Friday, October 21, 2011

A “divorce” between Regnum Christi and the Legionaries

“Regnum Christi” was always in the shadows of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ

Andrés Beltramo Álvarez
Vatican City

(Vatican Insider / La Stampa) Both the institutions were founded by Marcial Maciel Degollado and today they are in the middle of a serious crisis due to the sex scandals and corruption of the founding priest. However, their paths are destined to split because the Vatican decided to allow “consecrated” men and women of this laic movement “just independence” so they may make decisions on their present and future.
 
Through a series of sensational and immediate measures, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis started to dismantle the structure that allowed the superiors of the Legionaries to have strict control over the “Reign”. Through these measures, the Cardinal established, essentially, an institutional “divorce”.
 
De Paolis was personally appointed as a representative of Benedict XVI to bring forth the reforms of the Legionaries of Christ and, thus, he is also the person in charge of ensuring the survival of the “Regnum Christi”, an organization founded by Maciel in the ‘70s and which core is formed by approximately one-thousand “consecrated” women and more than 100 “consecrated” men.
 
In a letter, published October 17 in Rome, the Cardinal reported the results of the “Apostolic visit” (audit) that the Spanish Bishop Ricardo Blázquez performed at all the premises of the movement in the world; a  visit that ended last June.
 
The letter highlights, above all, the right of the “Reign” members to have “just independence” as the Catholic Church acknowledges in its Canon law code. From the review “several institutional matters” emerged that at first sight “represented significant challenges”. Concurrently, “many points” required “clarifications” and “must be re-evaluated”....