Vatican orders visitation of Legionaries of Christ

I pray that they do not have the same attitude about the visitation as Sr Schneiders of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe Michigan. See the quote on another visitation-the NCR article available on this site at http://ncronline.org/news/women/weve-given-birth-new-form-religious-life :

EXCERPT:
"We cannot, of course, keep them from investigating. But we can receive them, politely and kindly, for what they are, uninvited guests who should be received in the parlor, not given the run of the house. When people ask questions they shouldn't ask, the questions should be answered accordingly. I just hope we will not, as we American Religious so often do, think that by total "openness" and efforts to "dialogue" we are going to bring about mutual understanding and acceptance. This is not mutual and it is not a dialogue. The investigators are not coming to understand -- believe me, we found that out in the seminary investigation. So let's be honest but reserved, supply no ammunition that can be aimed at us, be non-violent even in the face of violence, but not be naive. Non-violent resistance is what finally works as we've found out in so many arenas."

Pray for all concerned. Grace and peace with prayers always...

Long overdue.

Will our good and holy Sisters receive the same kind and unconditional support in their coming Vatican visitations, drafted in an equally humble, self-effacing and apologetic letter?

Or a scolding condemnation and dissolution for voting Democratically, for opposing by their direct actions nuclear weapons of mass destruction and all war, and for their striving to rectify courageously and at great personal cost our enormous social injustices?

This letter from the Vatican to the LC is extremely and conscientiously supportive. Will the Sisters receive the same caring regard in their coming visitations, at least as much as the arrogantly schismatic and unrepentent Pius X bishops received? Sending Tarcisio to visit the LC's is like sending Madroff to audit his own company.

TOTAL CYA by the Vatican, but never fear, someone will arrive with a suitcase full of cash in Rome, and the PRO FORMA investigation will fully exonerate the pedophilic, philandering founder in question. Just ask Cardinal LAW! The FIX is already in! (What CREDIBILITY GAP, Cardinal Bertone?)

I find it incredible that they are more interested in protecting themselves than in making the truth known. It makes it clear the difference between spirituality and religiosity. If this attitude does not change one can only pray for the rapid demise of this autocracy.

Thank God!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They need a visitation to figure this out?????

Atleast they said "SORRY":
"We are deeply saddened and sorry, and we sincerely ask for forgiveness from God and from those who have been hurt through this."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apologies_by_Pope_John_Paul_II

Apologies
Pope John Paul II was sincere and passionate with his many apologies.
During his long reign as Pope, he said ‘sorry’ to Jews, Galileo, women, victims of the Inquisition, Muslims slaughtered by the Crusaders and almost everyone who had suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church through the years.
Even before he became the Pope, he was a prominent editor and supporter of initiatives like the Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops from 1965.

As Pope, he officially made public apologies for over 100 of these wrongdoings, including:

1.The conquest of Mesoamerica by Spain in the name of the Church.

2.The legal process on the Italian scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei, himself a devout Catholic, around 1633 (31 October 1992).

3.Catholics' involvement with the African slave trade (9 August 1993).

4.The Church Hierarchy's role in burnings at the stake and the religious wars that followed the Protestant Reformation (May 1995, in the Czech Republic).

5.The injustices committed against women, the violation of women's rights and for the historical denigration of women (10 July 1995, in a letter to "every woman").

6.The inactivity and silence of many Catholics during the Holocaust (see the article Religion in Nazi Germany) (16 March 1998)

7.For the execution of Jan Hus in 1415 (18 December 1999 in Prague). When John Paul II visited Prague in 1990s, he requested experts in this matter "to define with greater clarity the position held by Jan Hus among the Church's reformers, and acknowledged that "independently of the theological convictions he defended, Hus cannot be denied integrity in his personal life and commitment to the nation's moral education." It was another step in building a bridge between Catholics and Protestants.

8.For the sins of Catholics throughout the ages for violating "the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and [for showing] contempt for their cultures and religious traditions". (12 March 2000, during a public Mass of Pardons).

9.For the sins of the Crusader attack on Constantinople in 1204. (4 May 2001, to the Patriarch of Constantinople).

