life-after-RC

ICSA Conference

Press release concerning important event from ICSA which takes place the first week of July:

Ever since the 1978 mass murder-suicides at Jonestown in the jungles of Guyana, when nearly 1000 people died, cults have periodically made front-page news. Aum Shinrikyo’s release of sarin gas in the Tokyo subway and the murder-suicides of Solar Temple members in Switzerland, France, and Canada are two other well-known tragedies that captured the media’s attention.

These are striking examples of cult-related harm.  Many people do not realize, however, that there are thousands of mostly small high-demand groups, some of which psychologically and/or physically damage members and families.

The researchers, mental health care professionals, families, former members, and others who will be coming to Montreal for the annual conference of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) share a common concern about group-related abuse.  The conference is open to the public and will take place from July 5-7. It is organized jointly with Info-Cult/Info-Secte in collaboration with the Université de Montréal, The International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC) of the Université de Montréal, and l’Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes.

Lorna Goldberg, President of ICSA, says that “the goals of ICSA’s annual conference are to help victims and families, provide training and support for helping professionals, and bring researchers together to improve understanding of the phenomenon.”

Attorney Carolle Tremblay, President of Info-Cult/Info-Secte, says, “We eagerly collaborate with ICSA on bringing this important conference to Montreal for the first time. Since researchers consider the province of Quebec to be fertile ground for alternative groups and movements, we hope that many educators, mental health professionals, and others come to the conference to learn more about this intriguing phenomenon.”

This year’s conference will offer special sessions for former group members and families, and will feature presentations in English or French by more than 100 speakers from 16 countries on 5 continents.

Here are titles of some of the English sessions:

•    "By their fruits ye shall know them” - perhaps: how good and bad works can deceive - the case of the Legion of Christ
•    Constructive activism: what can I do?
•    Manipulation and victimization by the Exclusive Brethren: conceptual, legal, historical, and psychological issues
•    A practical approach for law enforcement when dealing with cultic groups
•    Recovering your sexual self after the cult

•    From perception to reality: the case of ISKCON [“Hare Krishna”] in Belgium
•    Spiritual manipulation in pseudo-Christian cults: a panel discussion with former members
•    The neurobiology of belief
•    Teen Mania: exploitation in a teen cult?
•    The popularity of Christian evangelical patriarchy in the US and the resultant vilification and abuse of women and children
•    Listening to the still small voice: reclaiming the self after leaving religious totalistic groups
•    Cult-induced ecstasies, dissociation, and psychosis
•    Healing the rift between ex-cult member parents and their second generation adult children (SGAs)
•    The case of freedom of belief vs. freedom of speech
•    The guru pedophile unmasked
•    An indirect cult experience in psychotherapy

Here are the titles of some of the French sessions:

•    La dynamique des croyances
•    Les sectes et nos enfants : pistes pour une liberté religieuse responsable
•    Discours sur le châtiment corporel des enfants chez les protestants conservateurs québécois francophones : l’influence des différences générationnelles
•    Victimes de crime d’honneur : entre religion, culture et tradition
•    L’isolement social : une situation pouvant justifier une intervention en matière de protection de l’enfance en milieu religieux fermé
•    Criminalisation de l'abus de faiblesse
•    Intégrisme religieux entre manipulation et victimisation
•    Comprendre l'expérience de la polygamie

The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Select Montreal Centre Ville Downtown.

I know you'll pray for the success of this conference, and share with me the chagrin that comes from seeing our Church embrace such a group. 

20/20 Hindsight

Since the storybox was getting full and this comment was somewhat different, I thought I would pull it out for its singular value:

First, a little background…

I spent over four years of my teenage life in the Legion (apostolic school for 3 years, novitiate for 14 months).  While I admit that’s just a fraction of time compared with other former LC’s, 3gf’s, and RC members, somehow that same proportion doesn’t hold up in terms of the “less-than-positive” effects the Legion had on me and on my family. 

I remember the Legion not for what it gave me, but rather for what it didn’t give me:  friendships, opportunities to mature as a young man (instead of being “formed” to the Legion’s exact specifications), a proper understanding of freedom and the human person, and, most tragically, an authentic and organic relationship with God (as opposed to the “check-list/commitment card/program of life” approach to virtue and cultivating a life of grace.)  Though I will say there are three Legionary priests I either remember fondly or have a good relationship with since I left (none of the “higher-ups,” just close superiors.)

What prompts me to write today is that I’m moving soon and, in the process of packing, I ran across some old mediation, retreat and “Spirit of the Legion” notebooks from my novitiate days.  They hadn’t been opened in years, maybe even since I left in late 2002. 

