Excuse me, but how does a lawsuit against a former priest who disagrees with the Legion "love Christ, serve the people and build the Church"?!

I know Paul Lennon very well and knew him when he was first ordained. A finer,more dedicated and intelligent lover of Christ and His Church would be hard to find, even among those Legionaries who chose to stay in the Legion! Paul's problem, like so many exlegionaries, is that being intelligent and felling the freedom that comes with loving Christ above all things, he started to look at the Legion and her founder with a critical eye. One can't doubt, question or be oneself in the Legion. If you do you are marginalized(sent to the Missions or some other apostolate where you are isolated from you fellow Legionaries).

Note that the lawsuit sues for proprietary materials which were leaked, undermining the mission of the Legion. They never dispute the contents of the documents, which have caused many Catholics to question the group. It's not that the actions of Regain involved slander or detraction (or even copyright infringement), only that revealing the truth hurts the Movement. The Legion now wants the names of those who criticise.

All major and many minor Catholic orders have their constitutions, norms, and all of their founder's writings available even on the internet. Even Mother Teresa's most private thoughts are there for all to see. That is what true saintliness is about. And it is certainly not about cloak and dagger and big money law suits.

"Throw a stick into a pack of dogs, and the one it hits will yelp." Guilt betrays itself: "...be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)

Having Been a Legionary for eight year I can say that I know the workings of this order. My experience was overwhemingly wholsome and positive and definately not sinister. The case for these aligations of sexual misconduct are that, aligations, their word against his word, and in the end they could be false or true. However, if anything can be judged from the self giving of this man, then I am willing to side on his word until further evidence can be produced. Furthermore, if the Legion wishes to keep their documents away from people who can misinterpret, especially from a group like regain that is nothing but misinformation, them that is up to them.

What a hornet's nest! I think this lawsuit represents the beginning of the end of the Legion as we know it. They are making a big mistake if this is their way of dealing with detractors. One of their most popular mottos is: 'Time is the Kingdom of Christ' How many hours and dollars will be thrown into this mission of punishing those who reveal and criticize the doctrine of MM & co.? I predict that things will go very badly for them, and that this recent turn of events will tip the scales for those who have been uncertain about what to believe about the LC/RC. It screams in black and white that loving Christ and serving the Church are secondary to self-preservation, just as a scared and threatened animal would behave.

The Church has become a haven for molestors, thieves, adulators, and idol worshippers! Where is Jesus whipping the temple clean?

Imagine if the Catholic Church hid the contents of the bible. Imagine if the Jesuits kept the spiritual exercises a secret. Imagine if Mother Theresa tried to mask the mission of her hospitals.

Why does the Legion hide and keep secret the contents of their 'spirituality'. Because it can only be 'properly understood' in a brain washing situation where they control how you understand this spirituality. If it's just thrown out there, the common man smells it out for what it is.... wrong!

Is the Legion making a huge mistake in dragging this out in the courts? I think so. They need to think this through instead of being so knee jerk. WHAT ARE THEY HIDING???? WHY ARE THEY SO SECRETIVE???? They do everything possible to be mysterious. I don't understand it. As strong-armed as the Legion appears to be in this battle, I wish they would be as strong in telling the Sellors of Minnesota that they are sorry for the way the whole Familia episode went.

"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush."

How many vocations does the Legion get per year?

Just curious.

I have family members associated with LC. Unfortunately they do not see even the possibility that MM is guilty of anything. This act of blindness helps to keep loyal those who cannot/will not think for themselves regarding the appropriateness of certain LC actions. The LC can do no wrong by them. I think they are in for a hard fall back to reality. The LC is going to undergo huge changes in it's personality or just die from the big lie it is nurturing.

Never a Legionary nor a membner of their lay group, Regnum Christi, my knowledge of them came too late for me to counteract their effect on my son and his family.

Too late I learned they had infused themselves into our lives and built an invisible wall between them and the rest of the family.

I discovered ReGain and, only after, discovered the horrid truth of what had happened. Four years later, the Legionaries of Christ's want to know who I am as well as others who have posted anonymously and are williing to sue to get the information.

Sexual accusations, while serious, have nothing to do with their effect on me and people like me. It is the "capture" of members of my family to which I object and the lies they tell to sustain their hold on them.

