Pope May Dissolve or Refound Legionnaires of Christ

The result of Rome’s investigation (known as an “apostolic visitation”) into the Legionaries of Christ will result in either the dissolution or the re-founding of the order, according to sources close to the Legionaries in Spain.

The Legionnaires of Christ have a number of Latin American billionaires behind them (leading some to call them the “Millionaires of Christ”), so if they’re dissolved and have to hand everything over to the Vatican…well, we’re talkin’ about a lot ‘o mullah!

My prayers and best wishes to those good Catholics in this order and may God’s will be done.

Full article here, bits below.

The result of Rome’s investigation (known as an “apostolic visitation”) into the Legionaries of Christ will result in either the dissolution or the re-founding of the order, according to sources close to the Legionaries in Spain.

Legionaries Of Christ Founder, Fr. Marcial Marciel Degollado (1920-2008)

Dissolution would mean the houses, universities and other properties of the Legionaries would pass into the hands of the dioceses where they are located.A new institute could then be founded.

According to a former Legionary quoted by the Spanish religious journalist Jose Vidal, the ordinary priests and members of Regnum Christi, want a root-and-branch reform –if necessary, by means of a dissolution — in order to give a new institute a fighting chance. But the order’s leaders are fighting a defensive rearguard action, arguing that they knew nothing of the double life led by Maciel, and were therefore neither accomplices in his abuses nor did they attempt to cover them up.

While the leaders admit that Maciel had a mistress and a child, and are keen to distance themselves and the order from him, they are treading carefully, aware that no order has ever survived the repudiation of its founder.

There seems to be a difference between the Americans and the Spaniards. The Americans want to get at the root of the problem quickly: they favor sacking the current leadership and making amends with Maciel’s victims. The Spaniards, on the other hand, are more inclined to defend their current leaders.

If Pope Benedict decides to re-found the Legionaries, he would be unlikely to keep the current leaders in post. However ignorant or otherwise they were of what Maciel was up to, they bear responsibility for what happened — and for the cult of personality which enabled it to happen. [NOTE from CH: See this shrine erected to Fr. Marcial Maciel YEARS BEFORE his death.]

The fear of rank-and-file Legionaries, according to this ex-member, is that the Pope fails to get at the root of the problem. Keeping on the current leaders, they believe, would send the opposite message.

And then there’s Pope Benedict’s need to be seen to dealing with clerical violations of the sixth commandment. This, after all, was among the best publicized and most damaging.