"difficult to define"

With all due respect (from Jim Fair):

I was blessed last week to be in Rome for meetings with other communications directors from territories of the Legion of Christ.

There I was with folks from Italy, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Spain and Chile.  And they all were patient with the unilingual American (yours truly) who needed constant translation help.

The week had many highlights, but for me a special moment came Wednesday morning when we had Mass in one of the chapels in the catacombs under St. Peter’s Cathedral.  I found myself in the heart of the Vatican, with three Legionaries celebrating a Mass attended by Legionary brothers, consecrated members and plain old Regnum Christi members like me.

Some in the congregation were people I was meeting for the first time; others were long-time friends and professional colleagues.  But what struck me was that despite being from different countries and different cultures, we all were members of the Regnum Christi Movement.  We were all Roman Catholics with a common spirituality and mission.

We often talk of being part of a spiritual family, something I find difficult to define.  But Wednesday morning, in that holy place, I felt very much to be part of the family.  And I am deeply grateful for my many brothers and sisters.

I only want to say that if those in charge of communications for the Legion are unable to define their mission, their charism or the nature of the "family" to which they cleave, then there is still a problem. This is not meant to be an insult to the sincere faith of many members, but the same old plea: the Church herself provides the universality, orthodoxy and communion that we cherish -- what exactly is the unique and unparalleled L/R mission that must attach itself to that body despite the baggage and scandal? Why must it endure when the downside is a constant reminder of duplicity and sin?

Today is the grand feast of Saint Dominic, and one site reminds us of his gift to the Church:

The Order of Preachers “is known to have been established, from the beginning, for preaching and the salvation of souls” (Primitive Constitutions). The Fundamental Constitution of the Order of Preachers underscores the priority of this apostolate. The five distinctive elements comprising the uniquely Dominican way of life (the common life, the evangelical counsels, the common celebration of the liturgy, assiduous study, constancy in regular observance) “together prepare and impel us to preach; they give our preaching its character.” By their religious profession, Dominicans become “fully committed to preaching the Word of God in its totality” so that they live “an apostolic life in the full sense of the word, from which preaching and teaching ought to issue from an abundance of contemplation.”

Every Dominican I know (and here surrounding RI's Providence College there are many) embodies this mission, and attaches him/herself to the community for this very reason. They don't conflate their existence with that of the Church, nor do they struggle to explain what drives them.

Prayers continue for the members of the Movement, and perhaps the intercession of Saint Dominic will assist in clarifying what, presently, remains difficult to define.

Comments

[Fr John]

I used to service the vending machines at Providence College before entering LC. Would sometimes go to Mass at (I think it was) St Pius Church. I got to know some of the priests, and loved how normal they were.

[les]

I wandered over to check out the comments section of Fr Thomas Berg's article at First Things, to see if there were any new comments. Alas, there's this doozy by an RC named Laura, which, I think, hilights the ongoing cluelessness and malformation of Regnum Christi members:

"I am grieved. I am so saddened. I am amazed at the anger, the confusion. God does not cause confusion. I am not a theologian, nor a philosopher. I cannot argue points nearly as in-depth as all of you. But I can speak of what I know, what I have seen and I can speak of charity. Fr. Berg, I am mostly sad for you. For continuing this tirade against your brothers. Let it go. If you are no longer called to the Legion, than just serve God where you are at. But remember, you are the priest that you are because of your 23 years in the Legion of Christ. I see with all of this...the articles, the comments,etc. so much wasted time. Time that would be much better spent serving God, the church and souls. ALL of the Legionaries I have known have continued to love & support those who have left.

I just simply ask...who were you all following? Why would M's sins, "upended the fundamental understanding of the religious family on which they based their choice to join the congregation in the first place." Sins of the founder do not change the fact that NO ONE should have been a Legionary because of him. They should not have been following a man or basing their vocation on him. They should have been following CHRIST and wanting to serve CHRIST and HIS CHURCH. Maybe those who have been so shaken by this, and cannot understand why anyone could stay in the Legion, should examine this. Were you/are you so wounded because you placed your confidence in something other than God?

Thank God that God works through sinful people. Or he could do nothing through me, a sinner. Look at the bible...look at David, St. Paul and countless others....look at the Holy Catholic Church. GOD will preserve the Legion if it is HIS WILL. All of this only confirms to me that it MUST be God's will...if it was solely reliant on man/men/women, then it would never have survived. Those of you who are spreading calumny and detraction will have to answer before God. You will. But for me, I will pray for and focus on the many, many, many amazing men and HOLY priests who are in the Legion of Christ...those whom I have been privileged to know over the years. I thank God that HE has called so many men and women to serve Him in the Legion and Regnum Christi. Thy Kingdom Come!"