Having stolen nothing, I have read the comments of others like myself as well as others who have managed to survive the ordeal of being asoociated with the legion. I have shared my story with others and my feelings about Regnum Christi and the Legionaries of Christ which, to them, I have no right to do.

The spirituality is kept secret until you are a member of the congregation. The reason for this (according to the LC) is that you need to be taught how to understand the correct "spirit" of the spirituality (Constitutions, Letter of the Founder etc).

So when you join the novitiate you really are in the dark about what you are signing up to.
Even novices are not trusted with all of the spirituality of the Legion, and as you progress in years of formation more is revealed to you.

But the presentation of the spirituality on the internet by nonlegionaries must be affecting the Legion's vocational drive. I'm sure it is putting a lot of people off joining - but at least they are making an informed choice.

This lawsuit has really blackened the copybook of the Legion of Christ. It does not square with the charity espoused by the Legion which I was taught when a member. The witholding of information about what being in the legion involves for prospective members by denying publication of the founder's letters and the constitutions, [which I was denied full access to even as a member]needs to be exposed for the manipulation that it represents. The lawsuit is not according to the heart & mind of Christ cf. Lk. 6 various verses
"...If someone takes your coat, let them have your shirt as well....Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back....when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back. ....Be merciful, just as God is merciful." It sickens me to think of the donations by poor people to the Legion being used for a cause like this. If the letters are quoted out of context exercise a right of reply, not the heavy hand of the law against a family member [as I was taught, all that have been in the Legion are supposed to be treated as still part of the Legion family by the Legion].

And isn't this another example of how the legion is a paralel church? - Their spirituality belongs to the greater patrimony of the catholic church, if the legion proudly flaunts its association with the catholic church (approved by the pope, we are a vatican organisation etc) then it must toe the line and stop being secretive.

Or just maybe the approved spirituality of the Legion is different from the spirituality they actually use?

I mean why would you keep it so secret? Just to prevent misinterpretation? I'm sure many of the vatican documents are misinterpreted, but they are still not secret.

It sounds a bit sinister to me.

The Legion is revealing their true colors with this Scientology approach of harassing and suing those who dare to speak out against them. Like the bullies that they are, they prefer lawsuits to public debate. They have to hide their weird cult rules and norms, or no one with half a brain would join or support them in any way.

Two years ago, I found the Regain website by accident in an internet search. One of our own had gotten himself into the LC outfit; we were confused. Nine years later, the Legion spat him out and he's still recovering from the cult-like effects. The information on Regain may look like "misinformation," as Kurtis claims, but we found it spot-on and significantly helpful. No wonder the Legion wants to shut down the site.

The catholics have enough to worry about when seen as the willing sycophants to the baptist republican revolution. They had to pay for their sexual abuse problems with money and they will pay for their misguided support for republicans as well. I am glad these people are so religious because when God smites them(or did he smote them already), then they will have a familiar reference point to recognize said retribution upon them. Who is to say that the 911 collapse of the Twin Towers was not the modern act of "kicking over the money changers tables" as Jesus might have done...

They are really contradicting themselves with this lawsuit. Did they not claim to be taking this as Christ did in silence. I would be willing to bet that 99% of their members do not have a clue that this is going on. The wrongly believe that the "saint" is offering this attack up in silence and patience. They would be confused to say the least if they really knew what was going on.

I and many of my family members have had dealings with the LC. I have a nephew who is to be ordained an LC priest in Rome this December. I have totally disassociated myself from this order due to its secretive and manipulative ways. I fear my family will suffer greatly when forced to accept the realization about MM. Many of my family members, including my parents, and brothers and sisters, are still in denial about the questionable methods of the LC. The spiritual blindness within this organization is monstrous, and it's power to corrupt is massive. I believe for the LC order to survive it must totally denounce MM and then restructure, or the order itself will dissolve, and the good people and priests within it will be absorbed into other religious orders.

I downloaded document excerpts from a wesite, organized them, and put them up as a pdf file. It is obvious I haven't stolen anything. The documents disturb me very much, so I also shared them with others. This was two years ago. I can't see why the LC would want my identity except to harass me.

The norms are very creepy.