Well, I came across something that put my entire Legionary experience into perspective – I know many of you will relate to this.  I discovered my notes from a live video conference Maciel gave from Rome.  I didn’t record the date, but my memory puts it during the spring of 2002, right before the summer programs and candidacy programs were starting.  From my best recollection, the “numbers” must have been dwindling (imagine that!) and Maciel called all the Legionary centers in North America, Mexico and South America (maybe Europe, too) together to rally – I mean, “lambaste charitably” – the troops.  Ironically, this was the final time I saw the man before leaving the Legion, but even today I remember where I was sitting that Cheshire auditorium during that conference.

Now these are my notes – not a transcript.  Plus, the talk was translated into English for us.  However, I was a very careful note-taker and you will certainly recognize Maciel’s key catch-phrases throughout.  While I could provide a thorough commentary on his words, suffice it to repeat once again:  this was a man who lived “a life devoid of scruple and of genuine religious sentiment.”

###

I thank God that He has given us the grace to meet together once again.

1.  What drives me?

Faith.  I believe in Jesus Christ, 2nd Person of the Blessed Trinity, incarnate, who redeemed mankind from sin out of love.  He really loves us immensely.  This the first, second, and third reason I am seeking vocations.  To contemplate all God has done for us, to attempt to value/understand God limitless love, to know the value He places on a single soul – He gives up His Son to death to save.  How often do we remember this?  We waste time considering other elements of our human nature besides the essential – our soul, created for eternity, for God in eternity.

Christ redeemed us out of love.  Remember every day this value of a single soul, not just in words, but in total self-giving, unconditional and absolute.  The Holy Spirit will help us to save the most souls.  Reflecting on the souls that are being lost every day, it seems like the enemies are winning.  That’s why we have to have faith in the value of souls.  We should try to fulfill the commandment of Christ, “Go out and tell the Good News…”

Jesus told us that the harvest is great, that we should pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers: priests, consecrated.  Christ’s two initiations are clear: go and preach; pray for laborers.  There is the essence of our vocation, to cultivate the harvest.  Have you done this fundamental, substantial work, the reason for your call?  In each of us there exists this Faith, and unless we understand God’s love in relation to the value of a soul, we will do nothing or very little.  If our little faith prevents us from living like Christ, what is our own life worth?  Everything else is just a preparation, external, to achieve this purpose.

Sometimes we are afraid of talking about Christ.  In Montezuma we talked about Christ.  We have to preach Christ and pray to Him for the harvest.  We have to focus our prayer on this fundamental request:  that He send workers.  Our principal aim:  make Christ known, pray for workers in the harvest, and work to increase them.

If we haven’t realized the value of souls we cannot get vocations, we have not understood the love of Christ.  It follows that we have to fight passionately to redeem every single soul, love translated into works.  God has placed this mission in our hands and [He] can be frustrated.  The reason for your existence can be frustrated if you do not serve every soul entrusted to your care.  It is necessary not to let time slip by, by not looking at what is essential in our vocation.  Before Christ, examine yourself and see if your life is fulfilling its reason:  to save souls.  Everything God has given you is to save souls with passion, to search for vocations.  If there is no faith, in this field you will achieve nothing.  If there is to greater effort to find vocations, the faith is missing.  If we have faith everything we do will be for the salvation of souls.  Unless we are holy we will not achieve anything.

What moves me to seek vocations?  This does [the love for souls], it always has and always will.  I have never denied Christ anything for the salvation of souls.  I remember what I was created for in the most difficult moments.  If you don’t lose sight of Christ’s love for the harvest, you will be joyful, full of friends, at peace.

Love for the Church, Christ’s Vicar, Legion…  The Church is the sacrament of salvation; the Pope is captain.  The Legion has the mission of driving the ship so that the love of Christ will be taken advantage of by the most souls.  Why do you spend your life on little things, on what is not essential?  Your life becomes fruitless and frustrated.  The love of souls inspires others to fight for the salvation of souls, to pray for workers.

2.  Why not more vocations from schools?  [I assume this question referred to Legion-run schools.]

The first principle is what I just told you.  Then when we work with youth, we don’t look after them properly.  Look, a youth can only persevere if we form them; formation is personal attention and spiritual direction.  Teach them how much Christ loves souls.  But what happens?  We form clubs, give talks, but if we want vocations we must give a spiritual dimension to groups we are dealing with, form them very well spiritually.  When a young person gets enthused about Christ, we will be able to obtain vocations.  We don’t give serious spiritual direction, we are not getting them enthused or moving them to love Christ.  It requires constancy – spiritual direction, retreats.  If this is not happening, it is our lack of faith.  Our apostolate is to save souls, not to take up [i.e. waste] time.

We need to form them to be responsible, to be leaders, to be dedicated.  Many times they take the initiative themselves while we think about what is not essential.  Know, love, fight for Christ and the salvation of souls.

3.  We need to save youth from the earliest age from being spoiled morally.  They run the risk of moral destruction as teenagers, then ruining their vocation.

4.  Promotion of the consecrated life based greatly on Person-to-Person, personal testimonies.

5.  Vocational recruiters in places without a section should focus on NCL [does anyone remember what this is?]  They should single out families for VAC [again, what does that stand for?].  Authentic faith, hard work, not caring about what others would think:  it’s that simple for vocation recruiters.

