life-after-RC

New abuse investigation in LC

UPDATE III: Please be sure you've read the amended article at this link, which clarifies the number of men exonerated was more than two.

UPDATE II: Patricio Cerda offers more insight (for Spanish speakers):

With amazement I read the press releases that begins to circulate in all the world media, following the research being carried out, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). What is striking about this news, is the statement issued by the Legion of Christ, which say they are the ones who have passed the names of alleged pedophiles now under investigation.

This is simply wrong and once again demonstrates the continued lie still living in the hierarchy legionaries, with Delegate Archbishop Velasio De Paolis to the head...

Nicole Winfield, once again:

The Vatican is investigating seven priests from the troubled Legion of Christ religious order for alleged sexual abuse of minors - evidence that the scandal over the order's pedophile founder doesn't rest solely with him, The Associated Press has learned.

Two other Legion priests are being investigated by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for alleged sacramental violations, believed to involve abusing spiritual direction and other pastoral care to have inappropriate sexual relations with women.

The Legion, which is now under Vatican receivership, has insisted that the crimes of the Rev. Marciel Maciel were his alone. But the Vatican investigation of other Legion priests indicates that the same culture of secrecy that Maciel created within the order to cover his crimes enabled other priests to abuse children - just as abusive clergy of other religious orders and dioceses have done around the world.

In a statement Friday to the AP, the Legion confirmed it had referred seven cases of alleged abuse to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that investigates sex crimes. All but one involves alleged abuse dating from decades ago; one case involves recent events, the Legion said.

"Over the past few years, in several countries, the major superiors of the Legion of Christ have received some allegations of gravely immoral acts and more serious offenses ... committed by some Legionaries," the statement said.

It said it was committed to examining the accusations and reaching out to victims while safeguarding the rights of all involved. While the priests are under investigation, their access to children has been restricted, the Legion said.

This is the culture that readers have described as toxic for many years--and part of the "fruits" that others refused to acknowledge (along with the group providing "one of the worst [scandals] of the 20th-century Catholic Church"). Thanks be to God that these accusations have finally been taken seriously.

UPDATE: From one reader in the combox:

it is horrible at any level but it is not an LC problem it is a problem we have in this messed up world. Some priests abuse, mom's abuse, dads abuse, teachers abuse, co-workers abuse..... I guess I'm not sure what all the noise is about?

And a former member was reminded not to worry:

I got my first extended, written response from a local RC. He reminded me of all the good they are doing, how much they are helping the local parishes, how holy the LCs are, how much growth in local holiness has taken place and how so 2010-ago all of this is. They've moved on and so should we. Oh, and every group has a few bad apples.

What could lead anyone to worry about a few bad apples? Only love for the Church, zeal for souls, and a firm intention NOT to coast on any sense of personal accolades as a counterweight to evil. Jesus, Mary and Joseph -- what leads to such arrogance?

ADDENDUM: For the record, we have a perfect Catch-22 in this latest revelation. If the Legion is correct in that these are not new cases and already known to them, then they have failed to act in a responsible manner until now, when the CDF has forced them to be accountable. If they are new cases come to light, then we have proof that intergenerational abuse is a hallmark of this group (as any psychological study would say is typical). In that case, they are not on the right track as they keep saying but still deep in denial.

Powerful discernment by an ex3gf

Claudia Madero is also disappointed with reform, according to Milenio:

Claudia Madero, who for 35 years was a consecrated member of Regnum Christi, decided to leave the Legionaries of Christ because, despite the Vatican having control of the congregation, there is no change in substance. In addition, she claimed, there is an internal prosecution against the those consecrated who "think and analyse."

In a 10-page letter addressed to the general director, Alvaro Corcuera, she details her disappointment about the founder Marcial Maciel, saying: "We were not formed to love, promote and seek the truth" but were "given to lying" and what seemed like a growth in humility was really "becoming slaves to instructions and protocols."

She explains the reasons that lead her to take that step that was "in itself difficult, painful and heartbreaking," and she shares what she considers her "spiritual journey" from July 29th, 2008, when she heard Father Luis Garza said the truth about the founder's life.

In analyzing the errors of Maciel, said: "I was able to capture the founder presented us with a perfect ideal of holiness, angelic" than he, "as described, was the flagship model. There were others like John Paul II, but no life as a martyr in the persecution allegedly suffered so tremendous that during his lifetime. "

In addition, the consecrated were subjected to a multiplicity of rules calling for the strictest perfection, "we become slaves to instructions and written protocols with the greatest thoroughness, and were not to develop any individual qualities," she explained.

