Category: Critique of LC/RC

Vatican Overseer Neglects Investigation of Legion Founder’s Inner Circle

Will Pope Francis be in an awkward position having to blindly approve new constitutions statutes and Legion leaders?

Who within the Legionaries of Christ in Fr. Marcial Maciel’s inner circle covered for the founder as he carried out his secret life style, traveling around the world to spend time with his different families under different aliases? If we were waiting for Cardinal DePaolis, the Vatican overseer to let us know, we could wait a long time and never know.

Jason Berry his written an article on the National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/ex-legionary-curial-overseer-neglects-investigation-inner-culture that identifies four Irish LC priests who were among Fr. Maciel’s closest confidantes and who wielded considerable power within the Legion. These included:

  • Fr. Anthony Bannon, who was chief fund raiser in North America
  • Fr. Owen Kearns, who led the media attack against Maciel’s pedophilia victims
  • Fr. Raymond Cosgrave, Maciel’s point man in establishing the Legion in Chile during the 1973 – 1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet
  • Fr. John Devlin, Fr. Maciel’s secretary for decades and a keeper of the secrets ReGAIN’s Paul Lennon was quoted in the article. He provided some background information regarding
  • Fr. John Devlin, who entered the Legion in 1961, the same year as Paul. According to Paul, Fr. Devlin was one of Maciel’s right-hand men. He would do anything for Maciel.

Jason Berry points out that Fr Devlin was charming with the big donors and he cemented ties with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who was one of the LC founder’s staunchest supporters and he questions where and how Fr Maciel found the millions of dollars he needed to support his two families while traveling between Rome and New England for decades.

Referring to the culture of lies within the Legion, Jason Berry’s article questions how long Fr. Maciel’s inner circle knew what was going on. He goes on to note that Cardinal Velasio DePaolis has avoided any direct confrontation with any of the inner circle members. He points out that the culture of structural lying is still vibrant within the order
Although there were numerous questions about these four members of Fr. Maciel’s inner circle, Cardinal DePaolis neglected to investigate any of the people who obviously had some involvement in the LC founder’s secret life.

Now that Cardinal DePaolis’ three and a half year term has been completed and so many questions remain (because of the failure to do any investigation) Pope Francis is likely to be left holding the bag. He is the one who will assume responsibility for (blindly perhaps) approving the revised constitutions and newly elected leaders and decide whether or not to continue overseeing the Legion.

ReGAIN Comment
Many people believed that the Vatican was conducting a reform of the Legionaries of Christ and of Regnum Christi. Obviously, Cardinal DePaolis had a very limited scope of work and the LC and RC leaders and members were aware that it was simply a renewalto develop new statutes and constitutions and elect new leaders. Now that has been done but none of the questions have been answered (or even asked it appears) the Pope will either have to buy a pig in a poke or send in another investigator who is willing to actually investigate who did what and who is still doing what inside the Legion.

So that means that once again another Holy Father in Rome will be exposed to criticism because of the scandals associated with Fr Maciel’s Legionaries of Christ. Pope Francis is already dealing with criticism from the United Nations, who have recently singled out Father Marcial Maciel. Based on the ineffectiveness of Cardinal DePaolis to even bother to check for anything untoward going on in the Legion during his three and a half years, will the Holy Father and the Vatican and the Catholic Church have to deal with serious consequences and valid criticism? If so, this is very unfortunate for those Catholic religious orders and movements that have genuine charisms from the Holy Spirit and who are devoting their lives and energy to do something beautiful for God.

If self-serving mind controlling cult groups with controversial child molesting founders and no obvious spiritual charisms who have a reputation for preying on wealthy seniors are considered as equivalent to other Catholic religious groups and are supported by the Vatican, then it waters down the genuine fruits and works that come from inspired religious groups.

We hope and pray that Pope Francis will be given the gifts of the Holy Spirit including wisdom and knowledge from the Holy Spirit that he may deal more effectively with this unfortunate situation than his predecessors have been able to.

