Regnum Christi, which brings together many lay people, consecrated, and the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. In this family we find supported, someone to listen and an attachment to an end that is the same for all, "come to Christ, definitely reach heaven."

We must pray, pray hard, pray for each and every one of us in the Regnum Christi, as Pope Benedict XVI recently said, "Where is God, no future, no hope."

Just a note that, while I admire her respect for the Church and perserverence in her chosen vocation, she provides the usual sleight of hand at the end, as though choosing this Movement = choosing Christ. To turn it around, to walk away from the RC is to walk away from Christ. Unfortunately, although that doesn't follow, it is the standard hook by which young, impressionable souls are nailed into this group.

It remains to see how much "wisdom, deep reflection and prayer" guide the superiors who are charged with forging their future. Prayers for God's most perfect will to prevail.

[The original text, written by Araceli Delgado, is found here.]

"Greetings from the Catacombs"

A Googelle translation from Trastevere [still needs work!]:

.
After carefully analyzing the bleak panorama of this congregation, and hearing the sentiments of many members and especially seeing the poor management that is taking place, I can only reach 10 conclusions:
.
1. There have been some slow, forced changes. The canonical rotation was only symbolic since the "eternal superiors" cling to their governing positions on the grounds that there are no qualified people, and that "charge is hard and difficult." They claim that those who serve in higher education carry a heavy burden, but that struggle means reveling in the "modus vivendi" and princely court of praise and flattery in which they move.
.
2.They proclaim to the winds a serenity of mind and explain that the great exodus that was caused by their negligence in the government is [actually] part of a necessary cleansing from God. They themselves--while recognizing the closure of houses, training centers and ministry, the loss of so many priests, consecrated persons and lay people--have come to the conclusion that since "we are less," that "it's a shame to see that many have gone" and "this is an opportunity to show love to our mother the Legion ..." What you really need in the congregation is, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI,"a change in structure from falling into the void ... "
.
They continue to spread the impression that "all good" or made known to the laity certain slogans like "this period has been a blessing from God," "God has shown His great goodness and mercy," "we are one big family and we live in a miracle," "we are the true founders, " "timely action [?] is the genuine charism of charity," "yet we continue with growing numbers in comparison to other congregations and religious groups," "we're not the only ones in crisis, the whole Church is,"and they seek to mitigate the public outcry or lessen the severity of the situation. If they knew what was coming when [the truth] came to light (if they have the courage to make it known) and the global financial scandal they have caused, it still does not solve the eternal question: Where is the money? And people close to them in their ministries or in their movements are beset with this awkward question ...
.
3. Within their internal communications is a misinterpretation and a partial view of the slogans of the Holy See. While intending to work on the changes proposed by the Pope and the Delegate, they filter them, and accommodate them to their interests [or an effective system of fruit]. The Legion also continues to act against the canon law in regard to spiritual directors (Canon 630, 1). There are still restrictions on the freedom of members through the creation of lists--short lists of priests loyal to the system who are without apostolic experience, and tax experts, members of the elite upper caste, and faithful conscientious drivers.
.
4. They find refuge in "this has been successful," "has been effective in our ministries," "always worked" in order to maintain a hieratic attitude, strengthen their armor and protect the system--and yet this method of working is at the cost of losing credibility, burning people of good will and playing with vocations.
.
5. The communal review of the constitution has meant an important introduction to the dialogue among LC's, which has never before existed because of repression, fear or lack of faith in them. The main result has been not able to draw more, avoid criticizing or demonizing those who think different. However, it results in labeling those who disagree with their superiors, for those who believe that change is more than a simple glaze are considered disloyal to the LC's. Those who still argue that change must be based on the code of canon law are criticised for seeking to change the Legion spirit, for not being faithful to tradition, and for trying to insert a charism of their own.
.
6. What bothers them most has been the discovery of evidence of the errors, oversights and omissions that have been a part of the LC, which have been pragmatically negative in inhumane to the members. Continually filtered reports are the straw that breaks the camel's back, becuase they do not conceive the possibility of being wrong and although some who are above have been exposed, most have enjoyed unconditional protection and immunity against attack. And they have tried to spread a sense of "self as superior because I did what I was asked for love of God and the Legion." That is the best proof that the spirit of Maciel is still present even in its structure and its system of government.
.
7. "Control, control, control" is the motto for all--no matter if they are priests or lay people, but especially if the person has been added to the list of "restless" members. At this time, those in education have been issued warning statements concerning members who have poorly controlled correspondence.
.
8. Superiors use the apostolic delegate's letter of May 19 (where he speaks of the "dissidents") as a means to flag individuals who have chosen to help with the change process; they're then separated from their communities to prevent them from doing damage with their "negative influence,"and they are given the reputation of infidels, since they are trouble-makering possessors of truth. Those who question are sent on the road, some have found evidence or have uncovered bugs, tampering, negligence or mafias. This is characteristic of an overbearing government, horizontal, convenenciero and sick.
.
9. The above know of dedicated family members, consecrated and lay people who call them "dissidents," and do not lift a finger to support them, for fear that they will jeopardize their own privileged positions or be stained by association with this bad example. They prefer to step aside, in order for the rebel to "fall off" and not fall with him. That is a sign of a false charity, which they defend and proclaim as their charism.
.
10. There is the clear and irrevocable arrangement of many members who live in passivity and suspense in this trial, awaiting to be told what to do and where to go. Under the sophism: "Do not rush the changes because the Holy See will tell us the way forward" or "We can not interfere with the modus of the Church" show that what they are experiencing is an atmosphere of confusion and despair which has led them to opt for silence, in which they repeat constantly: "Leave me alone, for I have work to do." But they do not realize that they live at the expense of others, his specialty is "delegate" the hard work in the secular or more daring Legionnaires and enthusiasm. The saddest thing is that the essence of pastoral and priestly life is subject to a life of luxury, false flattery, praise and subtle social forms.
.
May the Lord give you the clarity to realize the bubble in which they have lived comfortably so long and where it is now drowning in it. They are confident in their fragile living system and waiting for a false redemption that will never come until they awaken from their slumber and free themselves from the ineptitude of those who, blinded by power and pride, govern and are leading to a fatal outcome, or worse, at the end of their existence in the Church.

