Sandro Magister, a favorite journalist of matters Catholic, published a startling story today, “The Legion Awaits a New General. And Trembles.” In a few a words he reviews the moral and theological decay in the Legion of Christ. Magister gives an anatomy of the current situation and gives a likely cure to the illness the Legion is living with these days. Magister confirms my suspicions that some Legionary priests still refuse to accept that the founder, Father Maciel lived a second life, that the Congregation is flawed and it has dragged its feet in making the radical changes the Holy Father has asked for. From what I can gather there needs to be a total revolution in the Legion if it’s going to survive.
I continue to pray for the men who found their call to serve the Lord and the Church in the Legion of Christ. I think it’s possible to separate out the duplicity of the founder from the good the Legion has done but the possibility rests on the honesty of the Legion to face reality as it is and not what they think it should be. My advice: simply state that Father Maciel founded the Legion of Christ and move on and sever all ties with Maciel and his cronies. Or, disband the congregation and start anew. Many lives hang in the balance and we have to show our solidarity in this time of need.