life-after-RC

Is the Legion broke?

[IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW}

Just as a mental diversion (and a reminder that the poverty that we see in the rank and file is a dissimilation of the Legion Matrix) we'll follow up some leads to help the parents in various US LC-affiliated schools to make the necessary financial decisions.

The Legion seems to own this building. [Remember that with the religious dimension to their mission, whatever they own they can claim tax exemption, whether they are using the properties to advance the Kingdom or not.] The write up reveals the rich history of Belgard Castle, which "is a large three storey eighteenth century house attached to a medieval tower. The tower has Georgian Gothic windows and battlements and the dining hall has Adamesque plasterwork."

At present, it's being used as the headquarters to the CRH Holdings Group [which has its own problems, now moot considering update below].

Now the fact that the Revenue board notes that the Legion also uses the address for its charities in Ireland is curious, meaning either they didn't sell the building to CRH or they did sell it and forgot to tell the Revenue board.

What other properties are classified as part of the Kingdom? What else should we keep in mind as the Legion reneges on its financial commitments to existing apostolates (who were founded to support the Legion, rather than the other way around)? Links appreciated.

Nota bene: as men and women of faith, we know that nothing is wasted. The sincerity and good will behind every sacrifice of members of the Movement is a seed of grace and lovely in the eyes of God. We are in no way indicting the generosity of the rank-and-file, who will be rewarded according to God's economy of grace. As for the economy of the world, that seems to be more akin to the yardstick for the hierarchy, which makes the entire mission suspect.

UPDATE: From the facilities manager of Belgard Castle (dated 16 November 2009):

Thank you for bringing to our attention the fact that Belgard Castle is listed as address of Legionaires of Christ on the Revenue authorised charities list.

I can confirm that CRH plc is the owner of Belgard Castle, and has no connection with Legionaires of Christ, or Regnum Christi. The Legion did lease Belgard Castle from Roadstone, in the 1960s before it became our Group Headquarters. I have informed both the Legion, and the relevant section in revenue, and expect to see the error corrected in the near future. 

[Forwarded response from a reader who took the trouble to inquire. Abundant thanks from all. I have since remove the damaging information about CRH, which is now irrelevant since there's no relationship.] So they don't own this castle and never did, but still have considerable real estate holdings, which has been noted in other threads. The problem here has thus become one of paperwork, not their net worth.

Catch-22 (and a suggestion)

Another quick translation of this:

Three More Children of Maciel Claim Rights as Heirs

by Alma E. Muñoz

The Mexican attorney, José Bonilla Sada, has announced that three children
of Marcial Maciel, born in Mexico, will try to force the Legionaries of
Christ to acknowledge their existence as well as their rights as heirs to
the assets of the founder of the religious order.

The litigants' attorney, who in this case has as his assistant Joaquín
Aguilar, a victim of sexual abuse perpetrated by former priest Nicolás
Aguilar, says he has enough evidence to show that the late Pope John Paul II
as well as the legion knew of the existence of three other children of
Maciel, now adults and legally recognized by their father, but whose names
are currently being withheld.

Months earlier the order founded by the late priest, who was accused of
sexual abuse of minors, admitted the existence of a daughter. Her name, as
Bonilla states in his blog http://conlajustici a.wordpress. com, is Norma
Hilda. She lives in Madrid, Spain along with her mother of the same name,
and has a non-employment residency permit.

Originally from the Mexican state of Guerrero, she is approximately 23 years
old and enjoys a level of affluence such that she does not work, lives in a
luxury apartment, and has another which she rents in the same building where
she resides. They were acquired by Marcial Maciel with money from the
congregation's benefactors.

It was through this blog that the three children of the late priest
contacted José Bonilla seeking legal representation. They provided him with
a series of documents to support their claim of Maciel¹s paternity:
photographs showing a meeting with John Paul II, letters of all sorts, and
tape recordings of highly placed officials from the Legion of Christ
discussing the subject.

The attorney maintains that handwritten evidence is sufficient to show that
the letters were the written by the hand of Maciel, and that the children
can undergo DNA testing to prove their genetic connection.

At the moment the attorney is researching and preparing a civil lawsuit in
which it would be determined if his clients have rights as heirs, although
he hopes that, before taking legal action, an agreement with the Legion of
Christ can be reached.