Oh please, will someone with more patience than I go over there and respond? I don't even know where to begin.

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2012/06/the-legionrsquos-scandal-of-stalled-reform

[Fr John]

Jim Fair's comments are just typical. That's all I can say; just typical. Of course, he's the spokesman, and has to by typical.
I would Imagine the meeting of communication directors was to make sure their talking points were uniformed and well thought out.
BTW, there are no catacombs under St Peter's. There are the Crypts of the most recent Popes, and the excavations deep under the Basilica. But they are not catacombs in the true sense of the word. Sorry communications director!

[Fr John]

les,
I know the legionaries say the love and support those of us who have left. It's just that in two years I haven't seen it. No one has reached out to me. Just sayin'

[Jeannette]

les, I tried commenting there a while ago, but my computer froze up when I hit 'send'

[MariGold]

Fr John: A Jesuit priest who has been familiar with the ways of the LS/RC enterprise was in Rome last Autumn. Every day that he was in St. Peter's, he noticed that there was a group of Legionaries who had signed up to say Mass in the crypt of St. Peter and were singing away in Latin at the top of their lungs. It drowned out every other private Mass that had been arranged by other priests to be said in the crypt and, obviously, was intended to draw attention to the Legionary Latin-spouting lads, who were turned out in full cassocks, cuff-links and crew-cuts. It is easy to secure a crypt-altar in St. Peter's to gin up a little image-promotion.

[Dingledore]

The problem with LC is that they are so hungry for attention. They are not about humility, but rather image and $$. They are unauthentic, fakes and bullies for Christ. They are also hypocrites. Laura, who commented on First Things, is a blind follower (naive). She probably hasn't read any truthful material about the Legion so she speaks out of sheer ignorance.

[MariGold]

Les -- There are now three postings on the First Things site. Marigold needs to check her spelling, but here's her message:

MariGold says:
Laura: You are obviously a very kind and generous soul, but a breathlessly naive one, too. You know the appearance and what you have been told, but you have not been into the inner workings, the belly of this global beast. The Legionaries of Christ is a cultish, multi-national business empire with level after level of willingly dupped and useful idiots, all in a tax-exempt network that is struggling to recreate itself with new religious candy for trusting children like yourself. Meanwhile, the money keeps rolling in, lives are shredded, vocations are lost, parishes are bled, propaganda is generated, and children are misled and abuses. This is evil. But it is successful and respectable evil. The lies, fraud, and and exploition -- all under a very pretty guise of "happy, happy Potemkin village here in Legion-land -- goes one unchecked and undetected by the Vatican, which has had the doorway of every dicastery greased with bribery and blackmail. Father Berg and others who have the courage to leave and tell the truth are to be praised and strengthened, even as we pray for those who remain enthrlled by the Legion, which looks more and more like a mafia den or Masonic tool than a Catholic movement.
Please. Get. Out.

[Scipio Africanus]

How could Jim Fair be more precise if Cardinal De Paolis couldn't come out with a minimal definition in his last letter?

[PWC]

I'll define it all for you:

All the good feelings.
All the sense of family.
A million priests.
A million Mano Amigas.
A million Missions.
Any amount of "holy peace".

None of it, NONE, is worth anything at all in front of the moral, psychological, and physical suffering that Maciel inflicted on just one victim.

[Dingledore]

Sense of family? Haven't they broken families through their divide and conquer tactics, telling them to have 8-10 children for their pickings regardless of financial capability, and working the women to death (but compensating with seduction).

[Gems]

Oh, but Dingledore, haven't you read any of the recent posts over at RC Live praising the virtues of NFP?

Perhaps the promotion of baby-limiting NFP is for women who might be useful to them in various apostolates, whereas the 8-10 kids thing is for women who for whatever reason are not seen as useful for any apostolate other than breeding a next generation of possible recruits.

I always get completely creeped out when the Legion/Regnum crowd starts spouting about TOB and NFP.

[MariGold]

Me, too, Gems. I am totally creeped by their spouting of the TOB and NFP. Since the original CCL was taken over by Regnum Christi, the message was compromised and the founders, the Kippleys, were kicked to the side of the road. TOB is, as we've discussed earlier on this blog, a wierd type of "baptized" Saturnalia-fertility fest. And, even more creepy, with discernible ties to the Legion through Maximus and Ascension Press. Many threads; one fat spider.

[Ohh]

Is their "communications expert" too ill informed to know that St. Peters is NOT a cathedral? St. John Laterini is the cathedral of Rome.