###

I am intrigued by this conference because it was so similar to several I heard -- one from MM himself, and others highly derivative along these lines. Now that I've been out a dozen years and deeply involved in "making sense of the Church after experiencing the Movement" I've enjoyed all the wisdom of our readers who have parsed the methodology to show that It. Isn't. Catholic. OK.

But when I read these notes, I marvel at how Catholic they managed to appear, and how my prism at that time was incapable of seeing through the facade. When the notes above were originally posted, Mary Ann made the wise comment that "finding vocations to the Movement" doesn't equal "saving souls" (which is true) but I remember using my "common sense prism" to settle those "overly enthusiastic" phrases in a catholic way. What I am saying is that a conference such as the one summarised above is almost impossible to expose as fraudulent WITHOUT knowing about the victims, the nuttiness inside (silence in the showers and in the heads), the extreme frustration of many men (and women), and the cavalier manipulation (and mendacity) of many of the superiors. 

Surely, the cult only worked when the victims were silenced and the 4th and 5th vows assured control. Walking it backwards allows us great insights, but without that 20/20 hindsight, I must say that MM was indeed genius -- and perhaps because of an evil bargain, as several have intimated.

It stands to reason that those who still won't read this blog (or others like it) and who only witnessed conferences and retreats like the one above are appalled at the Legion's detractors. Calling them names or referencing their obstinacy is useless. In that regard, prayer is all. 

Counting the cost

Literally. This heart-rending account of an ex-3gf uses numbers to illustrate her experience, including:

0 – the number of consecrated who called me and wrote me to see how I was doing once I got home from Mexico. That is also the number of events they invited me to. I tried to start a Regnum Christi group at my college so they would include me, but after crying at one retreat, I never came back. My former directress, Pilar, did all that she could to help me, but I was bound by my Promises of Charity not to speak badly of my spiritual guide, even though I was being psychologically destroyed

and:

150 – the number of Aspirin I took on Sept. 11, 2003 when I could no longer bear the thought that happiness could never be mine as I was not good enough to be consecrated.

I heard that ten of the fourteen graduates of the pre-candidacy high school will go on to become 3gf's in the Regnum Christi Movement. While this testifies to the successful captation that still exists (and the refusal of their parents to consider their long-term wellfare) perhaps someone in these families could bring the 49 Weeks blog to their attention. Everything may look rosy at present, but the testimonies compiled there reveal a "salting of the fields" approach to souls. Those who remain inside become increasingly dead, and those who escape take years to even BEGIN recovery.

That is the fruit of the Legion; that is the devastation they wreak in God's own vineyard. These brave women deserve a hearing, not to mention your prayers and support. Just because the hierarchy doesn't seem to care doesn't hobble us from doing the right thing.

"Deep disappointment, profound concern"

Fr Thomas Berg has an excellent piece at the First Things blog that includes the following:

After twenty-three years as a Legionary, I discerned that it was best for me to abandon the congregation in 2009. Since the naming of De Paolis, I have watched and waited for needed reform. Now, two years later, I have decided to lift my silence to express my deep disappointment as well as my profound concern for the fine young men and dedicated priests who still compose the Legion.

In point of fact, the Legionaries are not some centuries-old and long-cherished religious family, deserving of every ounce of the Church’s energies to salvage it. The Legion’s seventy-one years of existence are immersed in controversy. Serious questions have been raised about the various “approvals” of the Legion in the 1940’s on account of Maciel’s duplicity. The Legion also escaped extinction under dubious circumstances after a Vatican investigation of Maciel in the 1950’s. I have held for quite some time that it would have been best for the Legionaries and the Church had Benedict opted to suppress the congregation. That he did not do.

He attributes two errors in judgment to the Papal delegate:

• leaving the current superiors in place; and
• refusing to investigate who collaborated with MM's lies.

In the wake of this ineffectual leadership, there is little hope for authentic reform or accountability:

Current members more open to radical renewal believe that the most likely result of such a process will be little more than superficial and cosmetic changes to norms and discipline—a far cry from the sweeping changes to the internal culture of the congregation so urgently needed.

To be sure, the Catholic faithful have a right to a detailed account of just how the case of Marcial Maciel and the Legion could have ever happened in the first place. The facts—no matter what they may reveal in terms of negligence, omission, and even complicity from within the ranks of the Roman Curia itself—would be far less scandalous than the present refusals to know and embrace the truth.

Not only is there "institutional resistence" to digging out the truth, but there is a willful obsfucation from the LC leadership, misleading the membership about the nature of the problem:

This is bolstered by the institutional conviction that the naming of a Papal Delegate constituted a de facto pontifical "approval" of the Legion's continuation as a congregation and affirmation of the existence of a valid charism and mission. Those contentions remain un-argued assertions which beg theological substantiation.