Father Berg Speaks Out Deeply Disappointed With Reform of Legion

There is an article On First Things Blog, written by Father Thomas Berg entitled The Legion’s Scandal of Stalled Reform
Click Here for First Things Article by Father Berg

 

Father Berg decided to leave the Legion after 23 years. He has been following the reform process for two years and finally decided to express my deep disappointment as well as my profound concern for the fine young men and dedicated priests who still compose the Legion

 

Father Berg states that he felt it would have been better for the Church and the Legion if the order had been suppressed.

 

Regarding the stalled reform process, he offers his opinion that Cardinal DePaolis, who does not speak Spanish (Legion’s official language), has made two decisions that may prove disastrous for the Legion.

 

  1. Maciel’s long term and close collaborators remain in leadership positions.

 

  1. . Cardinal DePaolis has chosen to forgo a thorough and independent investigation into whether any present or former members knowingly abetted Maciel.

 

Unsurprisingly to ReGAIN readers, Fr. Berg refers to the institutional resistance/ and lack of transparency from the Legion superiors, who says are promoting the concept that the naming of a Papal Delegate constituted a de facto pontifical approval of the Legion’s continuation as a congregation and affirmation of the existence of a valid charism and mission.

 

Fr. Berg adds that those who are hopeful of reform are not expecting more than some superficial and cosmetic changes instead of the sweeping changes that are urgently required. He concludes that the Church does not need the institution of the Legion but does need their good and zealous men

.

He concludes with a recommendation that every Legionary priest should be given the means and a real opportunity to genuinely re-discern his vocation. He encourages family members to persevere in convincing their loved ones to request some time completely away from the Legion environment and to seek sound spiritual direction from an experienced outside spiritual director.

 

ReGAIN Comment

 

Father Berg has brilliantly managed to voice in a concise and powerful message the concerns that most of us have regarding the urgent need for genuine reform and some of the main reasons for the failure to date. He shows concern for those in the Legion whose lives have been most affected and he offers some practical solutions. Fr. Berg, we salute you and hope that someone on high is listening to your message.

 

So many people who had hoped for real reform had high expectations when the Vatican published the 2010 communique and later sent their chosen delegate and provided him with sweeping powers to attempt the impossible. We wondered which of the leaders would be given their marching orders and where they would find the kind of spiritual leaders needed to breathe a spark of life into the rotten stinking corpse of an organization designed to bring power money and glory to a depraved leader.

 

Reviewing the progress of the reform to date by summarizing some ReGAIN and other articles over the last two years:

 

The delegate came and he didn’t speak Spanish. That would make it difficult. His expertise was in finances and canon law. That experience would be helpful in following the money trail. His scope seemed to be limited to rewriting the constitutions. There would be no investigation into who collaborated with the founder. Ouch. Some remained optimistic that this could work.

 

The promotion of the new commissioner to cardinal gave him more power but it also gave the Legion some legitimate claim that they had strong Vatican support. Shortly after he arrived the new commissioner wrote what seemed like a love letter to the Legion. That seemed strange at the time but some saw the wisdom in him taking the honey works better than vinegar approach.

 

The aggressive recruiting and fund raising continued. So did the ordinations in the Legion and the consecrations in Regnum Christi. The old guard leaders all remained although some of them wore different hats in different locations. The commissioner seemed to be more and more comfortable in his new posting.

 

More and more people who had wanted reform decided to leave, including some very prominent members. Quite a number of these made their reasons for leaving publicly known.

 

A very feeble and awkward attempt was made to express corporate remorse for those who had been victimized by the Legion founder. The crocodile tears did not make a positive impression.

 

The impossible search for the missing charism continued. There had to be one somewhere. The leaders wrote letters to the faithful members encouraging them to continue sharing your love for God (which really meant don’t stop recruiting). Some continued to watch to see if the Holy Spirit would empower some dark horse to rise from the ranks and like Moses, provide some strong spiritual leadership. Nobody inspired anybody as the corpse of the Legion remained there looking even more dead. The games went on as usual. The deceit and the secrecy continued unchanged.

