LEGION OF CHRIST

The 'Legion of Christ' is a Catholic religious congregation established in 1941 in Mexico by Fr. Marcial Maciel. It enjoyed the favor of Pope John Paul II, possibly in part because of its stand in facing contemporary challenges. It is currently one of the Church's fastest-growing congregations, with a presence in 20 countries, and over 650 priests and 2,500 seminarians, besides the 65,000 members of the Regnum Christi, its lay movement. Critics cite recruitment from their schools of children identified as having vocations to the priesthood and aggressive fundraising required of its priests as two reasons for such rapid growth, particularly in Latin Countries. It also operates several schools in Mexico, other parts of North America, as well as other Latin American countries.

Contents

The founder

Ethos

Politics

Formation

Papal support

Controversial recruiting practices

Apostolates

Regain Lawsuit

Reading list

See Also

External links

References

The founder

Marcial Maciel was born on March 10, 1920 into a devout Catholic family living in a fiercely-anticlerical Mexico. On June 19, 1936, Maciel—a young seminarian at the time—felt called to establish a new religious order, and in 1941, with the support of the bishop of Cuernavaca, Bishop Francisco González Arias, he founded the Legion of Christ. Maciel was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop González Arias in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on November 26, 1944, after which he continued to build up the Legion and its lay companion, Regnum Christi.
Maciel was asked by Pope John Paul II to accompany him on his visits to Mexico in 1979, 1990, and 1993, and was appointed, also by Pope John Paul II, to the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the formation of Candidates for the Priesthood in Actual Circumstances (1991). He has been a member of the Interdicasterial Commission for a Just Distribution of Clergy (1991), the IV General Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) (1992), the Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life and Their Mission in the Church and the World (1993), the Synod of Bishops´ Special Assembly for America (1997) and, since 1994, a permanent consultant to the Congregation for the Clergy. The golden anniversary of his priestly ordination was celebrated on 26 November 1994, with 57 Legionary priests ordained on the anniversary's eve. Presently, Fr. Marcial Maciel also serves as Chancellor of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, which is based in Rome.
In January 2005 Maciel, at age 84, was succeeded by Álvaro Corcuera, LC, as General Director of the Legion shortly after the reopening of a sex abuse allegation by the Vatican. He now lives in Cotija, Michoacán.
Maciel was removed from his position by the Vatican in 1956 and reinstated in 1959 following allegations that he was addicted to a morphine drug known as dolantine.
Since the 1970s, Marcial Maciel has been accused of having repeatedly sexually abused other congregation members, including young children. Maciel's accusers include a priest, a guidance counselor, a professor, an engineer, a lawyer and a former priest who became a university professor. The men, seven Mexicans and two Spaniards, described themselves as former members of a favored group, known as the "apostolic schoolboys." The abuse allegedly occurred over three decades beginning in the 1940s in Spain and Italy, where boys and young men were taken for schooling. The abuse, they said, involved some 30 boys and young men and extended over at least three decades.
Of the nine men making the accusations, one subsequently retracted his story, claiming it had been a fabrication intended to damage the Legion. The other eight continue to maintain these allegations. Fr Maciel and the organization deny the accusations. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), led by-then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who is now Pope Benedict XVI), examined the allegations. Shortly after some media reported the reopening of the investigation in late 2004, Fr. Maciel stepped down as leader of the Legion.
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On May 19, 2006 the Vatican published a communique for press, instructing Maciel to retire to a life of "prayer and penitence".
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The statement said Maciel had been "invited" to withdraw to "a reserved life of prayer and penitence and not carry out his ministry in public". The statement said that the investigation was dropped because of his "advanced age [and] frail health.
In Mexico, the Legionaries said in a statement that he had "accepted the instruction with faith, total calm, with a clear conscience knowing that it is a new cross which God, the Merciful Father, has allowed him to suffer". It said that Maciel declared his innocence "and, following the example of Jesus Christ, decided not to defend himself in any way."
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Ethos