White lies

The former consecrata reflects in her letter that "it appears that they were not prepared as an institution, to see, live and promote the truth, because we are not educated in love to promote the truth." Madero said that in 1997 someone asked Maciel: "Why, if lying is sin, we sometimes allow white lies, such as inflating the number of vocational growth or incorporated members."

The founder said, "Why, if the children of darkness lies used for their evil purposes, we can not use these little white lies for good ends?

In assessing the current situation, after the appointment of papal delegate Velasio De Paolis, Madero stated that "there were no essential changes. It has been 64 years, for how many more years will we continue to deceive our people and those to come later? "

She adds that the founder used to discredit and isolate those who doubted his upright conduct, and this form of government still remains, justified as necessary to maintain unity, so enemies are made of those who simply want to contribute to the reform.

At present, considered three groups of dedicated, those who suffer a kind of internal persecution because they are "thinking and analytical" and put in "the position of being enemies."

There are others who have become chronically ill or are affected in their psyche. And the third that are "tagged," the elderly, who are directors.

The former consecrated provides dates and details of correspondence sent to the director Alvaro Corcuera concerning the bias that was influencing the affairs of the Legion and the Movement, but of this she said, "I have not found any resonance, not an attitude of listening, being open or willing to compromise," so she states that "the form of government has not changed, it remains as it was during the founder's life, with the same injustices, judgments and decisions made about those people who begin to differ."

"It seems that there is a vacuum of authority," she said.

The consecrata concluded with four thoughts: "The way you're facing this time of purification will discover the true desire of structural change.

The ex3gf concluded with four thoughts:

1. "The way you're facing this time of purification will discover the true desire of structural change.

2. "We must accept that the founder created an institution with a religious guise that basically entails systems, procedures, traditions and habits that do not correspond at all to the Gospel.

3. "All of us who dealt with the founder are affected by his un-Christian vision and we need ... to get help, advice.

4. "To preserve the structure, governance and formation, there will have to be resources dedicated to the members' physical or mental health."

Kindly remember, dear reader, that there was a Visitation of every house of consecrated members in Regnum Christi, and even if the follow-up report was finished and turned in (as it was supposed to be this past summer) it still hasn't been made public in any way. There are a few reasons to consider:

• Rome works slowly (yes, we get that);
• Lay vocations are secondary to priestly vocations (so what's the hurry);
• The report is being blocked by someone;
• The RC will only hinge on the Legion, so no report is forthcoming;
• There are financial complications (please, no ...)

Let this stand, then, as an accounting of the those members who are obviously a state of great distress. (Those who aren't have evidently acclimated themselves to a horrid situation, based on lies and manipulation.) We've known for a long time that the situation inside isn't healthy on any level. These women have been generous, self-effacing and loyal for decades: we beg Rome to regularise their situation, so that they can move forward in a healing way for their good and the benefit of their long-suffering families. Either allow them to reform apart from the Legion under the proper canonical forms, or send them home. This is abusive and scandalous.

Nota bene: This is why we work so hard against the apostolates that are bent on recruiting more young women into this life. It is not Christian, and is unworthy of the most basic norms of human dignity. We continue to speak out because we love, and we pray without ceasing because we want these men and women free. God bless Miss Madero for having the conviction and courage to break away, and for going public in a manner that had to be enormously difficult.

A critical distinction

MORE IMPORTANT UPDATES BELOW

After the frustrating report from the Delegate that there would be no investigation to see who may haven been complicit in the crimes of MM, we are confronted with two ways of thinking:

• the darn clergy are so insulated and, well, clerical that we cannot expect justice; and
• [from an ardent member] the pope wants this group to survive, so quit whining.

So how do we process this? Interestingly, I got a note from one of the original victims that puts it into supernatural perspective, and one we'll have to live with:

One problem with our criticisms of what St. Augustine called the 'prostitute' side of the Church is that, when me make them, then this same side accuses us of attacking the 'chaste' side, which the 'prostitute' side says it duly represents. This symbiotic manner astutely interpreted reproduces for the 'prostitute' side the content of the parable of the wheat and the darnel to its surviving purposes. So the 'prostitute' side takes advantage also from the extra benefit of the doubt and from the time it entails. If one does not fight the corrupt side of the Church, then, at the end, one loses faith in her sound side. How to sustain the just, adequate balance?