He outlines the fundamental problem with honesty about MM, and gives excellent suggestions concerning the discernment process for the existing members:

Which of us would have joined the Legionaries or made our temporal or final profession of vows, much less gone on to ordination, had we known of Maciel’s depravities? In my own case, the only prudent course of action in 2009 was immediately to seek sound spiritual direction from an experienced director outside of the Legion. Every Legionary at the time should have received assistance in doing the same. Every Legionary who remains today, if he has not already worked through that process, should be given the means to do so. Yet, the many current Legionary superiors would appear oblivious to such common—pastoral—sense. Family members of Legionary seminarians would do well, therefore, to persevere in convincing their loved ones to request a period of time to return home, and in a non-Legionary environment, aided by a sound spiritual director from outside the congregation, carefully to discern God’s will for their lives.

He ends with the exact sentiments of multitudinous commenters of this blog, which should be the last word about the "fruit" of the Legion:

The Church does not need the institution of the Legion of Christ. What is good in the Legion is the ensemble of elements of spirituality, piety, and traditions of religious life that are not unique to the Legion, but which rather emanate from the Church’s own spiritual patrimony. What the Church does very much need, however, are the good and zealous men who currently remain in the Legion.

Please read it all, and pray that his words have a wide hearing. [H/t to -9 years, thank you!]

-9 Years' Story Box

Faithful readers have found a lot of wisdom in the comments made by "-9 years of lies" and today he made a great suggestion about sharing stoies. (That was what was so cathartic about the ex-legionaries discussion board, now defunct.) So I'll begin a new thread with his words:

When you think about it, we have so many stories to share.  And not all are bad.  It's been weird- when I left I took the good and left the bad.  Then the scandal broke, and everything I knew to be true was turned unside out, and I struggle with what is good and bad.

I was talking to my mom (thank God for mom...) and she was reminding me about the number of families that broke up over the LC.  Parents who disagreed because Bannon or Diaz-Torre asked them to drop everything and move to God knows where and run a school.  Kids who were uprooted.  Marriages ended because 1 brainwashed person couldn't believe his/her spouse didn't buy into "God's will". 

My point- so much collateral damage.  Granted, nothing is worse than the abuse (sexual and then mental) of those poor victims. But there has been real damage done by this order- and that's why I advocate it's demise.  Dignum et iustum est. 

And seen through that lens it's obvious what a corrupt, cult like organization the LC is. 

My exLC brothers- remember going on hike and if you saw another group you couldn't TALK to them??  Seriously- how odd is that.  You can't talk to them... because... why?

Remember Cheshire- feast days, 300 people in the house, and if you were serving lunch and a PC came in, you couldn't TALK to them? Wait- why can't I talk to the PCs?

Why couldn't B talk to A?  Novices to Juniors? Philosophers to Theologians?   Aren't we (weren't we) one Legion? 

What fucked up stuff we did- and it all made sense because we were BRAINWASHED.  Through the lens of normal peoplehood- you see this makes no sense.  Anzi, it's crazy and wrong.  That's not a family.  That's not a community.  It's fucked-upness. 

I'd like to start a thread of crazy stories and memories like that- because for me at least, it's healthy to now look at it and laugh.  And it might actually do some healing. 

And you 3gs who didn't exist (yeah, but we knew you were staring at us... we were some fine looking boys in those collars...) I'd love to hear your stories too. 

Cause we've got to get past all this.  And sharing, laughing, poking fun- it's got to happen to help us, as we continue to fight the more important, more canonical battle for the end of the LC and the rights of the true victims.

Anyone else want to dig into the way-back machine and extract some memories? Good, bad, and ugly -- should be good for some laughs and tears. My theory is: any bona-fide feeling is good, at this point.

More alleged child abuse in a Legion school

This school seems to be weathering a storm concerning numerous charges of molestation. The alleged victims were aged 4 or 5, and four persons were arrested. There is no indication that the ones arrested were Legionaries, but there's no clarity about what an "auxiliary" is. At least two computers and a camera were seized.

The school, meanwhile, also took up the matter and issued a statement announcing that the four defendants, who served as auxiliaries, were removed from their posts. Also it announced that the establishment will take part in the investigation ordered by the Attorney General.

Personally, I don't think that having the school's help is a good thing, although perhaps there's no way around it. For the authorities to collaborate with a group that has proven that its own reputation is paramount and that victims are an obstacle or annoyance guarantees that there are diametrically opposed ends. No matter what, those who are charged will be dumped overboard--perhaps even while being fed critical information to derail justice--and the parents will be told whatever is necessary to keep them invested in the school.

Unless a wealthy parent pursues it in the secular press...

"Vati Leaks" re: LC

Thanks to mikee who discovered this:

The Legionaries of Christ
Critics have long asserted that the Vatican had all the information it needed to act against Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, well before it sentenced him to a life of "prayer and penance" in 2006. Charges of sexual and financial misconduct by Maciel became public in the 1990s, though Vatican officials have insisted those reports were not confirmed until later.