I was a Legionary for 20 years. Not everything was good, not everything bad. That is the way it goes in all organized endeavors. However the results achieved by the Legion in today's Church are, for the most part, truly magnificent. I for one am very proud of my contribution. No major regrets! Regain's version of the "facts" is only one piece of a very complex puzzle. Regain is not lily-white pure - for instance, they (Glen F., Paul Lennon) have refused to take down an article written by me, from their website. It is conspicuously displayed, posted without my consent, against my wishes and written requests to have it removed. This suggests to me that more of their their stories and allegations may be tainted. Regain seems to focus exclusively on the negative and to manipulate the context. The Legion was quite typical of traditional religious congregations of the 1940, 50s and 60s. I am willing to believe that Regain's motives are well-meaning. However, in my view, so much anger and bitterness, expressed consistently and so publicly by a small group, are now doing more harm than good. Kudos to the Legion for taking this modest action. I truly hope my former confrères, affiliated with Regain, find peace and a constructive way forward. The rest of us former Legionaries are busy getting on with our lives and keeping a sense of perspective. Many of us wondered why it took the Legion so long to react.

ReGAIN does not claim to be "lily-white pure" as far as I know. The Legion of Christ and Marcial Maciel, however, do claim this of themselves. And then they need to sue to keep all this secrecy of their own goodness? This is "De Vinci Code", "Name of the Rose" kind of stuff.

So does one wonder why the catholic church is loosing members and is hurting for priests?
I shall not be a religious nut here, but I feel it a relion is false, one must run away from it, and as fast as possible.

Dear Gabon,
we do not see eye to eye, and that can happen in the best of families, and it is also allowed in America and most civilized societies. Although we are both former Legionaries, we are no longer bound by the Private Vow of Silence never to criticize Father Maciel and other superiors and to snitch on our brothers, or by that "Uniformity of Mind" which Father Maciel imposed on the membership.
The Articles posted on ReGAIN which you wrote circa 1992 for Fr. Peter Cronin's NETWORK, ipso facto became Fr. Peter's and NETWORK's property. I feel that ReGAIN, as the inheritor of Fr. Cronin's mission to expose the cult-like aspects of the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi Movement, has a right to post those letters. And I believe you do not have a legal leg to stand on despite your protestations.
What happened to change you from a harsh critic of the Legion and Father Bannon to one of its defenders?
At least I have been consistent

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a faraway place, I met and fell in love with a beautiful woman. She was a member of Regnum Christi, and had agreed to teach in one of their schools for a year. We became engaged. But when the Legion found out we were betrothed, she was suddenly reassigned to teach at a school in Rome. She left without even taking the time to say goodbye to me.

I only ever saw her one time after that: almost a year had passed, and although I had written to her every day, she had not answered my letters. She had the glazed eyes of a brain-washed zombie, and pretended not to know me.

To this day, she denies that she ever loved me, let alone agreed to a marriage with me. I did not recover from this experience until ReGAIN made public the methods and teachings of the Legion of Christ and I saw the techniques they had used to turn her form me. I hope that no one else ever has to suffer the loss of a betrothal to such a denial. Now that I see the Legion suing ReGAIN, I no longer wonder how much of its own truth the Legion is afraid to see in public.

I was in the LC for 10 years. Two of my brothers were also in the LC. They took advantage of all three of us and lied to our families about us. I was treated so badly that MM, Alvaro, and other superiors had to personally apologize to me for the awful way I was treated.

Even after all of this I still wanted to believe that the LC and RC were something good, and that they came from God. I was brain washed and manipulated for 10 years. I wanted to leave the congregation for about 3 or so years before things got totally out of hand and I caught my superior red handed.

After much reflection, prayer, and guidance from priests, bishops, friends and family I came to see the actual horror that is the Legionaries of Christ and their lay movement Regnum Christi. I pray for all of the good people that are in the LC or that have left but are unable to see the terrible truth about the LC and RC. They try to convince themselves but can never convince those of us that have been through the horrible ordeal and know the sad reality that MM has created and perpetuated by those in charge.

Gabon,
I suspect you and the other exlegionaries who are able to get on with their lives easily were not among the many victims of Legion child molesters. What is galling to some of us recovering from abuse by priests (non LC, for me) is the Legion's continued confidence in Maciel's eventual vindication; this confidence cannot be in place without believing that his abuse victims are liars.