He's nailed the obfuscation that the Legion's supporters always use: that papal decisions are always somehow beyond question, and that to attack the Legion is to attack the Church. Of course the horror of prostitution (and the overwhelming disgust we feel) is based on our reverence for the human dignity that is so badly undermined by the entire sordid practice.

Likewise, it's our very reverence for the Church as Bride of Christ that makes us shrink from anything that turns her into a whore--such as the abuse of her sacraments, exacting private gain and the tawdry display of what should be singularly for the glory of God alone. I know the ardent members believe that they are deeply within the embrace of Holy Mother Church, but they cannot see that the arms that enfold them are not quite what they envision.

But the wheat and the darnel may last a while longer until enough time passes to reveal more about the harvest. Oremus...

UPDATE: From a link provided in the combox, googelle finds that:

The creation of the "truth commission" to investigate those who could have covered up the double life of the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, has not been absolutely ruled out. "We have not closed the issue and the internal debate continues," said Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, delegate of the Pope to reform the Congregation, which has been shaken to its foundations by the acts of Maciel.

Thus, the cardinal denied the news that he had decided not to establish such a commission, due to his inability to discover the alleged accomplices of the acts of the founder "because they do not have the evidence." [previously inaccurate, sorry]

"We thought long and hard about it and we are debating among us. There are those who wish to establish the commission and those who emphasize the problems that this would cause," considering the lack of evidence to prove the complicity of this or that Legionary.

In other words, the cardinal said, "We have not unleashed the knot, i.e. we have not found the solution, but this does not mean we have given up all thought of establishing such a commission."

This could mean a few things:

1. The original information was bad or incomplete. I am confident that it wasn't, for it was covered widely in the Mexican media as well, where the larger firestorm blew;
2. He only tossed out the statement as a trial balloon to see what the response would be, to discover how much support/animosity there was concerning the "cupola;" or
3. He really is waffling, thinking he would avoid this controversy but has been thrown on his heels by the consternation that followed such a proposal.

You'll have to draw your own conclusion. I find myself baffled on a daily basis in this regard. As for the key phrase, "because they have the evidence," the translation leaves me confused. Is he saying he already has the evidence? or is he saying that evidence could be found if they decided to pursue this? Spanish speakers need to clarify the sense of that important sentence for us -- thanks!

MORE HELP FROM THE COMBOX: First, a translation of that confusing sentence --

"We have reflected much on this, and we all continue debating among ourselves. There are those who agree on creating the commission, and those who emphasize the problems that this would create," considering the lack of evidence that could prove the complicity of this or that legionary.

Then another reader pulls more from the Spanish article linked above:

"We must clarify the accounting. It appears that there is nothing more than administrative problems and economic difficulties." He goes on to say that Integer is not so bad as he had heard, that it's actually a good thing because it protects them from being ripped off and because of the complexity of finances. 

His statements regarding the Commission to rewrite the Constitutions are just as alarming. Part of what he says regarding the abuses of privacy (reading mail) and the private vow is "Pero hay un peligro, creer demasiado a los visitadores en el sentido que se puedan pensar exageradamente que los abusos son generalizados, cuál es la consistencia de los abusos, eso es lo que hay que verificar."
Or "there is a danger in believing the visitators too much in the sense that the general abuses will be thought exaggerated, or the content of the abuses, that is what must be verified." 

Let's parse that for a minute: The Visitators spread out, stayed in every house and interviewed as many members as possible of all ranks. Furthermore, they were inundated with testimonies sent from previous members, who have a greater ability (because of distance, first of all) to speak freely and to have begun to process what happened to them inside. These were collated, studied, and synthesised into a two-part meme: The group was founded by a false prophet who was devoid of religious sentiment.

Now, we have a gentleman in one house only (ten hours a week) who doesn't speak the "native tongue," who has spent the bulk of his time speaking to those who helped to create a cultish atmosphere of manipulation, paranoia of the outside world and betrayal of trust -- and they have convinced him that the Visitators were a little extreme in their harsh judgement. To believe in their "exaggerated" claims would be "dangerous," since the Legion is just trying to navigate in the harsh world that doesn't understand their mission and is gunning for their hard-won money.

Friends, if this is true, there is zero hope for meaningful change. I hope that those who are on the inside can read the hand-writing on the wall. Anyone with a sincere desire to bring souls to Christ through a mechanism that will not separate itself from clandestine and peripheral activities that undermine its integrity is in the wrong place. Let the dead bury the dead.