Nuzzi's book adds another detail, producing the brief notes taken by a papal secretary on Oct. 19, 2011, after a half-hour meeting with Fr. Rafael Moreno, a Mexican priest who served as Maciel's private assistant for 18 years.

The full text of the unsigned note reproduced by Nuzzi, written on letterhead of the "Particular Secretary of His Holiness," is as follows:

19 October 2011
Meeting 9:00-9:30 am
By me
Meeting with Fr. Rafael Moreno, priv.sec. of M.M.

• Was for 18 years private secretary of M.M.; from this was … [word is illegible]
• Destroyed proof against him (incriminating material)
• Wanted to inform P.P. II in 2003, but he didn't want to hear them, didn't believe
• Wanted to inform Card. Sodano, but he didn't concede an audience to them
• Card. De Paolis had too little time

Nuzzi writes that in all probability, "P.P. II" refers to John Paul II. Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, meanwhile, is the Vatican official Benedict XVI has tapped to oversee a reform of the Legionaries.

For Nuzzi, the failure to take Moreno seriously in 2003 is especially damning, given that his testimony came "not from a victim, perhaps motivated by hatred, but the best possible witness: the secretary who for 18 years followed the founder of the congregation day after day, and who, therefore, knew of his double and triple life, the most secret aspects."

Nuzzi also publishes a lengthy September 2011 report from De Paolis to Benedict XVI, updating the pope on what's happening in the Legion. In it, De Paolis asserts that progress is being obstructed by a minority who want a root-and-branch reform, including replacing any leaders with personal ties to Maciel. "They continue to engage in propaganda of discouragement and denigration of the process, creating some division and difficulties," he writes. "In reality the number of opponents ... is rather small, but they're very fierce."

In a similar vein, Nuzzi publishes a report by Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, president of the Apostolic Patrimony of the Holy See and a veteran Vatican financial expert, on the economic condition of the Legion. While Calcagno writes that the order is suffering from serious debts, "situations of illegality or abuse have not been found." (Calcagno does recommend reducing the role of a group called "Integer," a controversial holding company for properties belonging to the Legion and its lay branch, Regnum Christi.)

Perhaps most explosively, Calcagno's report advises against giving in to demands for large-scale financial compensation for Maciel's victims.

Calcagno says reconciliation with some victims "has not been difficult," but it's more complicated with regard to "those who demand, in the name of justice, enormous sums that the Legion absolutely cannot afford, and which in fact cannot be based on claims of justice."

"A concession in this area," Calcagno writes, "beyond being unjust, could provoke an avalanche of equally unsustainable requests."

Christ the King as charism

Reflections on the core charism of the Legion and RC (translated from this site):

The Kingdom of Christ

Christ the King, Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus, where do these expressions come from? Where is the overlap between devotion to the Heart of Jesus and Christ the King? The answer lies in analyzing the Catholic culture at the time of the founding of the Legion of Christ, especially if we take into account the papal teaching of those times.

Pius XI

We ought to pay special attention to the pope who reigned contemporary to the first attempts to found the Legion: Pius XI. Elected in 1922, his pontificate covers the entire period between the two world wars. His episcopal motto was it all: Pax Christi in Regno Christi. In 1925 he established the feast of Christ the King in his encyclical Quas Primas, but before talking about the contents of this letter, Let's look at the general framework of his pontificate.

The Pontificate of Pius XI

Pius XI seems mostly to have understood that evangelization would no longer build on the usual alliance of "throne and altar," but would be achieved by the penetration of Christianity in society through the work of the laity. To this end, he organized and stimulated the growth of his most beloved apostolate, Catholic Action, thus manifesting that this would be the standard by which he imagined the future of the mission of the Church.

He didn't hesitate to establish concordats with the new secular republics that emerged. He accepted, through the Lateran Treaty, the loss of the Pontifical States in exchange for a minimum guarantee of autonomy preserving the tiny Vatican. He condemned the Action Française, a movement of right-wing, monarchist, who had seduced many Catholics, even some of the clergy in France.

In Dilectissima Nobis he claims the neutrality of the Church in relation to forms of government -Monarchy or republic, democracy or aristocracy- as long as they guaranteed the rights of the Church to fulfill its mission. He defended freedom, especially religious. He condemned totalitarianism (fascism, with the non Abbiamo bisogno Nazism with Mit brennender Sorge, and communism with Divini Redemptoris) as well as the "pact of silence" of free nations before them. Neither does he withhold his criticism of the greed of capitalism, through Quadragesimo Anno.

Throughout his pontificate he offered prophetic statements on freedom and the independence of the Church against the claims of omnipotent powers "of this world": the state, the market, and pagan ideologies.

Established as part of his pontificate, he made a final complete reference for locating the encyclical Quas Primas, commenting on a much-quoted letter in that document: the encyclical Annum Sacrum of Leo XIII.