Members of the Legion take vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. In addition they take private vows not to criticize the actions or the person of their superiors and to inform their superiors if anyone else does. ^[4]
The Legion's spirituality can be described as three loves: love for Christ, love for Mary, and love for the Church and Pope.
'Love for Christ' is, for Legionaries, a personal experience. Through the Gospel, the Cross, and the Eucharist, Legionaries come to know Christ intimately, and love him in a passionate way by embracing him as their model of holiness.
'Love for Mary' flows from imitating Christ; the Blessed Virgin is loved as both Mother of the Church and of the individual Legionary's vocation. Legonaries consecrate their spiritual and apostolic lives to her care, and seek to taken on her virtues of faith, hope, charity, obedience, humility, and cooperation with Christ's plan of redemption.
Finally, there is Legionaries' 'love for Church and Pope'. The Church is loved because it is the Body of Christ, and the beginning of his Kingdom on earth. Legionaries see the Church both as she currently stands and as Christ wants her to be. Thus Legionaries honor her by faith, submit to her in obedience, win souls for her through evangelisation, and put her above all other earthly things in their lives. This love of the Church leads many in the Legion to speak of being "always in step with the Church, neither ahead nor behind." It also explains the Legionaries' special affection for the Pope, who is supported in his charism of primacy and magisterium. All bishops in communion with the Roman Pontiff, as the Apostles' successors and teachers of the Catholic Faith, are likewise honored.

Politics

Many have argued that the congregation incorporates right-wing and conservative politics. The Legion, however, states that its focus is not on political alliances nor activism, but on advancing the Church's social agenda as articulated by the Holy See. Its priests are particularly active on bioethical issues; the Legion's emphasis on bioethics is demonstrated by the fact that its Pontifical Atheneum in Rome, the Regina Apostolorum, is the first university in the world granting bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in bioethics.
The congregation has been compared to Opus Dei because of its views and their mutual fidelity to the Church's Magisterium.
The congregation is pro-life. The Legion of Christ, like the Catholic Church, is also against homosexual activity as it considers the act a sin, and collaborates with psychologists who treat same-sex attraction as a disorder (see reparative therapy).
The Legion as been close to conservatives, like José María Aznar (ex prime minister of Spain) from the Popular Party, Marta Sahagún de Fox (wife of Vicente Fox, ex president of Mexico) from the National Action Party. It has been very close to the richest families in Latin America like the Cisneros family in Venezuela and the Slim Helú family and the Garza Medina family in Mexico. The budget of the Legion is 650 million U.S. dollars per year.^[5]

Formation

As a whole, the Legion is dedicated to advancing the Church's mission in the world, and to this end submits candidates to a rigorous formation of four dimensions: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral. This formation is very controversial, and critics charge that the Legion is producing "robots" who all speak and behave in the same way.
Critics charge that some guidelines restrain members from sharing their inner thoughts and feelings with people they encounter, including their own family members: "Always display happiness and serenity as a manifestation of inner richness. At the other extreme, avoid all sign of depression, insecurity or timidity. Do not display a worried, sad, melancholy or disgusted face, or show an exaggerated form of happiness." as well as: "When receiving family visits, always appear happy, cordial, attentive, grateful and satisfied with the vocation that God has granted you."
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In letters from Marcial Maciel to his followers, he describes the loyalties a legionary should have:
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Contact with the family is severely restricted as well. High school seminarians are permitted to visit home in few cases:

Papal support

Since its founding, successive popes have expressed support for the Legion. When Maciel visited Rome in 1946, Pope Pius XII expressed a keen interest in the undertaking and gave it his personal blessing. In light of the order's achievements, particularly in education, Pope Paul VI was pleased to award it the "Decree of Praise" in 1965. The most enthusiastic support has, however, been that of Pope John Paul II, who in an address, picked out the qualities which have made the Legion so successful:^[8]
The Legion's strong commitment to papal authority leads many to believe that the order can look forward to good relations with future occupiers of the Petrine office, though the recent disciplining of the founder leaves this doubt.
The close relationship between Maciel and Pope John Paul has been cited as one the reasons that Vatican investigation regarding sex abuse allegations made against Fr. Maciel proceeded extremely slowly although the first allegations were provided to the Pope in the late 1970s.

Controversial recruiting practices

In the United States bishops have barred or severely restricted the Legion and Regnum Christi in six dioceses: St Paul-Minneapolis; Los Angeles; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Richmond, Virginia; Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana; and Columbus, Ohio – because of its recruiting practices.
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[11]} Members of Regnum Christi, under supervision of the Legionaries, have organized various ministries, such as youth ministry and small faith communities, that parallel the ministries of the local parishes. Critics feel that it separates persons from the local parish and archdiocese and creates competing structures.
Critics also cite the Legion's bias in favor of recruiting wealthy and/or socially prominent individuals and families. Legion priests tend to be drawn almost exclusively from the upper classes, and once ordained, often move in very exclusive social circles. Critics say assistance and aid to the poor by members of the Legion appears to be tokenism, especially when comparing the number of poor children it educates to the number of wealthy and socially elite children that come out of its schools.

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The Legion has also been charged with recruiting children and instructing them not to tell their parents.