In comparison, your complaints are petty and your admonishments cruel. If you faced the parents of the three year old boy who was abused at an LC school last fall, would you say the same thing to them?

I appreciate and have joined ReGAIN's "never again" efforts.

It sickens and saddens me to see the destruction that the Legion of Christ imposes on families and the Church. I have a close family member currently in the LC and he has become a different person, guarded in his interchange with people, distant from his family, with whom his every interaction is monitored and controlled: Limited visits of once a year for just a few days, no overnight stays, once a month phone calls, letters that are reviewed by a superior. They may not attend family wedding, often not funerals either of close family members, but they’ll travel for days to visit a benefactor! I only pray that the Lord will guard the hearts and minds of these young, idealistic and fervent men who only want to do God’s will, but are in fact coerced into doing the will of the Legion. There is no respect for the discernment of the individual, who is instructed not to trust himself or his heart. The Legion decides when you have a vocation and they decide when you don’t anymore. Shame on them for this uncharitable and scandalous action. How dare they demand to know the identity of people who have a right to share their stories anonymously? The people in the Regnum Christi Movement need to step out of denial and see the handwriting on the wall. It’s all smoke and mirrors.

Church Outsiders should probably approach this issue with a clear understanding that this issue is like no other in recent Church history. There have been various controversies over recent movements and orders in the Church but these pale into insignificance against the seriousness of the controversy over the RC/LC movement or order. Secular journalists should understand that the vast bulk of the LC's critics, are to this day, are faithful (if imperfect and sinful) and practicing Catholics, usually of a conservative or orthodox bent. The concerns and reservations of these critics focus on what they regard as very serious and grave institutional, constitutional and cultural violations of authentic Catholic spirituality and teaching and human anthropology. In addition there are urgent and practical concerns about the routine psychological manipulative techniques that sadly seem to be routine aspects of their modus operandi. Secrecy, deception and deceit are normal practices in the LC/RC's- although anyone who knows the legion understands that many in the movement are not able to recognise or understand the seriousness or extent of this deception- even when they are involved in it themselves. Many who have had a brush with the Legion tried for many years to give them the benefit of the doubt and hoped for reform. Yet to this day the Legion continues to engage in unconscionable recruitment techniques. Worse still is their ongoing practice of targeting children with the intention of loosening the influence of their parents and increasing the influence of the Legion on their development. Even worse is the continued Legion insistence on operation and expansion of its minor seminaries. This despite the overwhelming weight of social science, psychological, criminological and medical research that recognises the importance keeping children and adolescents in the home with their mum and dad. It is well understood that taking adolescents away from the protective sphere of the family and especially mother and father predisposes to heightened risks of negative outcomes, including a greater likelihood of sexual abuse.
Secular journalists should understand that this is not an issue whipped up by Church critics or anti catholic bigots or bitter ex Catholics.
This is an issue that is breaking the hearts of orthodox Catholics and also breaking up families. Many good people are used and spat out by the Legion.
It is often claimed that Legion must be good because a bad tree cold not produce such good fruit in the form of so many vocations. However, there is good story to be written about the Legion's rubbery figures and the real attrition, recruitment and retention rates. Large numbers of novices, priests and even senior figures have left over the years despite the severe and profoundly manipulative psychological techniques used to prevent their departure. Spat out and abandoned with absolutely no regard for their welfare, even though many gave the utmost of the best years of their lives to the Legion.
So it sickens me that the Legion now uses such strongarm bullying tactics to one little network of survivors who have done much to help ex legionaries. And secular journalists should note that Regain has also done a huge amount to help many ex Legionaries to recover, make sense of their experience and to keep holding on to their Catholic Faith. The thought that the Legion is suing them and specifically that it objects to documents being made public frankly turns my stomach. I pray that the Pope finally comes down very hard on the Legion and that a thorough reform is implemented.

Is the Legion setting precedence by suing a Catholic lay group in court? How many Catholic religious groups have 1.5 million dollars in extra revenue at their disposal? Why is it that within two weeks of the August 22 court date, FOUR solicitations for money were called for in words such as, "Hurricane Dean will slam into poverty stricken people...Catholic World Mission [LC]- you and I - cannot wait for the hurricane to hit before we put our faith into action for Christ...".
This is reminiscent for me of the alarming rain of solicitations I received from the LC right before the election of Vicente Fox in Mexico. Try to trace the LC money trail! Someone aught to audit their bank accounts!

