The scandal plagued Legionaries will apparently face another challenge as a man claiming to be a son of their disgraced founder is suing the order in a Connecticut court. The plaintiff - who claims his father abused him since the age of seven - alleges that the order was negligent and should have known of the founder's "propensity" to abuse children.
[6/22]
The Legion of Christ, founded by the disgraced Father Marcial Maciel has issued an apology "to all those who have been affected, wounded, or scandalized by the reprehensible actions of our founder." Reuters coverage notes that the statement is "believed to be unprecedented in the history of a Catholic religious order, [in that] the Legion disowned its founder: 'We accept that, given the gravity of his faults, we cannot take his person as a model of Christian or priestly life.'"
The statement also asked forgiveness from accusers who were previously not believed: "We ask all those who accused him in the past to forgive us, those whom we did not believe or were incapable of giving a hearing to, since at the time we could not imagine that such behavior took place." The statement says they had "thought and hoped that the accusations brought against our founder were false and unfounded, since they conflicted with our experience of him personally and his work."
The statement also...
* Said that any who cooperated in the founder's misdeeds would be held responsible: "If it turns out that anyone culpably cooperated in his misdeeds we will act according to the principles of Christian justice and charity, holding these people responsible for their actions."
* Asked for forgiveness from others: "We also ask our families, friends and benefactors to forgive us, and all other people of good will who have felt that their trust has been wounded."
* Spoke of reparation: "In addition, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ we feel the need to expiate his sins and the scandal they caused, making reparation with a Christian spirit. We ask all the members of our religious family to intensify their prayer and sacrifice."
* Expressed appreciation for the recent Apostolic Visitation (the statement indicated that the Legion will "embrace with filial obedience whatever indications and recommendations the Holy Father gives us as a result of the apostolic visitation, and we are committed to putting them into practice")
The statement also included the puzzling comment (emphasis added) that "For his own mysterious reasons, God chose Fr Maciel as an instrument to found the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi", and it thanked God "for the good he did" - although the statement admitted that "given the gravity of his faults, we cannot take his person as a model of Christian or priestly life." Commentary: Forgive one for having difficulty wrapping one's mind around the idea that God CHOSE the vow-breaking, fornicating, child abuser - who lived a 'double life', fathered children, and abused minor seminarians - to found a religious congregation bearing Christ's name. Does it not seem more reasonable to believe that He rather allowed Fr. Maciel to found it rather than actively chose the disgraced priest to found it?
For those who cite the 'precedent' of Judas, one may counter that the death of the Divine Victim was certainly in God's mysterious plan for the salvation of mankind - whereas serial child abuse & fornication are assuredly not. Besides, even if Judas had founded a religious congregation before his death, who on earth would "thank him for all the good he did" if he never publicly repented of his dreadful past deed? Surely even Judas did some good before he betrayed Christ - yet who praises that in light of what came afterwards?
Scripture repeatedly refers to Judas as a betrayer or traitor...
Mt 10:4: "Judas Iscariot who betrayed him."
Mk. 3:19: "and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him."
Jn. 18:5: "Judas his betrayer was also with them."
Mt. 10:4: "...and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him."
Lk. 6:16 "...and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor."
Etc.
Nowhere is Judas thanked for his past good works or spoken of positively. Quite the contrary, Jesus himself warns that...
Mt. 26:24: "The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Furthermore, Judas' ministry (providentially?) came to an end after his betrayal - he did not continue on for years afterwards.
While we know for certain that all members of the Apostolic College were chosen directly by Christ - even if the plan was mysterious, we do not have the same certainty regarding the founder of the Legionaries. It seems there is a grave danger here of confusing God's active will with His permissive will.
[3/26]
Some recent news highlights...
* Pope Benedict reminds that caring for the poor is the work of individuals motivated by charity and cannot be replaced by the State.
* The Pope's brother has admitted that he slapped boys in the face when he was choirmaster, even though he says it made him feel uncomfortable ("At the start, I also slapped people in the face but I always had a bad conscience about it"). He said that although he physically punished them (administered "clips round the ear" which was "a standard response at the time to failure or misbehaviour"), he felt it never rose to the extent of abuse. He also says he was "happy when in 1980 corporal punishment was banned by law". Although he indicated that he had no knowledge regarding cases of s*xual abuse, he admitted the following regarding allegations of physical abuse: "Pupils told me on concert trips about what went on. But it didn't dawn on me from their stories that I should do something. I was not aware of the extent of these brutal methods" and said "If I had known about the excess of force he was using, I would have said something". He also asked the victims for forgiveness.
* Ridiculous: Female activists in the Philippines recently delivered baskets of c*ndoms to the bishops, "humbly" asking them to "bless the c*ndoms as a conciliatory gesture to unite for reproductive health and women's rights" [Note: For information on the immorality of contraceptives, click here]
* Crazy: The sister who provides free needles to drug abusers (and calls it "common sense") has been awarded by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York and Bishop Howard Hubbard for her decades of "service" to Catholic Charities. The free needle program, which is at least partially funded by Catholics' donations, has been criticized for providing formal cooperation in evil. "It is never allowed, even for a good intention to do a thing that is bad in itself." (Baltimore Catechism)
* Still more ridiculousness: In all 50 states, 'same-sex couples' can apparently claim "married" status on U.S. Census forms
* Cardinal Levada has affirmed that "union with the Catholic Church is the goal of ecumenism". Pope Benedict also recently affirmed that conversion is the ultimate goal of ecumenism
* Some good news: Catholics in the Netherlands have launched a petition protesting the decision allow open homosexuals to receive Holy Communion. The decision - which violates Canon 915 and fails to protect the Sacred Host - came after homosexual activists engaged in protests. 1983 Code of Canon Law, Can. 915: "Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion."
* Almost funny: A Vatican Radio editor who has written a book on President Obama and faith has recently made reference to "the merit of Obama in having brought faith back to the center of the agenda of the Democratic Party". Comment: Faith is "back at the center of the agenda"? Must have missed that memo!
* A member of the Pontifical Academy for Life who signed the recent letter concerning the abortion controversy involving the Academy's President has asked a Vatican spokesman it issue a clarification asserting that the letter was not an official request for their leader's resignation, but was rather a "clarification of important facts and to correct the false impression of unity conveyed to the press on Feb. 12 by our President"
* Archbishop Chaput has offered further justification for the decision to prevent a student being raised by lesbians to reenroll in a Catholic school. He noted that "If parents don’t respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible" and affirmed that "The main purpose of Catholic schools is religious; in other words, to form students in Catholic faith, Catholic morality and Catholic social values." He also reminded that "Our schools...exist primarily to serve Catholic families with an education shaped by Catholic faith and moral formation" and said that "If Catholics take their faith seriously, they naturally follow the teachings of the Church in matters of faith and morals; otherwise they take themselves outside the believing community"
[3/9]
The silence is likely to be deafening from those who rage an ongoing assault on celibacy both from within and outside the Church concerning a recent abuse scandal. This time, the priest in question was a former Episcopal 'priest' who received a special exception to be ordained as a married Catholic priest. He has now been removed from his parish in Arkansas after an allegation of a homosexual assault against a man in his early 20s. Clearly, the priest's being married did not prevent the scandal... But don't expect to hear about that from liberals who use the clerical abuse scandals as an excuse to end priestly celibacy.
[Related: Reasons for priestly celibacy]
[8/10]
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