Apostolates

The primary apostolate of Legionary priests and brothers is to attend to the spiritual needs of the members of their lay branch, Regnum Christi. Since Legionary priests and brothers are themselves members of Regnum Christi, often they are put in charge of directing the apostolic projects.
Regnum Christi has many Apostolates for charitable and spiritual welfare. It essentially does not limit itself to any one apostolate, but each member is encouraged to work on his/her area of interest/expertise.
As a spirituality, it encourages its members to work innovatively and systematically. Members are given the option to work on an apostolate not associated with the Legion, a Legion-endorsed apostolate, or to create their own apostolate which may eventually reach Legion endorsement.
In 2006, The Legion launched a test phase of Mission Network, in the United States.
''Catholic Mission Network, Inc.'', is the umbrella organization which oversees and approves all Legionary-endorsed apostolates in the US, soon to be internationally. Its purpose is to provide both 1) structure/supervision of the apostolates, and 2) An overview as to what the Legion/Regnum Christi does as a whole, with brand-name-type recognition.

Regain Lawsuit

In August of 2007, the Legion filed a lawsuit against Regain Inc., an organization founded by ex-Legionaries critical of Legion practices and its founder Marcial Maciel. The lawsuit alleges that written property of the Legion, including letters written by Maciel, and copies of unpublished principles and norms "intended only for dissemination and use by Legion members", were stolen and posted online "out of context... as part of a concerted effort to wage a malicious disinformation campaign against the Legion." The Legion has pled that the value of the alleged stolen property is "worth at least $750,000." "Verified Complaint, Petition in Detinue for Pretrial Seizure and Application for Injunction" The president of Regain has asserted that, to the best of his knowledge, "nothing was obtained improperly", and expressed the opinion that the lawsuit request for information on anonymous message board posters was an action "proving that the Legion is a cult which controls information, stifles freedom of expression and goes after dissenters."^[13]

Reading list

★ Marcial Maciel: ''Christ Is My Life,'' Sophia Institute Press, 2003. ISBN 1-928832-97-0

★ Marcial Maciel: ''Integral Formation of Catholic Priests,'' Alba House, 1992. ISBN 0-8189-0629-4

★ Anthony Bannon: ''Peter on the Shore,'' Circle Press, 1996. ISBN 0-9651601-0-6

★ Patrick Langan: ''Founders,'' Circle Press, 1998. ISBN 0-9651601-1-4

★ Jason Berry, Gerald Renner: ''Vows of Silence : The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II,'' Free Press, 2004. ISBN 0-7432-4441-9

★ Angeles Conde, David Murray: "The Legion of Christ: A History" Circle Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9743661-2-9

See Also

★ Zenit News Agency

★ National Catholic Register

External links

★ Legion of Christ

★ Pope John Paul II's address to Legionaries of Christ

★ Mission Network

★ Athenaeum Pontificium Regina Apostolorum

★ Vocation.com - an LC-run website

★ Legionary Facts

★ National Catholic Register Weekly newspaper run by the Legionaries

★ New Order for a New Millennium - AD2000 article

★ ReGain Network organization of ex Legionaries and Regnum Christi members

★ Life After the Regnum Christi

★ "Vatican disciplines group founder" - Reuters article

★ Los Legionarios de Cristo: Testimonios y Documentos Inéditos

★ Ex-Legionaries Forums

References

1. J. McKinley Jr., "Pope-to-Be Reopened Mexican Sex Abuse Inquiry" , New York Times (April 23, 2005)
2. Vatican Communiqué, "Father Marcial Maciel Invited to Renounce All Public Ministry" , Zenit News Agency (May 19, 2006)
3. P. Pullella, "Vatican disciplines Mexican priest after abuse case" , Reuters (May 19, 2006)
4. Fr. Marcial Maciel, "Private Vow of Legion of Christ" , (September 15th, 1956)
5. Jose de Cordoba, "With elite backing, Catholic order has pull in Mexico" , The Wall Street Journal (January 23, 2006)
6. Fr. Marcial Maciel, L.C., Principios y Normas de la Legión de Cristo, Reajo del Roble, Spain, Feast of
Pentecost, June 10, 1984
7. Marcial Maciel, "Envoy II", letter 70, page 130.
8. L’Osservatore Romano, "Pope's address to the Legionaries of Christ" L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, 17 January 2001, page 5
9. J. Filteau, "Minnesota archbishop bars Legionaries from his archdiocese" , Catholic News Service (Dec-22-2004)
10. Diocese of Columbus Bulletin for November 10, 2002 Diocese of Columbus
11. S. Brewster, "Some critical of Cheshire order" , Connecticut Record-Journal (September 18, 2004)
12. G. Renner, "Turmoil in Atlanta" , The National Catholic Reporter (November 3, 2000)
13. http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/controversial-c.html