 

A group of consecrated women gave up and left to form their own movement. The response from the leaders and the commissioner were pathetic. It seemed that those who remained were the loyal ones and those who left were unfaithful.

 

The old guard leaders continued their same old ways. The Vatican commissioner commented that it was not his job to clean house, he was there to oversee the rewriting of the constitutions.

 

Some of us felt that the commissioner was showing great wisdom by giving the Legion enough rope to hang itself. Father Berg refers to the lack of wisdom in that approach in his article, saying the Legion escaped extinction under dubious circumstances after a Vatican investigation of Maciel in the 1950’s

 

The embarrassment caused to the Church continues to pile up as new revelations show that the Legion leaders concealed information they had known for years.

 

Father Berg makes such wonderful sense. Every one of the Legionary priests (and we would include all of the 3gf’s) deserve a genuine opportunity to take some time out completely away from anything to do with the Legion or Regnum Christi and discern what God is calling them to do. Those who do not have wealthy families to lean on should be provided with financial assistance and support for a reasonable time. As a minimum the Legion and Regnum Christi should be made to cease and desist from offering their tainted form of spiritual direction, not just because it is not confidential but because it has a hidden agenda to manipulate the spiritual directees.

 

The Church should follow the lead of the young women who were former Regnum Christi precandidacy high school students on their 49weeks blog Click Here

 

These young women are offering support for those Legionary priests and consecrated Regnum Christi members who want to leave but have difficulty supporting themselves or finding work or understanding their situation or who just need some prayer support.

 

Why is the Church not offering these things? Why isn’t the Church acknowledging the urgent need for discernment that Father Berg identifies? Why is the Church further embarrassing itself by providing a reform in such an incompetent manner? Is there anyone else up there?

 

Legionary Spin Foiled Again

Legionaries Apologize That They Acted Too Late

Very recently Associated Press stated that the Legion confirmed it had referred seven cases of alleged abuse to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith This statement from the Legion gave the impression that the Legion was on top of the situation and was cooperating with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
According to the AVLCRC, Asociacion de Ayuda a los Afectados por la Ensenanzas del Grupo Religioso Legionarios de Cristo “Association of Help for those affected by the teaching of the religious group Legionaries of Christ” they (not the Legion) were the ones who reported to the CDF regarding the abuse by the seven Legionary priests. According to this Spanish victims’ group, they reported the abuse two years ago to the head of the Legion, Father Alvaro Corcuera. When he failed to respond, they reported it to Cardinal DePaolis, who is overseeing the reform process. Then, when he failed to take action, they went to the CDF (Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith) in the Vatican.

As news agencies began to report this story another bombshell dropped. The most visible Legionary priest, Rev Thomas D Williams, Legionary moral theologian, TV personality and author of more than a dozen books, including one called Knowing Right From Wrong: A Christian Guide to Conscience. admitted that he had fathered a child some time ago. There were few details provided.

ReGAIN sources (unconfirmed) have provided some information that the incident most likely happened around 2000, when Father Williams was rector at Legionary headquarters in Rome, Via Aurelia 677 (the same place where Father Maciel had abused seminarians). As rector, he would have had much more freedom of movement than the regular members, who had to abide by the community rules.

Apparently, Father Williams has denied that it was one of his students or anyone under his spiritual direction. Was it then a daughter of a benefactor perhaps or a daughter of a Regnum Christi member, or a visitor or someone from a prominent Catholic family? Was she married or single? These sort of details are being kept secret because of privacy concerns for those involved.

We share Cardinal DePaolis’ concern for the private lives involved in this new scandal and we also share in his relief that this time there were no laws broken (i.e. no children molested). Being human, we can’t help but wonder about some of the details as questions go through our minds about who the mother is, what is her relationship to the Regnum Christi Movement and how old is she, was she married or single. It is becoming more difficult to keep secrets these days when things do happen.

