by Tom Gallagher
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The Legionaries of Christ have announced plans to sell their Thornwood property in Westchester County, N.Y., citing financial strain and fallout from revelations about the late Fr. Marcial Maciel.
"The scandal involving our founder has been a great shock to us all, shaking our trust and raising doubts in many hearts. We are working hard to regain the trust of our friends -- and of one another," explained Fr. Luis Garza, L.C., director of the order's North American territory, in a letter Monday.
In his message to the Legion and its affiliate Regnum Christi, Garza announced the sale of the property that had been used for priestly formation since 1996. He noted that the global recession of the past several years had "also affected many of our benefactors."
"As a consequence of our difficulties, we have also experienced a decrease in vocations to the Legion and to the consecrated life," he said. "Although God continues to call men and women to follow him in the Legion and consecrated life in Regnum Christi, there are fewer in these last few years than in previous ones."