How to move forward

Perhaps readers will have some ideas on how to re-engage the Church after the RC experience.

I am asking you if you could start a new discussion for my family. We are ex R/C and deeply hurt from all our years of working like slaves giving money etc all our kids were in that L/C school. We got out years ago.

We are asking where we can come in to help the Church.
We are hurt, DO NOT TRUST anyone in the Church,wiil not get into any groups that we have to share or get to talk or know people.
Is there any thing we can do?
We thought of Adoration but that is led by a Consecreated young woman
Every thing I look at has R/C people in it except Pro Life and SVDP
Please does anyone know why they are all now so INVOLVED in Parish Church as their Apostolate.

Sincerely, Still Catholic and Looking for a Vineyard

I think it's important to consider a few points.

• If this were a patient being discharged from a hospital, no one would seriously ask him to participate in vigourous activities for a long time, until he has recovered sufficiently. It's the same for a new widow/er. Spiritual or emotional trauma is taxing, and there is no need to jump into the fray of daily life on your previous terms;
• Please remember that one of the problems with the Legion is its "busyness." We were always "building the Kingdom (!)" in tangible, visible ways (and taking tallies of our success). To quote a frequent contributor: That's. Not. Catholicism. Grace is more subtle, more gentle, more pervasive in quieter corners. If you feel as though you're less of a Catholic without appointments, meetings and a game plan, then perhaps you should give yourself a six-month moratorium on all three. Ours is a faith of primarily "being," not "doing."
• Finally, your whole family has been traumatised and your first responsibility it to them. Sit quietly when you can, listen to them (it may be very difficult for them to express themselves). Wait for the anger, which may be directed at you or the Church (who interestingly were victimised by this group). Hear them out, cry with them and have a low-key Christ-filled Christmas. Engage in the liturgy, pray in the evenings (if they're inclined) and play board games. Anything unplugged and unscripted. (We love Boggle.) Love each other and next year, when the dust has settled and each has made his peace with God and the rest of the family, perhaps you can look in your closets and muster a bag for Saint Vincent de Paul. And then ice cream -- because that will be a small victory.

