Maciel: Day 13

Thirteen days ago I posted a story: "Legionaries founder Maciel fathered children, internal investigation reveals." Here is a summation of this weekend's editorial developments. They encompass two main questions: How/Can the Legion continue? And what of the Legion charism?

Raymond Arroyo: "Now some say that the Legion should forget all of this and press forward: continue meditating on Father Maciel’s writings, enjoy the good he did and forgive the rest. But this misses the point. Continuing to build upon a foundation of deceit will not permit growth in the order. In light of the recent revelations, it seems Father Berg has it right. There is no way to mouth quaint pieties and expect that everything will be better in the morning. To attract new recruits to the order and for the health and welfare of those good clergy already in its ranks, the Legion must clean house, taking the time to reform its operations and to rediscover its true charism. Only by facing the ugly truth, reaching out to the wounded victims, and relying on the Holy See for guidance can the Legion be returned to strength and credibility. Adversity is sometimes God’s way of bringing cleansing and lasting change. May it be so for the good people within the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi."

Robert Moynihan: "The Legion’s leadership is now seeking to distance the Legion from its founder, but with great caution, knowing there has never been an order in the history of the Church that survived after repudiating its founder. At the same time, from outside the Legion, calls are multiplying for Pope Benedict XVI to take decisive action, perhaps even to suppress the order, to preserve whatever of good there is in it from destruction. As this issue went to press, it was not yet clear what Benedict would do."

Ed Peters on the claim that because the Legion has good people, it can reform from within: "History affords us many examples of organizations or movements that were fundamentally and even fatally flawed, but which for a time attracted and held good Catholics in membership; but that only shows that good Catholics, too, can be duped. That's not their fault, certainly, but their innocence does not guarantee the basic soundness of the organization in which they serve. Membership is distinguishable from institution."

Ed Peters on the claim that Maciel's canonical crime spree does not negate the L/RC charism: "This argument misses the key question, namely, whether in fact Maciel ever bequeathed an authentic charism to the L/RC, or whether he left instead a legacy of systemic deception clothed in an attractive rhetoric that trusting men could mistake for a new route toward Christian perfection. There is, I think, at least as much reason to wonder whether Maciel set up an institute in order to assure himself of ample access to sexual targets and unaccountable funds, or whether he suffered from some warped psycho-emotional condition that enabled him to compartmentalize pious devotional practices and sexual predation for decades on end, as there is to wonder whether he left a real charism to a Catholic clerical, religious, and lay organization."

Austin Ruse of C-FAM tries to mount a defense of the Legion's charism on the Catholic Thing.

Steve Skojex, who used to be in the movement, responds to the points that Ruse raises.

If time is permitted, I will try to write a brief response to the points that Ruse raises.

In related news, Fr. Jonathan Morris promised in a radio interview with Al Kresta last friday that the Legion would "in the coming days [release] a serious clarification."

I'll be sure to notify AmP readers when that surfaces.