Annum Sacrum of Pope Leo XIII

In this encyclical, Leo XIII proclaimed a Holy Year, culminating with the consecration of the world to the Heart of Jesus. He went on to explain the reasons for this act, showing how Christ has sovereignty over the world, even over the unbaptized, as he has redeemed all with his blood. It states: "This power of Christ and his rule over men is exercised for truth, justice and especially for charity.

He further adds,"We will ask Jesus Christ, to whom we are subject in terms of power, to submit all the world, one day, in terms of the exercise of this power. And this, not only in the future age, when he will impose his will on all beings--rewarding some and punishing others, but even in this mortal life, though faith and holiness.

The Pope concludes:

Since the Sacred Heart is the symbol and the sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ, and this love impels us to love one another, it is natural that we consecrate ourselves to his most holy heart. In so doing, we give tribute, and in joining Jesus Christ through the sign of submission and piety that one offers to Sacred Heart, we are actually properly referring to Christ our whole person.

Thus, both devotions are united, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Christ the King.

The encyclical Quas Premas

Pope Pius XI remembered this act of consecration and others who made it annually since Pius X. But he thought that this recognition the sovereignty of Christ should also be an integral part of the liturgical year, to be given its given its due importance and remembered more often, especially because of the modern secularism that seeks to relegate the truths of our faith into oblivion. The affirmation of the kingship of Christ serves as an antidote to the totalitarian pretensions of the modern state. In fact, it reminds the Christian that beyond the political power there is a free and sovereign Church whose proper role is not comparable to that of the state. And this world is not the end: above it there is another King to whom all subjects and authorities will have to answer.

The faithful are invited to spread this kingdom beyond the churches, where the rulers of this world want it to remain concealed, and to publicly proclaim Him as their King, submitting to his supreme authority. With these motivations in mind Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King, currently celebrated the last Sunday of ordinary time.

The original contribution of the founder

Father Maciel took this spirituality of the Sacred Heart and Christ King and used it as a leitmotif for his work. So far there is nothing so unique, there are actually several associations formed in around these issues, using the image of the Sacred Heart, names associated with this devotion and military metaphors (and sometimes more than metaphors, as in the case of the Cristeros, whose cry of "Long Live Christ the King!" is attached to the Magisterium of Pius XI) for the defense and conquest of the Kingdom of Christ.

What the founder personally brings is a particular methodological option: its missionaries have to fight the enemy using the same weapons of the enemy. He is fascinated by the effectiveness of powers "of this world" -- the ability of the totalitarian regimes to attract and mystify, through discipline and obedience of the Nazi soldiers, cunning, harvesting techniques and Communist infiltration of cells, and methods to enhance effectiveness that make men's Market and Industry machines produce resources and numerical results. The "sons of the light" study and apply these techniques to one day become wise as the "sons of darkness:" "Seek today and always meet those technical and practical more secure you victory. That Christ can not reproach which we are less able and cunning to do good to the children of Satan to do evil "..." Snatching arms and fighting the enemy annihilating with the same methods" are expressions that are so abundant in his early letters. This also explains the different vocabulary words Legionaries and Regnum Christi "Capture," "mystifying" and the famous "Christus heil."

The fundamental ambiguity

This fundamental option to use the enemy's weapons as a methodology is in my opinion, the source of all the ambiguity that exists within of the Legion and Regnum Christi. For if the Kingdom of Christ "is not of this world," then it has its own means and weapons to fight for it that are clearly distinct from the enemy's weapons. Christ himself...to take up the weapons of glory and wealth to extend his Kingdom, but he rejected them emphatically.

In this case, by contrast, Maciel accepted those methods, and the result is a hybrid creature, which at first glance looks like an advanced religious school but upon closer examination reveals other dynamics that are foreign to the praxis of religious and apostolic life of the Church, and which refers rather to the criteria and methodologies of the world:

a) ad intra: the group uses the coercive methods more typical to totalitarian regimes of modern sects than to the authentic tradition of religious life: the invasion of the conscious, surveillance, hyper-normatisation of an infantile sort which creates psychological dependence, the centralization of power, and maintenance of its own privileged nomenklatura.

b) ad extra: there is a whole methodology that corresponds more to a company interested in increasing the economic and human capital than to an apostolic work of the Church. The obsession with control and numbers, and the fascination with business dynamics are some examples. Perhaps the most emblematic example is the creation of Integer, through which a Religious congregation submits to the authority of secular technocrats.

But perhaps more profoundly perverse is the founder's conception of Pius XI concerning the Kingdom of Christ, and his belief that his work was a power project. The Pope envisioned a Church free from the powers of this world, able to proclaim the Gospel with independence and courage—as he did, in fact—far from alliances that had only served in the past to instrumentalise the faith. Fr Maciel, by contrast, wanted to renew the alliance with the new elites: "We control the world through secular leaders ... to achieve climb the top positions in the government of nations to to return to the Holy Church the place it deserves." The search for power also extended to ecclesiastical circles, with the unscrupulous trafficking of favors and influence from the earliest years of the foundation (and he recounted how, in exchange for an interview with a Cardinal who was a friend, in 15 minutes he got the canonical approval document for the Legion).