"I suppose," says Bonilla, "that (Maciel) did leave them money. Our research
team is looking into that, and some sources have told us it is a sizable
amount. You have to remember that the legion was created around and for the founder. Practically everything came from him."

He indicated that the children of the late priest are seeking recognition of
their existence and their rights as his heirs, and are thinking of
eventually publicly discussing the life they lead with their father from the
standpoint of how it developed, what he said, how he advised them, and what
he taught them.

OK, we have an insurmountable problem: either the Legion knew about this, diverted the funds and will hereby continue to pay out to both offspring (reasonable upkeep -- some are still young) and victims (compensation which is long overdue) OR the Legion will stop such pay-outs and stick to authentic "apostolates."

In the case of the former, we have a breach of canon law, by which money donated for one purpose is used for something else (and the Vatican has to step in to protect the faithful); OR in the case of the latter the Legion is seen as slimy and unjust, (and the Vatican has to step in to protect the faithful).

Either way, money talks. (I doubt these kids would sue, should their father have been a Franciscan or Discalced Carmelite...) In this financial conversation, it is time for us to respond. Perphaps, through prayer, you'll be called to dig into those old tax receipts and write a letter asking that your [name specific amount] donation be returned. Certify the letter, wait a month (remember, a lot of key people aren't at their desks at the moment) and then resend with certified copies going to both the Legion and the appropriate visitator. It's one universal language that seems to preempt the other (love) and the one that gets results this side of the veil.

New Testimony

About me:
In the Legion: 1992-1996.
Location: Cheshire, CONN.
Apostolic work: Fund raising from US catholic millionaires.

After reading about the Maciel news few days ago on CNN, I did some browsing to revisit what's been going on with LC and RC after 12years of forgetfulness. I would like to say few things to all of you. Feel free to copy-paste my posting to post as many sites as you like so that more people can read.

Here are the reasons why I joined the LC as many of you can sympathize. I was told of these things:
1. Faithful to the Tradition.
2. Devoted to Mary.
3. Old Jesuit spirit.

Here are the reasons why I left the Legion.

Where is the prudence?

The following is a comment from the exLC discussion board that is a common, if light-hearted, view concerning the accepted "poverty" of the Legion:

I remember bringing in trucks full of outdated food, and when I was asked what we had gotten, I'd say we got Irish food, because it was all green from mold.

Once we took a huge truck up to the Apostolic School in NH and basically just dumped three fourths of into the pigpen. Those pigs sure tasted good that year. We took them to the slaughter house and we had pig meat for a while.

I know that the consecrated women and candidates dined for months on stale doughnuts begged from local shops and there is an across the board understanding that these people will eat what is put before them, no matter what.

Now let's consider it from another point of view. Money seems to be an issue, and the money budgeted for food has to be supplemented with donations of deplorable standards. If this were a family, trying to live God's will for their lives, any priest would accept the circumstances as grounds for delaying the conception of another child through NFP. If a father couldn't feed the children he had, and they were forced to pick through mouldy food fit for pig-slop, all sorts of agencies could be approached for help and the family would be concerned for the health of the children. In some settings, the children would have been farmed out to friends and family who could feed them in times of crisis. (In fact, the Church has gotten quite a rap from the misunderstanding that it encouraged families to simply trust in God and expand, expand, expand. How many people, in fact, left the Church thinking that theology wanted them hungry and destitute rather than limiting children according to resources?)

I fully support the Church's teaching on human sexuality and realise that there is a distinction between children born into a family and young men and women choosing the Movement. But even so, the adults in charge of these zealous youngsters should be exercising the necessary prudence by assuring their nutrition, access to health care, and other human resources for mental and physical wholeness. Having a houseful of people who all want to outdo each other in sacrificing for Christ and suffering without complaint is a set-up for real abuse. Not only are the youngsters left to take pride in eating such things, but recruiting continues unabated to bring in more fellows to share the repast.

(In light of charity, perhaps it wouldn't be right to suggest that instead of undertaking the opening of new colleges, the Legion should use the resources it has to aquire decent food..? While we're at it, the consecrated women would also benefit by a health insurance plan.)