Reuters Click Here for Reuters Article has identified that the Legion and Cardinal DePaolis knew for months about Father Williams having fathered a child. Most people are willing to forgive the handsome, irresistible Father Williams for being possibly victimized by some seductive beautiful young lady. Even Cardinal DePaolis has shown acceptance of Father William’s indiscretions by his statement: There is a need to be careful in cases like this. It concerns a private life. These things happen these days, unfortunately.

Yes, these things do happen and we are all sinners. However, more shocking than the story of the Legion’s most prominent and visible theologian having fathered a child is the obvious conclusion that the Legion did whatever was necessary to cover up the facts for as long as they could.

Based on the Reuters story, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis said I found out about it this yearWhen asked (by Reuters) if he meant since the beginning of this year, he said yes.

In a later report May 17 by the Catholic News Agency Click Here the Legion apologized for not acting more quickly in the case of Father Thomas Williams.

There is a parallel here to the way things unfolded in 2009. The Legionary founder, Father Marcial Maciel had been disgraced twice by the Vatican, first in 2006 when he was advised to lead a quiet life of repentance and prayer and no longer practice his priesthood or speak publically and again after he died when the Vatican communique was issued in May 2010 following investigations to determine what effect his actions had had on the Legion structure.

The Legion at the time decided they could no longer defend their founder’s name. However, they carefully chose their words about his transgressions to focus on the long and stable relationship that he had with a woman. They were extremely tight lipped about any mention of molestation of children who had been in his care even though a significant number of ex Legionaries had been seeking justice for decades. The Legion tried to concentrate focus on the (relatively normal and acceptable) relationship that he had with a woman.

There were only a few days between the release of the recent (May 2012) story about charges of sexual abuse of minors by Legionary priests and the admissions by Father Williams that he had impregnated a woman. Is it a coincidence that the images of children being sexually molested by a number of Legionary priests was (again) quickly washed away by the image of one of the most handsome Legionary priests having a moment of weakness with a woman? Certainly it is easier for us to forgive in our hearts the popular Legionary favorite than it is to forgive seven unknown priests that some might think of as lechers, who took advantage of innocent children.

Is the reform working? Have the old guard Legionary leaders who remain in positions of authority to this day had a change of heart and truly picked up the spirit of reform? So far we have seen very little evidence that there is any desire to change. On the other hand there has been a lot of evidence to show that spin control and damage control teams are keeping themselves quite busy.

Piecing together a chronology of the reports we have heard, it appears that events proceeded something like this:

Fr’s indiscretion happened around 2000 when he was rector at the Legion headquarters in Rome, Via Aurelia 677 *#40;the same place where in the 1950’s Fr. Maciel had abused his seminarians*#41;. As rector he would have had much more freedom of movement than regular members having to abide by ‘community rules’.

Who was the woman? He denied it was a student of his or a person under his spiritual direction; is he telling the truth? If not them who? Not a prostitute. What other females could he meet? A daughter of a benefactor, daughter of a member of the Regnum Christi, daughter of a visitor, prominent Catholic family…?

when superiors find out about it around that time they take him out of Rome and send to Cheshire waiting for things to cool down. Legion does ‘damage control’ with girl’s parents.

When the coast is clear Fr. William returns to Rome and resumes his regular duties, things go back to normal until somebody spills the beans to the CDF which takes it seriously; Legion is approached by AP regarding the accusation; they make Fr. W fess up and take the rap.

This helps to take the pressure off the pedophile charges against other priests; just like they tried to have Maciel’s mistresses take the heat of his pedophilia “that kind of backfired”

Legion Leaves Senior On The Street

The Statement of John T. Walsh Jr.
January 11, 2005

 

I am writing with regard to the Legion of Christ, Inc., a Catholic non-profit congregation located in Cheshire, Connecticut. The purpose of my letter is to make you aware of some of the details of the fraudulent and unlawful practices utilized by the Legion of Christ in soliciting donations from me and to request any assistance you may be able to provide.