Consider this an Annunciation of another sort...

Visitation to the 3gf's

From the inside:

More than 200 consecrated women joined in prayer, reflection, discussions and conferences with our Visitor, Blasquez, for 10 days; it went very well and was consoling to hear him tell us he came representing the Holy Father’s closeness to us. He celebrated Mass for us every day. We could ask him questions about the living of our promises, our charism, our mission during a meal with him. He spoke about our particular vocation to be lay and consecrated, saying that a life that belonged totally to God while inserted in the world was very needed. He said we need to preserve the gift we have received saying that he considered the Legion and the Regnum Christi enjoyed good health in general. Yet, it was agreed we could reflect on some things and propose adaptations so our life is even more centered on following Christ.

Letter #2 from Delegate

The letter is here. I was going to parse it but there's nothing to say. The Church is moving forward with this Congregation firmly in its bosom. The great good is affirmed, most of the evil died with the Founder and what remains will be shaken out in the General Chapter to come. Where Benedict thanked the tenacious "media" for persevering with their charges of duplicity, now those voices are a "great clamor," a "whirlpool of public opinion" that have sadly undermined vocations, and are "not able to tell clearly enough truth from falsification."

Despite the open Visitation of the 3gf's, they are encouraged in this letter to simply be quiet and look forward to the coming revisions. I cannot overstate the confusion this causes--since they are just beginning to solicit input, but it would seem that our work is ended with this. I don't regret anything that I have written from day one (or the tremendous people I have encountered along the way) but now I have other projects to attend to. God's most holy will in all things.

 

It's your choice

There are two stories circulating about Fr Garza, who is on his way out:

1. the delegate sent him packing with two weeks' notice, having figured out his level of complicity with the corruption in the Legion; or
2. Garza heroically offered his resignation as scapegoat, which the delegate didn't want, because it removed the critical assistance that Garza could provide in moving forward.

You can pick whichever you like--or make up your own. Regardless, the Legion will have to limp along without him, and we may never know the real account.

Contacting the RC Visitator

I cannot stress highly enough the importance of contacting Archbishop Blazquez. This visitation is the only avenue open at this point through which to make legitimate complaints. With Cardinal-elect dePaolis attempting reform in the Legion itself, it remains for this second investigation to at least prove 1. there are serious problems with RC's methodology (esp. as it applies to the 3gf's who are most immersed in it); and 2. RC's strong bond with the Legion is the problem.

I beg all -- even those who wrote to Abp. Chaput -- to resend the material to this Visitator, where it rightfully belongs. Perhaps with a mountain of evidence, he will do what is necessary to free its members from the isidious Integral Formation®.

___________________________

I'm going to go out on a limb and make a suggestion. Abp. Chaput was accessible and generous, making sure to acknowledge everyone who wrote to him over the months of the Legionary visitation. He was clear, though, in saying that he was looking at the Legion and not the Regnum Christi Movement (although people were trying to explain to him that the bad experiences in RC were at the hands/direction of Legionary priests). The effort was to explain the bigger picture to him, so that he could understand the work of the Legion.

Well, now we have a visitation of the RC Movement itself, though it's not entirely clear whether it's just for the "consecrated" members or the group at large (probably the former). With this opportunity, I think readers should be preparing their written pieces so that they can be sent to Abp Blazquez. Just to be sure, any encounters with the 3gf's should be prioritised, and those who have left the "consecrated" life in particular should outline their experiences.

These testimonies are essential, in order to offset the "serene" responses, the forced smiles and the confused deference towards superiors that will inhibit most members inside the RC houses from speaking freely.  As soon as I find a reliable address, I will post it here, but please be preparing your letters, and ask others to consider writing as well. This is another rare opportunity that we cannot miss.

UPDATE: We have a reliable address and this note --

On behalf of Mons. Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Archbishop of Valladolid, I hereby inform you that the Archbishop still doesn´t know how long the visit will take. You may send the writing in another language (than Spanish), and you may do so via e-mail or regular mail.

arzobispo@archivalladolid.org

 

and his mailing address is

 

C/ San Juan de Dios, 5.
47013-Valladolid.
España.

