Legion Undone

Hold on before you think I'm saying that the Legionaires of Christ are at an end. In fact, I hope they aren't.

By "undone", I mean that their future isn't a "done deal". In fact, a great future may still be in front of them. Right now, however, the future of the Legion is still very much up in the air. I think the Vatican's Communique on Fr. Maciel was intended to give the Legion the opporuntity to make its own decision on its future. The only question now is what future will the Legion's leaders choose.

I won't go into the circumstances that brought about Friday's Communique "inviting" the Founder of the Legionaries to a "reserved life of penitence and prayer". Suffice it to say that I understand this is Church legal/diplomatic code banishing Fr. Maciel.

In reading some of the commentaries and analysis that has been ciculating in both the media and blogosphere, I've noted two items of interest.

The first is that the Vatican has gone out of its way to distinguish its judgement on Fr. Maciel from the Legion and Regnum Christi. By doing so it's giving them the opportunity to distinguish (i.e., distance) themselves from from Fr. Maciel; in fact, it is essentially challenging them to do so.

This aspect is flushed out in an article by Giselle Sainte Marie posted on the ReGAIN site. (I am well aware that ReGAIN and Giselle Sainte Marie have no love for the Legion or Regnum Christi; however, that does not mean she doesn't make a valid point here which is all I'm commenting on.)

In her article, she says:

Benedict is truly guided by the Holy Spirit in this response, because now the charism has the opportunity to succeed in a purified form, serving the Church rather than its own ends, or to fall of its own weight. The Vatican rightly sees in the Legion’s works many schools – from primary to advanced institutions; it sees apostolates for all members of the people of God; it sees abundant vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life hoping to serve the Church. Either these belong to Holy Mother Church – who has spoken in the case of Maciel – or they don’t. The fruit therein that is authentic will flourish for Christ, or it will rot on the vine. Without Maciel as the wind in the sails of the Legion, we will soon enough determine its new direction.

This is not an indictment of the enthusiastic and sincere faith of thousands associated with the Movement, who offered their lives to promote the Gospel, who piled up their “widow’s mites” in good faith, and who joined their energy to what they thought was a group dedicated to serving the Church. How could they begin to understand whether or not the accusations had merit? They accepted the possibility that the Legion was under attack for its orthodoxy, knowing that persecution is inherent in discipleship. To this end, the Vatican statement notes, "Independently of the person of the Founder, the worthy apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and of the Association 'Regnum Christi' is gratefully recognized."

The key word there is “independently.” There is still a chance that all the well-meaning souls attached to this group will prove themselves loyal to the Vicar of Christ, and yet that clearly means that they have to distance themselves from the person of Maciel. They cannot have both Maciel the Martyr and Benedict the Wise. Either they will hold to the fire the feet of every Legion priest, whose guidance they trust, to choose the Pope (and the Holy Spirit) unreservedly, or they will walk. We trust that they will do the right thing.

Another interesing point is the reaction from the Legion. I read another post on the Rorate Caeli blog by "New Catholic". Here, the author feels that the Legion has already "ruled" on its future by immediately posting a "response" to the Vatican's Communique. And the author states that the Legion is choosing the wrong future by siding with Fr. Maciel against the Church.

[W]hile the Holy See's communiqué was clear in the distinction between the founder and the movements he founded ("Independently of the person of the Founder, the worthy apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and of the Association 'Regnum Christi' is gratefully recognized"), the Legion of Christ institutionalized the personal misgivings of Maciel Degollado and rushed to issue its own "Response" to the communiqué, a response which can only be described as galling and offensive.

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Instead of remaining silent (which one would expect from a "obedient" son) or of THANKING the competent ecclesiastical authorities for the unbound concern they showed for the health and age of the man, and for the future fortunes of the movements he founded, the "Official Response" even presents the "suffering" as a privileged means of grace for the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi. This while the Holy See itself was careful to distinguish the person of the founder from the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi.

"Salus animarum suprema lex" (Can.1752): it was wonderful to watch the Holy See apply this overarching principle of law once again. What a misfortune that such a beautiful spirit had to be squandered by sectarian gall. This official response only deepened the links between the Founder and his movements, which the Holy See had been careful to separate -- and, instead of the spirit of a Saint Joan of Arc, was filled with the spirit of self-righteousness. There may have been pharisees in this succession of events -- but they were not in the Vatican.

I agree that it was imprudent of the Legion to rush out a response. It seemed as if they were consulting a PR firm instead of Scripture. And no doubt "New Catholic" is right in criticizing them for leaping to Fr. Maciel's defense as the defense necessarily implicitly criticizes the Holy Father.

However, in a way such a response was to be expected. The Legion is still the alter ego of Fr. Maciel and their rush to his defense was probably reflexive rather than calculated. I'm still hopeful that, with some prayer and reflection that the Legion's leaders will realize that, in order to have a future, the Legion needs to disassociate itself from its founder.

It will be difficult. They will essentially have to reinvent themselves and develop a new charism. But the Church affords them abundant opportunities to do so; and if the Legion does embrace another charism, it can survive, grow and flourish.

The only question right now is whether the Legion is willing to do so.