Wednesday, February 4, 2009

A New Saga?

With the lifting of the SSPX excommunications only a week old, the news wires are buzzing again. Now it is a controversy surrounding the reported double life led by the founder of the Legionaries of Christ and the lay movement Regnum Christi. This group, often accused by its detractors as being "cult-like," is now rocked by reports that it's "beloved Founder" (yes, that's how they refer to him, and yes, they capitalize "Founder"...) had a mistress and fathered a child. Whoa! Read about it HERE. Fr. Maciel had been confined to a "life of prayer and penance" by the CDF several years ago with a prior accusation of misconduct. Now this...

Clearly, the Legionaries have had some great successes (they ordain priests by the dozens - 50 at a time - they do some good things, certainly). We are reminded, again, that some good can come from what is fundamentally disordered. But now the question is: with their seemingly extreme devotion to their founder, can the LC's right their ship? Permit me to interject my humble opinion here: perhaps for the members of the LC's this is an opportunity to realize that priests are ordained for the service of the universal Church and not for themselves, the promotion of a particular religious congregation, or their beloved "Founder." Is this the fruit that will be born from this situation? Time will tell...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kim Jong Il, North Korea's dictator is referred to as the "beloved leader." Amazing what can go on when you put someone on a pedestal.