Father Maciel Has Died
Via an e-mail from a friend, I’ve learned just minutes ago that Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ has died.
The Legionaries’ website lists his death as having occurred yesterday.
As most of you probably know, Fr. Maciel was recently removed from public ministry after a Vatican investigation. The investigation followed numerous sexual abuse charges brought against him by former Legionary priests and seminarians. While the Legionaries have long portrayed him as a martyr - even comparing his discipline from the Vatican to the Passion of Our Lord - many of us who have been involved in the Legion and Regnum Christi have our own suspicions about his contribution to the corruption of the entire enterprise which have little to do with sexual misconduct.
Therefore, I strongly believe that his soul is in need of prayer, and I hope that you will join me in praying for the repose of his soul. In addition, I think this is a moment of grace for the Legionaries and Regnum Christi. With the passage of the founder, an opportunity has arisen for the group to pull away from their hero worship of Fr. Maciel and undergo real reform. With God’s assistance, they could even become what so many of us who were drawn to them believed they were - a bastion of orthodoxy in a dangerous world.
If not, I believe that they will continue to diminish until there isn’t anything left. I’ll keep an eye on the situation as it progresses.
Update: My original post on this was written hastily (and poorly). I’ve revised it to amend this.
Filed under: Catholicism
I hope God has mercy on him and that the cult methods die with him. The LC is suing Regain trying to harass, intimidate, bankrupt and shut them up.
I pray that Fr. Maciel’s followers will be enlightened by this in some way some how to end Regnum Christi. As much as it bring some people closer to Christ, it’s breaking friendships, families, hearts and more. It’s absolutely ridiculous and wrong how this one CATHOLIC movement can be so sinful and so many ways.
I wonder what other ex-RC / x-LC feel about Nuestro Padre dying.
In ways, I want to feel relieved that Maciel died, I want to be free of guilt and regret and hurt that RC has placed in my life.
I was in Regnum Christi for SEVEN years. Moving away from the movement a year ago has taken a toll on me and my family.
All in all, I pray to God that this man will understands his sins in death.
xLC, this is the 3rd blog you’ve trolled to post ReGAIN’s comment on Maciel’s death, verbatim. your organization is already showing signs of growing stale if you’re reduced to boilerplate commentaries less than 24 hrs after the man–who is your group’s raison d’etre–is dead.
In ways, I want to feel relieved that Maciel died, I want to be free of guilt and regret and hurt that RC has placed in my life.
I do feel relieved, myself. I’ve had time to distance myself from my experiences, though I know it has affected my faith in a permanent way.
As I see it, the LCs have two options now - either allow the cult of personality surrounding Fr. Maciel to fade and thereby begin to find a renewed purpose, or continue to canonize him within the movement in blatant disregard of the strong dose of reality the Holy Father gave to the group through Fr. Maciel’s recent discipline and risk marginalizing the Legion even further.
I wouldn’t even be surprised to see a split within the group between these two courses.
Regnum Christi as it is is not tenable. The methodologies employed by the LCs and RC are systemically corrupt and entirely self-serving. The structure of the organization, however, could be useful if it could be reformed. We all know that the people who are drawn to this movement are by and large very good, very faithful Catholics.
My personal feeling, based on the official reaction to the disciplinary action of the Holy See, is that they will not take the high road. I hope I’m wrong. Time will tell.
your organization is already showing signs of growing stale if you’re reduced to boilerplate commentaries less than 24 hrs after the man–who is your group’s raison d’etre–is dead.
I think, Jon, you’re giving too much credit to Fr. Maciel. He is a focus of ReGAIN’s work, but hardly the entirety of it. As anyone who has been through the LC wringer knows, the problems may begin with Fr. Maciel, but they certainly don’t end there.
Whatever your opinion of the members of ReGAIN, I do think they provide a valuable service to ex-LCs and those considering joining the movement.
A couple of friends of mine are deeply embedded in the RC/LC thing. One, I’l, call George, called me up a while ago and asked me point blank, “Is Regnum Christi a cult?” His wife had been in it a long time and her entire family was involved.
I said yes, Regnum Christi is a cult and urged him to get out.
He asked me how I knew and I said, “George, everyone who’s not in Regnum Christi knows it’s a cult. The reason we know is that everyone who is in it doesn’t know. That’s what a cult does. It brainwashes its adherents.”
He took the point.
Jo - thanks for following me around to point it out!
Steph - LC command and control and “unity” don’t allow splits - you follow the party line or leave.
For the real truth about Maciel and LC/RC, see these sites. The Legion is suing REGAIN to silence them!
http://www.regainnetwork.org
http://www.life-after-rc.com
http://www.exlegionaries.com