I am proud to be a Legionary co-founder. Soldiers for Christ must follow in their Master's footsteps. They must be salt and light for the world to see, and give glory to God even when not respected or understood.

I find it very intresting that ABC is allowing these posting when most times you try to post you have to sign up for it and log on. Hum? I would also like to point that the article failed to mention that the reporter had grabed Cardinal Ratzingers arm, hence he slapped his hand. And as I recall from the original report the Cardinal told him something to effect, "Not now, at the proper time, not now." It seems to me that the article, ABC News, and many people above have an axe to grind and the target is not the LC's but the Catholic Church and Christ. It needs "usefull idiots" as the communist use to say to help it. Have humans made and will continue to make mistakes? Sure. Does this mean that Christ and His Church are guilty by association? No way! Even Christ had a man who was stealing from the poor amoung his group, Judas. It will all work out and those who with Him will eventually be made clear. What is clear here is the bias and lack of charity and truth.

Many thousands of us wonder why it took the Legion so long to be found out publicly. God's timing turns out best. All of us souls who suffer from the Deep Lesions of the Legion ( and that includes Gabon and all who believe: "Gee, I do not see a problem with Fr. Maciel, his actions or his written orders that command his faithful to make the whole 1 billion Catholics belong to his kingdom!"), all of us need God AND each other to heal each lesion, to heal each lesion with truth, the whole truth.

Count the wounded. And then pray (even though popes have been fooled and cardinals have been bought by Legion 'charity'), pray that all Legion and Regnum's supposed 50,000 members and priests will have to disband and/or join another Movement and get on with their healing and living a new, clean and honest life.
May God grant pardon to the many members whose serious delicts follow in the footsteps of their founder's.

You might have seen "Father Jonathan" on Fox TV, or his blog on their site. Why does he never reveal his connection with the Legionaries? It is apparently a secret that he is, indeed, Father Jonathan, LC. Why the secrecy?

Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscans don't hide their affiliation like that. But "Father Jonathan" won't talk about it.

A loved one of mine has been entrapped in one of these groups (RC)for over ten years. Even though we are strong practicing Catholics highly involved in evangelization activities, we are only allowed to see her 2 days per year and to speak by phone once a month. She comes home (at our expense) jet lagged and exhausted then has to go back after 2 days. I am not allowed to speak to her about anything "controversial".
She and the others are subject to mind control techniques, including control of behaviour, (must conform to dozens of restrictive rules), information (all letters opened before she receives them), thoughts (e.g. spiritual "direction" from immediate superior who has total control of her entire life) and her emotions. For further information about mind control refer to Steve Hassan's website. He is a mind control and cult expert.
LC and RC match up on every check list I have seen for cults, including extreme secrecy, isolation, restrictive rules, idolization of leader (who has had his privileges of practicing his priesthood publicly taken away by the Pope following an investigation of his pedophilia). The Legionaries are listed along with other well known cults on the websites of several cult experts.
If one of her brothers or other close family members (except for birth parent) died, she would not be allowed home for funeral. She is not allowed home for baptisms, weddings, confirmations of close family members. We don't know her anymore and she doesn't know us. We grieve for her.

I recently joined Regnum Christi and am both happy to be in this eccesial movement and saddened by the people who have been hurt by its members or the Legionaries.

I came upon the ex-legionary forum some time ago and and was surprised and a bit alarmed when I saw that my own blog was linked to with the directive given by an ex-legionary member to "monitor" it for, I presume, some Legionary propaganda.

It is alarming when someone immediately presumes, who does not know you at all, that you are a suspicious character who needs "monitoring". I bet if I met any of these ex-legionaries in real life, we would hit it off well and be friends. But they have been hurt by people in Regnum Christi or the Legion and so all people who are members are treated with mistrust and suspicion.

The ex-legionaries' forum says that it is for the healing of its members, but there can be no healing where bitterness, resentment, and suspicion reign.

I converted to Christianity after long years of ardent atheism, then to the Catholic Church. After learning about Regnum Christi for 5 years, reading about them, and meeting people in the movement, I decided to join it. I did so with eyes and ears wide open. The movement and the religious community are not evil of themselves, nor are the great majority of its members.