Three items on the status quo

Aaron brings to our attention a few things, starting with another LC enterprise:

Integer Ethical Funds - Value Fund is a Sicav incorporated in Luxembourg. The Fund's objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation. The Fund will invest at least two-thirds of its assets in equity and fixed income securities issued by companies and governments. The Fund will invest in securities issued by companies previously screened according to Ethical Principles.

To be clear, this isn't Integer Group, but LC-related nevertheless. On another topic, he notes:

There is also a comment that many LCs simply have no confidence in Alvaro who seems to be breaking promises and giving false hopes. He is surrounded, at his own choice, by those that revere him.

And here is a letter from Carlos Skertchly asking for money because the LC diocesan seminary Regina Apostolorum cannot pay the electricity bill from a year ago and are being threatened to have their electricity cut off (which would be quite serious because the food in their fridges would spoil etc). If you make a donation via paypal you should identify it as a scolarship for diocesan priests.

I wonder if the bishops who sent these seminarians to Rome to be educated with the LC are aware of this situation? Do the LC educate them for free?

It strikes me that if you are that seriously in the red that you cannot pay your electricity bill after a year then you are a bad business and would be better to close. Where's chef ramsay when you need him?

I may remind you of another bishop who had sent his seminarians to the LC diocesan seminary Regina Apostolorum (either the one in Rome or its sister in Brasil or both):

"As for the legionaries, their structure did not convince me from some time due to the the lack of trust they have in freedom of people which I saw from inside", said the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

"An authoritarianism that sought to dominate everything with discipline." "I had already removed the Brasila diocesan seminarians from its seminary, because I saw that things could not go ahead in this way", he added.

De: Carlos Skertchly LC (PROCURADOR GENERAL)
Asunto: S.O.S.
*
Queridos amigos,
*
Les escribo estas líneas para solicitar SU AYUDA de la manera más urgente.
*
Soy actualmente el rector del Colegio Internacional Maria Mater Ecclesiae en Roma, donde se forman 150 seminaristas provenientes de 77 diócesis de todo el mundo.
*
Desde hace tiempo hemos comenzado a sufrir una crisis económica muy fuerte, debido a la misma situación del mundo y también a la situación de nuestra Congregación.
*
Estos últimos meses han sido muy difíciles y estamos llegando al punto de no saber qué hacer para mantener el seminario.
*
Desde hace un mes nos han amenazado con el corte de la electricidad por estar arrastrando una deuda desde hace un año.
*
Hemos tratado de conseguir algunos donativos. Pero ahora hemos llegado al punto insostenible. Definitivamente: o pagamos o nos quedamos sin electricidad, lo cual sería gravísimo. Tendríamos a 150 personas: sin luz, sin agua, sin alimentos (los que tenemos conservados en refrigeración se echarían a perder).
*
Pidiendo ayuda a Dios se me ocurrió recurrir a la red de FB, a mis amigos. Actualmente debemos 32,000 euros (equivalentes a 43,500 dólares, o 600,000 pesos).
*
Haciendo cálculos de cómo me pueden ayudar los 1652 amigos en FB:
*
- Si cada uno da al Seminario 20 euros (27 dólares = 400 pesos) ¡Ya la hice!
- Si 800 amigos responden dando 40 euros (54 dólares = 800 pesos) ¡ya está!
- Si 400 amigos responden dando 80 euros (100 dólares = 1600 pesos) ¡YA!
*
Para efectuar su ayuda tenemos la siguiente posibilidad con el sistema de “Pay Pal” (con tarjeta de crédito).
*
1. Ingresar a la página: <a href="http://www.darvalemas.com">http://www.darvalemas.com</a>
2. Seleccionar “dona ahora…”
3. Y en las opciones que se piden:
*
Quiero que mi donativo sea para: “vocaciones”
Marcando el recuadro “Beca para sacerdotes diocesanos”.
Y en la ventanilla seleccionar:
“Pontificio Colegio Internacional Maria Mater Ecclesiae”
*
A nombre de los formadores y seminaristas de este Pontificio Colegio Internacional “Maria Mater Ecclesiae”, deseo agradecer su respuesta generosa ante la difícil situación económica que atravesamos.
*
A cada uno les tendré muy presentes en mis oraciones. Un abrazo en el Señor,
*
P. Carlos