Internal culture of the Legion

The delusion of being willing to wield the weapons of the world for Christ—Satan's lies, manipulation, and the search for power—became part of a deeply-rooted internal culture within the Legion. This caused serious distortions in the consciences of its members, to the extent that we may speak in certain cases of invincibly erroneous consciences. Some examples are:

a) The systematic institutional use of non-truths, and the various invasive forms of consciousness and psychological abuse coexists peacefully within the same person who is leading a life of faithful piety, and who comports himself with with goodness, kindness and deals courteously with others;

b) The admiration for the "triple A" leaders: their mansions, their sumptuous lives, the obsession to capture them, the pride of having enjoyed some of its amenities—all while living with poverty, and capable of depending on superiors to buy a pin;

c) The discourse on "self-belief" coexists with a surveillance constant external and practice of infantilizing dependency, which in practice ends up stunted consciousness and make it increasingly most in need of an external FOLLOWING UP;

d) The requirement on the part of superiors to obey delicate rules coexists seamlessly with the spectacle of the themselves being above ordinary—and usually breaking them;

e) The preaching of delicate, fine, and unselfish charity coexists with abuse of the laity, who have their time, health and media fully exploited, and then—when they can not contribute anything more—they are discarded and ignored, because "time is the Kingdom of Christ" and the Legionary does not waste time with those who can not give anything in return.

Conclusion

The statement of the 1st May 2010, containing the conclusions of the apostolic visitors—which were sent to the Holy Father, approved and published—spoke of a "thorough review" to remove from the heart of the Legion those harmful influences that came from the mind of the founder. The initial task was “to review and redefine the charism of congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, while preserving the true core, the militia Christi, which characterizes the apostolic and missionary action of the Church, and which is not identified with the efficiency at all costs.”

Next they must discuss the exercise of authority, "which must be attached to truth, respectful of developing the conscience in light of the Gospel and in service to the authentic Church.” There are two dimensions suggested, ad intra and ad extra, dealing with the pollutive practices and methods specific to the world and the Enemy. They were to carry out the review required by the Pope in an effort to replace the erroneous ideas of Fr. Maciel with the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church.

a) ad intra: as requested by the papal delegate in his letter of October 2010, following the post-conciliar renewal of the discipline and exercise of authority, such as are described in the teaching true of the Church, surrendering those principles which are foreign to the religious life;

b) ad extra: returning to what we might define as our principle foundation—the call made to all priests who work on behalf of the Church—military enthusiasm and zeal for the Kingdom of Christ relying on the armor of Christ: justice, truth, charity; and rejecting the methods of the enemy, who were sadly welcome in our midst and have produced much bad fruit in souls.

Let us end our discussion with this definition of the Kingdom of Christ, as found in the Credo of the People of God by Paul VI:

We confess that the Kingdom of God begun here below in the Church of Christ is not of this world whose form is passing, and that its proper growth cannot be confounded with the progress of civilization, of science or of human technology, but that it consists in an ever more profound knowledge of the unfathomable riches of Christ, an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, an ever more ardent response to the love of God, and an ever more generous bestowal of grace and holiness among men (n. 27).

[if I have misrepresented anything, please send corrections, which I will incorporate -g]

The Marxist angle

An astute reader found an even more astute article here, which brilliantly shows how the Legion methodology reflects the methodology of the Communist Party. Please read the whole thing, but this is the most salient portion:

“[His] life has become so intertwined with the Party that his friendships, his associations, perhaps his very career or job, can be blasted by an expulsion. It is not that this threatening aspect is important to him at the time. He could never commit the sacrilege that Comrade X has committed; and the Party is fully justified in dealing summarily with those who endanger the cause of the future. Nevertheless, a gulf is created between him and the world around him. The image of burned bridges is apt. … Commitment creates in turn a deep sense of separation from ordinary people, a sort of inner mark of Cain.”

Now and then a trainee will give senior apparatchiks grounds for unease. As Meyer puts it: “‘He has personal problems’ is the nearest Communists ever come to admitting that perhaps there are some fortresses Bolsheviks cannot conquer.” Some, yes; but on the whole, amazingly few. Meyer gives a fairly flabbergasting account of how one comrade known to him was hauled before the relevant Party tribunal because of his homosexual tastes. Back then, Communists had no qualms about “homophobic” attitudes, and they assured Comrade H that his continued Party membership depended upon abandoning his blackmailable practices.