As I have detailed more fully below, the Legion of Christ exerted undue influence over me through never-ending and persistent solicitation of donations, culminating in the transfer of my home located at 226 Highview Drive in Stratford, Connecticut to them in November of 2003. In addition, the Legion of Christ’s representatives made several false representations to me that I relied on prior to executing the quitclaim deed. Finally, I truly believe that the practices and schemes described herein are commonly engaged in by the Legion of Christ and are not limited to only my experience. The background and details of this unlawful practice are as follows:
Approximately six to seven years ago, I was introduced to the Legion of Christ by a friend. At this time, I began contributing $10 per month to the Legion of Christ as a donation. In addition to this charity, I paid $10 per month to approximately 30 other charities and worthy causes. Several years ago, after I won third prize in a Legion of Christ raffle and a $500 prize, I began contributing $30 per month instead of $10 per month to the Legion of Christ.

In 2002, I was contacted by a fundraiser with the Legion of Christ. Subsequently, I was visited by two seminarians who told me that one of them was going to be ordained sometime that year and the other the following year. Each of these would be done in Rome by the Pope they claimed. The seminarians next discussed whether I would contribute money to the Legion of Christ. I told them that I wanted to contribute to the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN)instead of the Legion. The seminarians responded that the Legion needed priests, and a scholarship for a future priest would benefit them. I then agreed that I would contribute $2,500 per year for four years (total $10,000)towards a scholarship for a priest.

After making two other donations totaling another $15,000 (which I believe I was pressured into), I met with several members of the Legion of Christ. They asked me whether I would transfer my house to the Legion of Christ to support priests. I tentatively agreed, and they prepared several options through which I could transfer my home or the proceeds there from to them. Subsequently, I quitclaimed my home to the Legion of Christ and retained only a life estate and the payments on a $100,000 Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)secured by the property.

In 2003, I had been recently widowed and was 78 years old. I was living on a fixed income of just over $1,600 per month, and my only significant asset was the equity in my home, which I had owned since 1968. Prior to my transferring the home, the Legion of Christ discouraged me from speaking with friends or family regarding the property transfer. This was an apparent attempt to isolate me from the people who could have discussed my decision to transfer the home and its impact on my finances. Indeed, during a lunch with several representatives from the Legion of Christ attended by me and my son just prior to the transaction, the transfer of my home was not discussed until my son had left the affair. Furthermore, at the instruction of the Legion of Christ, I was not represented by my own attorney located in Stratford, but was represented by counsel hand-picked by the Legion of Christ from East Haven.

Throughout the transaction, I felt extremely pressured by representatives from the Legion of Christ to transfer my home to them. I never felt that the option to not transfer my home (or the proceeds from its sale)to the Legion of Christ existed. The Legion of Christ was made aware of my fragile financial position throughout the transfer process, yet chose to proceed despite this knowledge. It is clear that several false representations were made by the Legion of Christ, including: (1)a promise that I would not be responsible for the payment of property taxes associated with the property after the transfer; (2)a promise that I would not experience any financial hardship as a result of the transfer of my only significant asset to the Legion of Christ; and (3)a promise that, by virtue of the transfer, I would be eligible for Medicaid benefits if I required any medical assistance whatsoever.

In actuality, my property taxes increased by almost $2,000 per year as a result of the property transfer to the Legion of Christ. The payments on my HELOC on the property ($20,000 of which was donated to the Legion of Christ and $5,000 of which was donated to another member of the Regnum Christi movement)remain due. The amounts of these payments are steadily increasing as the interest rate associated with the loan rises. Because of this transfer, I no longer have the ability to draw funds from the equity in my home (1)to pay the amount due under the HELOC, (2)to pay the amount due for the property tax increase, (3)to pay for uncovered health-related services, or (4)to pay for any other unforeseen expenses.

Additionally, my living expenses are rapidly increasing, and are beginning to exceed the fixed-income I rely on. To summarize, as a direct result of the Property transfer, I will, in the very near future, no longer have the means to support myself. The Legion of Christ pressured a man in a stable financial position and forced him into an extremely compromised financial position.