Perhaps the money is not as straight-forward as it would seem, because why would the Legion fly dozens of members across the globe for a conference -- in the days of video conferencing and virtual meetings? And surely a congregation that takes such care to invest with integrity would not be led by a man who breaks promises and offers false hopes. [Aaron: if you provide links, I'll embed them forthwith.]

Speaking of the Regina Apostolorum

A kind Brother wishes to explain what the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum is all about:

Let me give you a quick explanation and then explain our athenaeum.

“Athenaeum” comes from a school in ancient Rome for the study of the arts but the Church adapted this name for an institute of a certain level. The Vatican grants the title “Pontifical” to four levels of institutions: institutes, faculties, athenaeums, and universities.

• A faculty is just what you and I would think of at any university.
• An institute
• A pontifical university has to have 3 ecclesial faculties, a certain number of students, longevity, and an intellectual reputation based on published articles and having eminent professors.
• · From the time a second faculty is opened until it is a full university, it is an athenaeum.

Now for a little history: we started back in 1993 and got definitive canonical status back in 2004. We started with Philosophy and Theology but then added the world’s first – and still only – faculty of bioethics to confront the problems of today. We have the main requirements for becoming a Pontifical University but we have to work on some of minor things and an official decree.

These things take time, for instance the Salesians got their decree from the Vatican in 1940 but were not a University until 1973; we got the equivalent decree in 2004. Hopefully, in a few years we will be able to say Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum.

What does he mean that they have the only bioethics faculty in the world? And if the Salesians took 33 years to become a University, why would the Legion have one in a "few years?" Furthermore, "eminent professors," "longevity," and "reputation" don't sound like minor details, but perhaps I'm a "glass half-empty" sort of girl.

Hugh Hefner 2.0

Christopher West got into a lot of trouble when he compared the way that John Paul II and Hugh Hefner dealt with repression. This was part of the ABC News coverage:

The seeming paradox of West's position is captured in the unlikely pairing of his two big heroes -- his muses, you might say. They are Pope John Paul II, and Hugh Hefner. A saint and a sinner.

"I actually see very profound historical connections between Hugh Hefner and John Paul II," said West.

And it's not just the red slippers?

"No, it's not just the red slippers." Each man in his own way, West insisted, rescued sex from prudish Victorian morality.

There was a firestorm from Catholics and CW withdrew from public for several months to reflect on his message. He's been back for a while (I saw him when he came to RI last year) and this weekend he was in Rome to headline a major event at Regina Apostolorum. It sounds like his presentation was the same as what I saw here, but there was a new twist:

Legionaries of Christ Brother Daniel Turski drew a striking contrast between Blessed John Paul II and Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, the disgraced Legionaries founder, while asking a question after a talk by chastity author and speaker Christopher West.

At a conference on the “Theology of the Body” today at the Legionary-run Regina Apostolorum University, in an auditorium full of Legionary brothers and priests, Turski held up the late Pope John Paul as a model of chastity in contrast to his order’s founder, Father Maciel, who who was discovered to have sexually abused seminarians and fathered children.

In responding to Turski, West encouraged the Legion to be honest about its weaknesses and not try to hide the wound of Father Maciel’s transgressions. “There is a new humility in you,” West said of the Legion, adding that he saw great hope for the Legion as “the army that will bring Theology of the Body to the world.”