[Ohh]

Welcome back Giselle, I was worried about your absence. I hope you and your family are having a relaxing summer.

[Scipio's Buddy]

We're a wounderful "famiglia" with a wonderful "padrino". Maybe the Legion needs a Greg Burke to end its troubles and convince us all how wonderful they are. The good wine needs new skins.

[AnonObserv]

1. Conflated with the Church: Oh how true this is! Note the LC have been feeding not on themselves but on their host- the Church. If the LC/RC had sources from the Lord that permitted them to define and re-experience an identity with its own history and personages, one that was very much their own, these communication directors would have traveled to that spot and noted that history for inspiration. Here the directors have been 'wined and dined' with the beauty and greatness of the Church herself to the point where the LC/RC seemed to singularly be one and the same with her. The salvage effort that is the Vatican intervention is worn as a medal on honor on their chests...

2. Exaggerated structures of greatness: One example of Garza's grand corporate sense of the LC self was the multinational professional staff. Really, it would be interesting to write down the total number of persons now active in these respective countries and wonder if such a staff could ever be justified. I mean how many RC are really in Austria, or LC institutions for that matter?

Most orders have a fundamental witness and presence that speaks for itself and does not need the constant spin effort to project just the right message. The saddest sign is that witness does not work for the Legion, it cannot deliver the result they would like.... hence meetings like these to give image to the image projectors.

The key to the LC smoke and mirrors, is that the smoke and mirror creators must believe the image is not from smoke, even if they are billowing it away; that no twisted reflection has been cast, even if their mirror of talking points never arrives to touch any authentically verified reality. e.g. Charism that no one can define, that has no sources of spirituality, that still refuses to serve a specific and humble need that is truly self sacrificing.... They really think a charism is there... Well IF it does not quack like a duck or walk like a duck or look like a duck..... I imagine, it is not a duck.

[Savannah]

Thank you, Gems and Marigold. I agree--very creepy (and self-serving.)

[PWC]

Real people have funny haircuts. Real people wear clothes differently, even the same clothes. Real people do not wander around in homogeneous crowds. Real people have lots of foibles and personal habits. Real people are not perfect in appearance. Real people try to blend in and not stand out all the time....

[giselle]

@PWC: great points, calling to mind two things, first the cultures where absolute conformity in such things was attempted (readers know them well) and the beloved classic, "The Velveteen Rabbit" -- a good tonic for all.

[Truman]

Forgive me for being cynical, but I just read this as an appeal to the fears of all RC who still remain:

"I was blessed last week to be in Rome for meetings with other communications directors from territories of the Legion of Christ. There I was with folks from Italy, Germany, Austria, Mexico, Spain and Chile. "

READ: Know, dear reader, that the LC/RC are still relevant, in the heart of Rome, and have a vibrant presence all over the world.

"And they all were patient with the unilingual American (yours truly) who needed constant translation help."

READ: A little self deprecation to show that they were truly charitable and I am truly humble.

"The week had many highlights, but for me a special moment came Wednesday morning when we had Mass in one of the chapels in the catacombs under St. Peter’s Cathedral. I found myself in the heart of the Vatican, with three Legionaries celebrating a Mass attended by Legionary brothers, consecrated members and plain old Regnum Christi members like me."

READ: So many wonderful things happened that I can't begin to tell you all of them, but here's just one: Our global LC/RC family was represented back in the heart of the Vatican again--where special people are invited to celebrate Mass. That's where the faithful LC/RC still gather, and I was there to represent you--the little man who just wants to be faithful to the Church.

"Some in the congregation were people I was meeting for the first time;"

READ: LC/RC is still growing and attracting new members!

"...others were long-time friends and professional colleagues. But what struck me was that despite being from different countries and different cultures, we all were members of the Regnum Christi Movement. We were all Roman Catholics with a common spirituality and mission."

READ: You belong to a very special group as a member of RC/LC. We are a united, happy family, and you, dear reader, are a family member...AS LONG AS YOU STAY IN THE MOVEMENT. To leave the family would essentially be leaving your home in the heart of Rome, where everyone is humble and charitable to you all of the time.

[Truman]

My new favorite slogan: "The truth will set you free. But first it will piss you off."

[Ohh]

I think you nailed it Tru

[Fr Brian, OP]

Dear Giselle,

Thank you for the "nod" to our Holy Father Dominic on his feast day yesterday.

As a young man discerning my vocation, one of the things that attracted me to the Dominican Province of St Joseph was the friars I met 1) were joyful, 2) genuinely seemed to enjoy each other's company, and 3) could easily tell you what a Dominican friar is and does.

[Dingledore]

A few new posts on First Things.