I respectfully request that you consider the information contained herein. It is patently unjust and wrong that organizations such as the Legion of Christ are able to use their religious affiliation to take advantage of citizens like me while facing no repercussions whatsoever. On two different occasions, I have asked the Legion of Christ to return my home to me. Both of these requests, however, have been summarily denied. I have also written to all of the Catholic bishops in the United States to determine whether they can be of any assistance to me.

 

Originally posted on:

 

http://www.cultnews.com

 

Who Can Believe Legion Leaders?

Who Can Believe Legion Leaders?

 

On Feb 28, 2004, Father Bannon issued a letter to members and relatives of Legionary and Regnum Christi members warning them at the time about the Vows of Silence book that was about to be released.

 

He referred to demonstrably false allegations that our founder, Father Marcial Maciel, sexually abused a few young men (then members of the Legion) back in the 1940’s and 1950’sand despite all the evidence available to the authors and of which they are aware, the accusations are rehashed in a new book to be released in March 2004 attacking Pope John Paul II, especially his staunch defense of the Church’s discipline of priestly celibacy and its unchanging sexual ethic.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

Fr Bannon made a statement that the allegations were demonstrably falseand referred toall the evidence available to the authors. At the time how could Fr Bannon have felt so sure that Fr Maciel was innocent? He does not claim any research into the subject. Joining the Legion in the 60s in Ireland he had no first hand information regarding the 1940-60 period when the abuses were alleged to have happened. In truth there was an absence of evidence of any kind regarding those obscure years. Fr. Bannon was basically appropriating the Legion line of the time.

 

Fr Bannon went on to say that on behalf of the Legion and the Movement I assure you once again that Father Maciel is absolutely innocent. He has made it clear ever since the allegations first arose in the late 1990’s – decades after any alleged abuse could have happened – that he has never committed any such act ever.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

Fr Bannon declared Fr Maciel to be absolutely innocent. But Fr. Bannon must have known about some accusations in the 1950s when Fr. Maciel was exiled to Spain by the Vatican, a period (1956-59) referred to in frequent talks such as Explanation of Rules asThe War(La Guerra). So he knew accusations were not surfacing for the first time in the 1990s. He states the source of his confidence in assuring members and their families that Fr Maciel was absolutely innocent: Fr Maciel had said so himself. This is jumping to conclusions. Was this naivety, gullibility, or a deliberate attempt to manipulate Legionaries and to discourage them and their family members from reading the Vows of Silence book?

 

Later in his letter, Fr Bannon adds:

 

Moreover, Nuestro Padre continues to insist on responding to these allegations in the most Christian way possible: forgiving them, saying as little as possible, simply laying out the facts, letting his record speak for itself, avoiding personal attacks and harboring no ill will or rancor for the accusers. This has set an extremely high standard for those of us who want to come to his defense.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

Fr. Maciel met all accusations with blanket denial. Fr Bannon said that Fr Maciel’s record spoke for itself and that he believed this had set a high standard for those who wanted to come to his defense. Considering recent revelations we wonder if Fr Bannon now regrets making this statement and how much of the real truth he was aware of. If he was totally unaware then we wonder about his ability to discern what is going on around him.

 

Fr Bannon commented: Anyone who would take an objective look at the facts will see where the truth lies.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

Considering the real facts it is evident where the truth lies. Was Fr Bannon sincerely seeking the real truth at the time or was he into denial?

 

Fr Bannon referred to independent, documented facts from the time when the alleged abuse would have happenedand that Vatican investigators moved in and lived with the Legionary communities in Rome and elsewhere. They interviewed each Legionary personally and in depth. Not only did they find the charges empty and baseless, they reported that the Legion and Father Maciel were exemplary, holding great promise for the Church.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