I think that the Legion has positioned itself for this for years, supporting and promoting the CW brand of TOB (which has been seriously questioned by a well-placed bishop). While we've been frustrated with the inability of many members of this Movement to grasp the toxicity of their founder (and his enduring grasp on their foundation) this bizarre effort to explain away MM as repressed is startling. Perhaps "wounded" will enter the vocabulary and fortify the perduring notion that the NP was well-intended but flawed.

Note that all the 3gf's were flown to Rome for this presentation (more evidence of the Legion finding money when they want it) and perhaps others were brought in from other houses of formation as well. Beyond that, the idea of a "flawed" congregation (still looking for a charism and a mission) being tapped to promote a "flawed" theology is deplorable, but it makes perfect sense given the present state of affairs.

Does the new "illustration" help?

I moved this up because of another relevant quote that I found. Posted below.

No one can overestimate the stature of the Nittany Lions, nor the reputation of the coaching staff there. But here we have another sordid expose of "good men" doing bad things -- bad things to children. On cue, thousands of students expressed their outrage at Coach Paterno's firing, indicating that his achievements in the world of college football far outweighed his neglect of duty in the case of this abuse.

Perhaps those who are too close to the Maciel saga can sit back and watch this tragedy unfold with less personal investment:

In April, Pittsburgh radio host Mark Madden wrote a story revealing Penn State for much of the cover-up of Jerry Sandusky's alleged child rape that has been exposed in the past week. While it didn't raise many eyebrows back then, six months later it looks to be incredibly accurate.

On Thursday morning, just hours after legendary head coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier were fired by the school's board of trustees, Madden was asked on The Dennis and Callahan Show what he believes the next piece of news will be.

What he said was twice as shocking as anything that's been released thus far.

"I can give you a rumor and I can give you something I think might happen," Madden told John Dennis and Gerry Callahan. "I hear there's a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile Foundation -- and hold on to your stomachs, boys, this is gross, I will use the only language I can -- that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to rich donors. That was being investigated by two prominent columnists even as I speak."

Yes, just like the Legion story, the rumours were there, the facts were available to those who wanted to know the truth, and the protagonists were "too big to fail." Can you imagine the frustration of an abused inner city boy trying to take on the mammoth Penn State? All the football titles in the world, all the careers launched from their field cannot compare with the corruption of "these little ones." We, as Catholics, should know that.

While realising that football and Catholicism are in entirely different categories (and yes, all analogies limp) let this illustration help to add critical perspective. Notice that those in charge when the abuse happened had to go -- immediately. Their moral duty was clear and for the school to clear its reputation, they need to jettison those who were in any way complicit. God will not be mocked, the truth will make itself known eventually, and even this secular institution can see what it takes to restore confidence.

ADDENDUM: Fr James Martin, SJ compares the Penn State case to the overall abuse crisis in the Church, and points out two characteristics of abusers: narcissism and grandiosity. And then this chillingly familiar point:

But there is a further problem, one that is not often spoken about.

In my experience, after the conviction or removal from office or ministry, those two qualities merge in the person with the terrible consequences. And these consequences make it far more difficult for the institution to address such cases. The grandiose narcissist now focuses almost exclusively on his own suffering. His removal from office, or from ministry, he believes, is the worst thing that has happened to anyone, and he (or she) laments this fate loudly and frequently. Because of his narcissism he focuses almost entirely on his own troubles; because of his grandiosity he inflates them to ridiculous proportions. He suffers the most.

Even more dangerous: he draws others into his net, and the suffering of the real victims, those whose lives have been shattered, is overlooked-even by otherwise intelligent and well-meaning people. The focus of those within the institution is shifted onto the person they know, rather than the victims that they may not know. “Poor Father,” some parishioners may say, “how he suffers.” It is difficult for a diocese, a religious order, a school, or indeed members of any institution to resist the powerful pull of the grandiose narcissist. Indeed, people often seem unaware that they are being deluded into an overblown sympathy for the wrong “victim.”