“An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded.”

"I pray that [the LCs and RCs] do not have the same attitude about the visitation as Sr Schneiders..."

Let me see if I understand the difference between the two "visitations:"

a. American communities of women religious are being studied for reasons having nothing to do with sexual abuse, but

b. The LCs and RCs are being studied because their founder was a pervert who managed to hoodwink popes for decades (even got to share the stage with JPII on at least three occasions according to a news report) while he molested seminarians, young priests, et al. Given the timespan of Maciel's "extracurricular activities," it is quite likely he had help of some kind(s), e.g., coverups, feigned ignorance, payoffs to other members of his religious community.

Indeed, when I read Sr. Schneiders' commentary, I was quickly reminded of the expression "I'm from the IRS, and I'm here to help you." I can only surmise that this good and faithful woman likely had a similar thought: "I'm from the Vatican, and I'm here to help you."

At least the IRS has accountability and oversight. We sure as heck can't say the same for the Vatican, can we???

The Vatican's misogynistic double standards will undoubtedly result in the Legionaries of Christ being exonorated of any blame or wrong-doing and the U.S. sisters and their nunneries being heavily critized and even blamed for their modernist approach to their various ministries.

I wonder if this isn't a prelude to incorporating the Legion into Opus Dei.

This is so typical of this inward looking papacy: concern with Legionaries, Lefebve, the Latin Mass, Indulgences, and the place of the sign of peace in the Litury among other minutiae of the institutional church. With so mcuh creativity and change happening globally and theologically, the Vatican and this papcy is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

To Anonymous who posted the comment about Sr Schneiders of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

There is an important difference here. The sisters are being investigated for no explained reason. The Legionaries may have spent decades hiding molestation of innocents. The latter seems to require investigation - and intense investigation. The former begs for clarification, which makes the reaction of the investigated understandable.

IN THE LONG VIEW of the Church's 2000-year-old history what happened to the Legionnaires of Christ and their founder, Fr. Maciel, is no big deal. We've seen this and worse before. I personally don't know any members of the Legionnaires of Christ. But, if one can judge the tree by its fruits, it must be a pretty good group of people. From what I know, they have done and are doing a lot of good for Church and society. For me Fr. Maciel is not the founder of the Legionnaires. The Holy Spirit is, and this is true of all religious orders. Someone can have tremendous flaws, and yet the Holy Spirit can work through him or her. Whether the Legionnaires should be suppressed and refounded is another matter. An apostolic visitation will be good for them. I wish them well.

But how many people know that the venerable Capuchin Order had an even more sordid beginning than the Legionnaires? Yet this prominent religious Order has done an immense amount of good down through the centuries and has had great saints and many martyrs. Here's what Wikepdia says of the Capuchins:

"The new congregation at the outset of its history underwent a series of severe blows. The two founders left it, Matteo di Bascio to return to the Observants, while his first companion, on being superseded in the office of vicar, became so insubordinate that he had to be expelled. The case of the third vicar, Bernardino Ochino, who became a Calvinist, 1543, and married, was even more extreme.

"The whole congregation came under the suspicion of heretical tendencies and the pope resolved to suppress it; he was with difficulty induced to allow it to continue, but the Capuchins were forbidden to preach.

"In a couple of years the authorities were satisfied as to the soundness of the general body of Capuchin friars, and the permission to preach was restored. The congregation at once began to multiply with extraordinary rapidity, and by the end of the 16th century the Capuchins had spread all over the Catholic parts of Europe, so that in 1619 they were freed from their dependence on the Conventual Franciscans and became an independent order, with a general of their own. They are said to have had at that time 1500 houses divided into fifty provinces."