The reality is that the results of that Visitation/investigation were never released. How could Fr. Bannon know the results? A few years ago Mexican historian Fernando Gonzalez was able to unearth some of the reports written by the Carmelite Friars investigating Maciel for suspected sexual abuse, drug abuse, abuse of power, and leaving his foundation abandoned for long periods. These are available in Spanish in his book, Marcial Maciel, la Legion de Cristo, Testimonios y Documentos Ineditos (Unpublished Testimonies and Documents; Ed. Tusquets, Mexico City, 2009). Allegations of sexual abuse are mentioned, together with Fr. Maciel’s powers of persuasion and intimidation, as well as his use of the morphine derivative, Demerol. Fr. Bannon did not have access to any serious documentation when he wrote. He based his statements on Legion Spirit and Mystiqueand Fr. Aruma’s explanation of rules in Salamanca. Fr. Aruma was one of the Legionaries Fr. Maciel left in place when he was forced out in 1956.

 

In the letter, Fr Bannon explained that every member (was) interviewed personally and in depth, and none of them corroborate (d) a single allegation of any wrongdoing – let alone sexual molestation then added that every alleged victim had the perfect opportunity to reveal any abuse right after it would have been happeningand that the facts of the investigation and its findings overwhelm the accusers and their story.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

With this statement Fr Bannon demonstrated not only a lack of empathy but a total ignorance of how sexual abuse victims are traumatized and would rarely be prepared to testify against their predators right after it happened. Fr Bannon also fails to point out that in this case the victims were totally and completely dependent upon Fr. Maciel as their sole provider of all the necessities of life and that he had made them agree to a secret vow to never speak ill of him or any of their superiors. Fr. Maciel prepared his victims for the interviews by telling them the Visitators were coming to destroy the Legion and their God-given vocation.

 

Fr Bannon stated in his letter that the book will apparently argue that a Vatican-inspired ‘vow of silence’ keeps the accusers’ allegations from being taken seriously. But the Vatican knows the Legion’s history; it knows what its decades of scrutiny have revealed about the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. That is why the Vatican has done what any court does when a case has no basis: the court refuses to hear it.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

How did Fr Bannon draw such conclusions? Was he attempting to influence the LC and RC members and their families by falsely implying in writing that there was no basis at the time to the case of the victims? It is probable that the influence peddling by Fr Maciel among senior members of the Vatican had far more of an effect on the case that had been presented by credible witnesses.

Fr Bannon added: Seeing these false charges aired in public is upsetting to us all. There is enough to do without having to deal with patent falsehoods. I trust that you will look at the facts and what God has worked in your family since you met
Regnum Christi and the Legion of Christ.

 

ReGAIN Comment:

 

Fr Bannon here referred to false chargesand patent falsehoods. In other words he declared in writing that the victims of Father Maciel were liars.
Usually people gather facts before they make such charges against others, especially if they put such claims in writing. Did Fr Bannon conduct his own investigation by interviewing at least some of those who claimed to be victims? Based on his own words, it seems that his main proofwas that Fr Maciel had declared himself to be innocent and he expected others to do the same. For the majority of those who had been under the influence inside the Legion or Regnum Christi, this was an effective argument because Fr Maciel was perceived by them to be a living saint and the main source of their unique spirituality. What seems like empty unsupported statements to outsiders were at the time believable for those who had been conditioned to believe everything that came fromofficialLegion sources of information. Any outside information that was critical of the Legion or of their founder, especially that which came from those evil detractorswas not even allowed and was considered to have no credibility.

 

It is unknown what prompted Legion leadership to reveal the existence of Fr. Maciel’s daughter in Spain. Fact is that this revelation opened the floodgates to further revelations of his double life and behavior unbefitting a priest. This scandal contributed to the Vatican’s Visitation of the Legion. As the Legion began to toss some members jumped ship, others cut their losses apologizing, and all distanced themselves desperately from Fr. Maciel, vowing ignorance. Fr. Bannon has remained in the backwaters.

 

Day by day the truth continues to unfold and as slowly some of it seeps inside the walls, Legion spin doctors are now having a more difficult time explaining away their mistakes or misdeeds! ReGAIN encourages everyone involved in this situation (inside and outside) to seek the truth and to act on it. That painful – truth will set them free.

 

The entire letter is available at Click here Then scroll down to Revisiting 2004article.

 

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