I think we've noticed as much here when discussing the Legion, and it's been all too true: the Legion has responded from the outset with, "Poor us," and "We're suffering so intensely now." Always followed with, "Please pray for us." And we do, but what is sad is that the Legionary-Victim echo chamber reverberates so loudly with the sound of their pleas that it's nearly impossible for members of the Movement to pay attention to the primary victims -- the boys caught in MM's web. They are still out there. They will always be the primary victims. And they have yet to  be properly addressed. And all the "good fruit" in the world cannot justify any of this.

SECOND ADDENDUM: This is a brief comment by David French, who responds with disbelief to reactions to his first column on Sandusky. He explains the moment when one has to process an unbelievable event, and then react. How one reacts determines his courage and character:

It is a sad irony that a graduate student who was part of the fake military culture that pervades football could not summon even a fraction of the warrior ethos when confronted not with mortal danger but danger to his career and reputation. If you read the grand jury report and honestly take from it that you would have responded the same way when confronted with the reality of child rape, you shouldn’t question the moral imperative of intervention. Instead, question yourself.

This applies in a particular way to the Legion, which prides itself on a militaristic view to the faith and embracing one's vocation. Furthermore, their sleight of hand has misplaced the courage, so that the brave remain in a flawed institution while painting those who leave as cowards. And finally, Mr French makes clear that there is no justification for going soft on child rape:

I was surprised at the number of individuals — both in the comments and via e-mail — who admonished me for my rush to judgment of the young graduate assistant who failed to stop Sandusky and failed even to call the police. “His career was at risk” some said. Others noted that Sandusky was likely a “father figure” to the young coach. Still others said that telling Joe Paterno many hours later was “enough.” But what does all that say about the inherent selfishness of the rationalizer? How important is your career? How much will you allow perceived authority to intimidate you? Do you respond to a crisis by asking what is “enough,” or what is right?

Yes, all the pieces are there: weighing priorities, dealing with a "father figure," rationalising "good fruit" despite the child abuse, and saying that as long as MM was caught "later" was good enough. Justice delayed is justice denied, and we cannot tolerate current members insistence that "they got a lot of good from the group." 

Last line of defense

Just in case you were wondering, there are still those few dear souls who are not yet convinced that this "late, great unpleasantness" has anything but a misunderstanding. When asked if she could now retract her support of the NP, Lucretia demurred:

No, Brother Nelson, there has been no retraction on my part, because the "evidence" has not shown proof of any guilt. Photographs in which he appears, already an old man, accompanied by some Legionaries and a woman (40 years younger than him) and a girl on a boat. Does this picture mean something embarrassing? Nothing.

There has been no evidence of his guilt and instead there are hundreds of examples of his innocence: His letters, every word embodied in them (which could only spring from a pure heart and full of God), his works, which have been the conversion of thousands of people and especially the Legionaries, who testified the same Bishop Watty, along with the other Visitators, who are extraordinary people, full of zeal and great spirituality.

Here the quote from the statement: "We found a number of exemplary Religious: honest, full of talent, many of them young, who seek Christ with genuine zeal and offer all their lives to spreading the Kingdom of God."

So, no, Brother Nelson, I do not retract anything I have said so far about this topic:

1. Speaks another daughter of P. Maciel
http://www.es.catholic.net/escritoresactuales/825/2862/articulo.php?id=40553

2. Talk about loyalty
http://www.es.catholic.net/escritoresactuales/825/2862/articulo.php?id=43233

3. Interview about the apostolic visitation
http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/lplanas/2009/7/20/radio-amanecer-entrevista-lucrecia-rego-planas-la-otra

4. Marcial Maciel, "an enigmatic figure" for Benedict XVI.
http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/lplanas/2011/1/31/marcial-maciel-una-figura-enigmatica-benedicto-xvi

I totally agree with the Pope and again I say, this 'enigmatic figure' as did the man born blind: "If you are a sinner, I do not know. Just know that I was blind, now I see."

I send greetings and the assurance of my prayers for you and your beautiful book "Food of Faith."

I think that Benedict, Lucretia and I are all in agreement about abundance of good will, zeal and talent that was drawn into Maciel's web, but beyond that we part company. She attributes it to MM's own pure heart, while most others realise that it was the cleverest part of his scheme. I do wish her peace.