ADDENDUM: And a heartfult plea from the combox:

I am also begging those of you who read here to send your letters. Please seek out those whom you know who have been adversely affected by RC members. These are people who use passive-aggressive methods and use innocent people to bully exRC. They are antagonistic to the Catholic church and destructive to souls. Please write once more. Pray and write. St. Michael save us from the evil inside Regnum Christi. We beg you to end the movement. Amen.

Chiesa's view of the elephant

Sandro Magister has offered his thoughts here:

As the pope's delegate, Archbishop De Paolis has full authority over everything and everyone. For Corcuera, Garza, and the other heads of the congregation founded by Marcial Maciel, the end is in sight. But they're still resisting.

In the letter of appointment dated June 16, reproduced in its entirety further below, Benedict XVI appoints Archbishop De Paolis to govern the Legion in his name "for as long as it takes" in order to remake it from scratch, with a new constitution and with an extraordinary general chapter to mark the new beginning.

But it is in the following decree, released on July 9 by the Vatican secretariat of state...that the delegate's powers are established more precisely. These powers are extremely broad, practically unlimited. The delegate has direct authority over all the superiors of the Legion at the different levels, general, provincial, local, and over all the communities and individual religious.

He can even exercise his authority on his own initiative, independent of the current constitutions of the order. Any decision, in any area, falls to him. The delegate is in charge of admissions to the novitiate, religious profession and priestly ordination, the hiring, transfer, and firing of employees, the orientation of the universities, the seminaries, and the schools.

It is the delegate who decides in matters of extraordinary administrative affairs, or the divesting of assets. In short: the delegate "has the power to intervene wherever he sees fit, including in the internal government of the institute, on all levels." It is clear that, with a delegate endowed with such powers, there is no future for the "system" that concentrated control of the Legion in the hands of the two main heirs of founder Marcial Maciel, Frs. Álvaro Corcuera and Luís Garza Medina, and with the latter even more than with the former. The end of this "system" also involves the end of that separate body, proprietary and managerial, under the total and exclusive control of Fr. Garza, which is Grupo Integer.

Grupo Integer is key to the Legion Empire, as it includes (and finances) endeavors that are hidden to most outsiders and even the bulk of the rank-and-file. Archbishop DePaolis will have to be ingenius to keep tabs on it all -- and your prayers to that effect would be most helpful.

One key passage of the decree from the secretariat of state is where it establishes that "everyone has open access to the delegate and all can deal personally with him." Since Archbishop De Paolis took his post, this is in fact what has begun to happen.

But at the same time, the fact that the previous superiors have remained in their positions is acting as a hindrance. Many priests and religious of the Legion continue to resent their paralyzing control. And they're not coming out into the open. They're staying quiet even with the delegate.

They do this at their own peril, at the risk of losing the whole enterprise. It's not over yet.

Delegate appointed for Legion

According to Kath.net it's Bishop Velasio De Paolis [thank you to the alert readers]. 

 

 The Wall Street Journal headline is: "Pope Names Official to Run Scandal Plagued Order." Not exactly the spin the Legion's been using to assure members/donors that papal attention is a caress and an honour, though the spokesman steps up to assure everyone that he will find complete cooperation.

Italian Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, a top official in charge of managing Vatican finances, will take the reins of the Legion at one of the most delicate points in its history. Under the Father Maciel, who died in 2008, the order cultivated strong ties with the Vatican and Mexico's business elite, becoming one of the church's biggest fund-raisers and a prolific recruiter of new priests.

"We most cordially and gratefully welcome the delegate the Holy Father has assigned to us. We are looking forward to working with him and we assure him our full support. We expect to meet with him and in the near future," said Jim Fair, a U.S.-based spokesman for the Legion.

Archbishop De Paolis will lead a sweeping overhaul of the Legion that will redefine much of the order's spiritual mission and restructure its leadership. Archbishop De Paolis, a canon lawyer who currently heads of the Vatican's Prefecture for Economic Affairs, is also expected to carefully scrutinize the order's finances.

The Vatican statement announcing the archbishop's appointment didn't specify what would happen to the current head of the Legion, Rev. Alvaro Corcuera, and his second-in-command, Father Garza, both members of prominent Mexican families who were placed in leadership positions by Father Maciel.

His financial expertise is key, since the Legion has been shuffling assets. Their assurances of cooperation may be on one superficial level; it will be for him to find out how sincere [i.e. sin cerae] those words are.