Let's just keep to the facts, friends
This is not some local American problem; I wonder could we move away from our domestic problems to look at this in a larger perspective.
This is a religious order with 700 ordained priests and 2,500 religious/priests in training and a large lay movement of several thousands, Regnum Christi, living in over 20 countries, with universities and many elementary and high schools, and the support of a large portion of Conservative/Orthodox Catholics, benefactors like Hannah and Monaghan, and a yearly budget of 600 million dollars
which was protected by Pope JP II and Secretary of State, Cardinal Sodano,
whose founder was a pedophile and got off lightly from the Vatican
whose members have defended Father Founder from the First Vatican Investigation in 1956 and called his accusers liars
who thought he was a 'living saint'
Order has been accused of being a "Catholic Cult" or an "intra-ecclesial sect"
The leadership has silenced dissent and criticism, even taking ex members to court to silence them

This is what happens when one is a, "SUPER STAR"; be they actors, a rock singers, politicians, or members of the clergy. All too often, as these people receive the idolitry of their fans and supporters, very soon they too (the actor, rock star, politician or clergy member) start to believe their own publicity. The excessive adulation of actors, rock singers and politicians are all products of weak minds and desperate people. But adulation (yes, one might even call it, Worship)of a member of the Roman Catholic Clergy? For such a man or woman in religious life to seriously believe in the adulation of their persons by their parishioners and followers, then it becomes dangerous. They are taking for themselves that loyalty and devotion that belongs only to Our Crucified Lord. These are the things that have caused the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church to lead double, even triple lives. They feel that such idolitry allows them to do as they please and take what they want; be it the innocence of children, young people and the vulnerable, or the monitary sacrifices and offerings intended to fulfill the missions of the church; but were instead stolen to support, what can only be described as, "Hedonistic Lifestyles". As long as the Faithful see Roman Catholic Priests, Brothers, Deacons, Nuns, Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals and The Pope, as they (the Faithful) want to see them, not as they (the Clergy and Religious) really are, everyone is happy. And that is why the world wide conspiracy of silence by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy about sexually predatory priests and other clergy went on for so long. It was all about preserving the "Illusion" of a Stable Clergy and to keep the money (donations) flowing in.

The Holy Inquisition doesn't have to go all the way to Mexico to find, "Scandal". There's plenty of Scandal to be found right there in Rome; right there in the Vatican, up to and including,to the "Throne of Peter". Pope Ratzinger has much to answer during the time he was Prefect of the Congregration of the Doctrine of Faith. But then, I suppose he is unwilling to call for an investigation of himself.

Since when does an update about the LC--a cult rife with abuse, FELONIES, graft and pedophilia become a discussion of modern nuns in the US, who have committed NO crimes?!

Including these nuns in a discussion about the LC is completely inappropriate.

Remember that the other great pedophile protector-in-chief, Pope John Paul II, encouraged this perverted sect and embraced its leader as he had hugged evil dictator Augusto Pinochet and even given him Holy Communion.
His henchmen, like Chaput and his ilk, now want to ban communion from pro-choice politicians and, eventually, parishioners.
May these horrific and misguided false prophets and antipopes burn in hell for all eternity.

Dear Peter M.

There's actually no difference. It's shocking, but some progressive nuns have said women have a right to murder innocent children. About the same as promoting child rape. I'm sure you agree that we need to protect innocent children, and put this down.

There is just too much baggage associated with the Legionaries and Regnum Christi to allow them to continue. The wisest course is to put them out of their misery now, otherwise a cloud will forever hang over them.
The leadership, and there must have been many, who looked the other way, were enablers, or actively covered up Maciel's many trangressions while all the while encouraging idealistic young people to believe in the near sainthood of this man, should be laicized.
The devout and idealistic young people who were bamboozled by this cult like organiztion, should be encouraged to pursue their vocations in one of the many healthy and psychologically sound orders which exist in the Church.
Most at fault in this whole sad mess is the Vatican, who for decades ignored red flags and warning signs that something was seriously amiss with the Legionaries. Whenever a mere human being accords himself the status of a near saint, and encourages his followers to view him in this light, that alone should have been sufficient cause for the Vatican to step in and put an end to the charade.

Alex,

Are you really going to compare the Legionnaire's financial shenanigans, raping of boys under their control, sadistic indoctrination of seminarians, fathering of children - to the insubordination and conversion of the founders of an order in the 1500's?

Surely (I pray), you're just being sarcastic when you say that rape is "no big deal?"