“There was not a trace of resentment or anger [in Comrade H] against the Party. What private hell he went through in the next two days I do not know; but when I met with him again 48 hours later, he had made his decision – for the Party. I knew him and worked with him over the next seven years. From every indication, he completely transformed his life. When I last saw him he was married to a very charming woman and was the father of two children, and he rose steadily in Party responsibility.”

Nobody knew better than Meyer’s fellow Party minders the absolute contempt – which the cadre member must at all costs internalize – for ordinary human nature. Contrasting this contempt with Kant’s Golden Rule about treating individuals as ends rather than as the means to ends, Meyer writes: “The whole of Communist training … drives towards the acceptance of the revolution as the end to which all things and all persons must be strictly subordinated as means … The good or evil in any situation is determined by whether it helps the revolution or impedes it.” And to bring about this happy outcome, no chance must be lost to keep the rank-and-file as purposelessly busy as possible. In this, as in so much else, those who run the Legionaries of Christ have proven remarkably devoted students of Marxist-Leninist praxis.

Indubitably Meyer, if he had lived to learn of the L.C.’s horrors, would have been appalled. But whether such horrors would have been altogether unimaginable to him, we may legitimately wonder. As he of all people knew: place any purely human organization “beyond good and evil” – to coin a phrase – and, sooner rather than later, that organization will become a cash-cow for the Maciels of this world. No-one who has read The Molding of Communists can retain a particle of doubt on this score.

L.C. hierarchy who continue to defend the indefensible evoke Boxer in Animal Farm, who greets every official outrage with the stoic words “If Napoleon says it, it must be right” and “I will work harder.”

I don't know who R.J.Stove is, but he's made his point well, that being that -- in the end -- a cult is a cult is a cult. The only quibble I have is his reference to "the sheer diabolical creativity." Technically, the devil doesn't create. He can copy creation with his mawkish duplicity, but there is nothing new in his work. Evil is evil is evil. Well done!

Legionary discernment

A couple telling posts from the Regnum Christi blog reveal the usual mixture of shallow discernment and fear that comprises the vocational decisions made by members of the Movement. First the track meet "parable:"

I’m a sprinter out to beat my best time and finish strong. But just as I rounded my first curve I hit something, hard. I found myself, and every other runner, sprawled out on the ground. There were hurdles in the middle of our race! Everyone was totally perplexed. Some runners got up quicker than others and continued on. Others just sat there bewildered, nursing their banged-up shins or scraped knees. Still others simply got up, dusted themselves off and walked off the track. This was not what they signed up for...

The takeaway for her was that maybe she wasn't a sprinter after all, but was really called to be a hurdler -- perish the thought that she should analyse what hurdles were in her path, and why. [This is as opposed to the young lady who spent time with the Missionaries of Charity, admired their work, and discerned it was not for her -- was she "walking off the track? Clearly not.] It also manages to imply that good Christians should accept all hurdles as the plan of God, and deal with them, and those who "walk off the track" [i.e. leave the Movement?] are pansy lightweights: Those who love Christ enough will stay! 

Then we have this:

Life in the trenches can be difficult. The daily grind, the struggles of married life and raising kids, the "ordinary" schedule of school, work, cooking, carpools and errands, etc…can wear you down. Sometimes, you may feel the urge to jump out of the trench and run away from the battle, but you will find that the cross outside of the trench is actually far worse. Embrace your identity, embrace your vocation with a loving and enthusiastic spirit…God notices and he will bless this fidelity both now and into eternity!

In any other setting, a nice pep talk like this, grounded in a quote by Saint Francis de Sales, would be nice, but as with anything stemming from a Legionary, there are ripples of meaning that are not exactly Salesian. There is the fear factor, that reminds the member that no matter how bad life is inside, it's only worse outside.

Then there's the command to be enthusiastic about your vocation, with a dollop of quietism: this is where you are, so this is where God wants you to be. STET. That is standard RC-think, a variation on the theme: since you're sitting in that chair, listening to this talk, and called to this retreat, voila! you must be called to the Movement.

Ignoring urges is dangerous, for discerning where to serve the Church is not the same as the vow that nails you to your spouse and the life that entails. Any mother dreams of escape every now and then as the laundry piles up and the kids run you down -- but of course you cannot leave (for long!)

But not one single member of RC (the target audience) is in a vocation subject to vows. He doesn't explicitly say that the post is about remaining faithful to RC, but what else could he mean, especially in a blog that is meant to provide encouragement to the members, who are stumbling over hurdles and wondering if they're meant to stay?

This is unfortunate, especially when read by people who have been well-trained to submit to superiors, who will reveal God's will concerning their vocations. It's  meant to continue the "steady, monotonous thrumming" that has been a part of spiritual direction from the start. And it could never be confused with Salesian thought, nor with the finer tradition of guiding souls. Pity, that.

ADDENDUM: Phew, I had a moment and just read the comments below that last thread linked (with the Narnia quote). Those are powerful little testaments to the manipulation inside. That was Sept. 2009, and very little has changed. Do read them if you have the time.