UPDATE: for those who worry that the financial emphasis indicates that the Vatican is unduly concerned about money (rather than souls) I would say not to worry. This was a financial scam from the start, and th only way to gauge the health of the organisation is for it to be transparent about its money. They have very winning smiles, earnest demeanors and zeal for souls. If all of that is masking financial shenanigans then nothing has changed. Note todays perfect reading, chosen just for this man:

‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.

He will need your prayers for tenacity, wisdom and courage. I know you will not let him down.

UPDATE II: from the New York Times --

MILAN — Pope Benedict XVI appointed a senior Vatican official on Friday to take control of the Legionaries of Christ, the powerful worldwide religious order rocked by scandal after it emerged that its charismatic founder had molested underage seminarians and secretly fathered at least one child.

Pope Benedict’s measures aim to assist “in the demanding path of purification and renewal that awaits the congregation,” the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Friday on Vatican radio.

The decision to take over the order has been the most direct response on the part of the pope to the growing sexual abuse scandal that has embroiled the Roman Catholic Church in recent months.

Changes to the rules that administer ecclesiastical discipline against priests who sexually abuse minors are also expected to be made public in the next few days.

Archbishop De Paolis, 74, is an expert in canon law, and Vatican observers said it was no accident that the pope chose someone with both a strong legal background as well as financial expertise.

“Clearly, both issues are very important to the changes that have to be made within the Legionaries,” said Marco Tosatti, a veteran journalist with the newspaper La Stampa. Archbishop De Paolis is also a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo, “so he has a particular understanding of the organization of religious orders,” Mr. Tosatti added.

In March, the Legionaries acknowledged that the order’s founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, a close ally of Pope John Paul II, was responsible for many “grave acts.” Father Maciel, who died in 2008, was found to have molested seminarians for decades and fathered at least one child. But Father Maciel was also a prodigious and popular fund-raiser and an important source of new priests.

The Vatican announced its decision to overhaul the order in May. Father Lombardi said Friday in an interview that Archbishop De Paolis was expected to meet soon with the Legionaries to “explain to them his mandate, and set out the methods and timing that that mandate will take.”

Father Lombardi said the pope had given Archbishop De Paolis a “broad mandate.”

Likening the Legionaries to a company that has gone bankrupt, Mr. Tosatti said that a great deal of restructuring would go on. “I think it’s safe to say that the current leadership will soon be out,” he said.

Note how John Paul II is dragged into it. And sadly, it's appropriate.

Benedict's choice

From Rocco:

According to the lead Italian vaticanista of the moment, the Holy See's top money man will be named to oversee the reinvention of the scandal-scarred Legionaries of Christ.

In a freshly-released dispatch, Il Giornale's Andrea Tornielli reports that "in the coming days" B16 will formally tap Archbishop Velasio DePaolis, 74, as his Apostolic Delegate with full powers to lead the reconstitution of the controversial community, which received an Apostolic Visitation after revelations that its late founder, Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, fathered at least one child, alongside allegations of widespread fiscal and moral improprieties. In its final communiqué on the yearlong investigation, a Vatican statement concluded that Maciel's "serious and objectively immoral behavior... at times constitutes real crimes, and manifests a life devoid of scruples and of genuine religious feeling."

According to Tornielli, two deputies will likewise be provided to the delegate by papal appointment: one for the Legion's Spanish-speaking sector, and another for its Anglophone component.

DePaolis met with the pontiff yesterday morning.

On top of the Legion news, Tornielli added in the aforementioned post that "the coming days will also see [formal] notice of other appointments" already reported upon, listing those of Quebec's Cardinal Marc Ouellet as the next prefect of the all-powerful Congregation for Bishops; the Swiss Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, 60, to succeed Cardinal Walter Kasper as the Vatican's top ecumenist, leading the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and -- as the Il Giornale scribe broke in April -- the naming of Archbishop Rino Fisichella, currently head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, as the founding president of a new "Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization," the first Curial dicastery to be created in a quarter-century.

More from the combox referencing CNA:

"De Paolis has always kept a low profile in the Roman curia; nevertheless, inside the Vatican he is not only known as an accomplished canon lawyer, but as one of the top experts on religious life from the canonical standpoint. In fact, this year, Marcianum Press published De Paolis’s latest book, a 758-page long work titled “La vita consacrata nella Chiesa” (Consecrated Life in the Church.) He has been author or co-author of several other books on Canon Law, religious life, and the financing of the Church, including “Non per denaro. Il sostegno economico alla Chiesa,” (Not Because of Money, economic support to the Church.”