The same is true of the Catholic Church, though if you only read the SNAP website and others, you might be tempted to think so. The same is true of Opus Dei, though if you read the ODAN website (which is strikingly similar to the ReGAIN one in anger and accusations against these respective groups and their founders), you would be tempted to think so.

I hope that the members of ReGAIN and the ex-legionary forum find healing and peace from Christ, and I hope if we meet, one day, we will be friends and brothers in the Lord.

Dilbert, and so many other painful stories - when I left the legion I showed symptoms of having gone through a multiple and complex bereavment. These symptoms came to a head about two years after I left the legion.

Reading books like On Death and Dying, by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross were a great help and eye opener.

As to why did it take so long for the legion to be found out? Personally I believe that it has to do with the internet, without which ReGAIN would have restricted effect. No wonder the LC is trying to stop ReGAIN.

Andrew Goddard - maybe you should reference the hackneyed phrases that we learnt in the legion which you have shared with us in your post. You might get sued by the Legion for copyright infringement. :-O

The boys group, Conquest, is affiliated with RC and LC. I am curious about anyone's thoughts on that group. My son attended for a short time and it was not the good experience we had hoped for. It was a cliquesh (sp?) group. The adults barely acknowledged or welcomed us. We felt invisible. It's too bad because the goals of the group were good- mainly to teach Christlike virtues to these young boys and make them good leaders. Anyone else have similar experiences?

Devin,
i appreciate your peaceful and conciliatory approach, but there is a time to fight and a time to make peace as Ecclesiastes says. Right now I am in the legal fight of my life with the Legion of Christ who are trying to break me. I must fight to survive. I cannot reach out right now when they are kicking me.
But of course you are my brother, and i have nothing against you. And i have nothing against the Catholic Church. For the love of Christ do not mistake the Legion and Regnum for the Catholic Church or for God's real kingdom of truth and justice! Read the preface to the Feast of Christ the King in Catholic liturgy, and remember Pope Paul VI: "There can be no Peace withoug Justice!"
Perhaps the Legion does do a lot of "good"; but at what expense? ReGAIN is an organization that, among other things, walks the beach picking up the Legion/Regnum's shipwreck survivors. On the other hand, I am happy for you if you are safely in the Legion ship sailing placidly towards paradise. Why does the LC/RC keep saying we are bitter. We are not blind or Pollyanish. As Saint Paul says: "which of you is sad and I am not sad?" We are not into making numbers or quotas. We are concerned about people, like Jesus was. We have heard the cries of distress of our shipwrecked brothers and sisters and we want to heed their call. Tell your brothers in the LC and Regnum to let REGAIN continue to do its job.
You know, many, if not most, LCs have not even heard about the accusations against Fr Maciel, or these have been minimized and benignly interpreted. How many rank-and-file members know now that I am being really harassed by the Legion superiors because I dared speak out? Few. Because of secrecy and information control, signs of a cult...

I have read through lots of what is on ReGAIN, and I have found very little if any anger. Only genuine concern that others are not hurt like those who give testimony were.
Even so, bitterness and anger are part of recovery from trauma. And neither of the two are an signal that truth is not present in the testimony.

My son was recruited by the Legion of Christ and was in for many years. At the time, we had no idea of his difficulties and struggles, and the way he was used by this group for their own benefit without any consideration for him,not even for health problems. We gave plenty of money to the Legion at our son's request. When he left, it took us by suprise because the rules of the Legion had prohibited him from us how he really felt. We always thought that he was happy. Hes only now, many years later, getting his life back together after having it robbed by those by those who claim to preach a "holier" gospel then, our family, our parish, and our entire Church. We have spent many of sleepless nights wondering how the Legion can treat our son and other young men by breaking many laws of the Catholic Church. One day this organization is going to answer to "God", I hope it today.

I have been a member of Regnum Christi for over ten years. My son is a brother in the Legionaries of Christ and poised to take his perpetual vows on September 1st.
I have read criticisms about the Legion and Regnum Christi ever since the accusations first surfaced about Fr. Maciel in the Hartford Courant years ago. I have sought out this information, not avoided it. I have entered into association with the Legion and Regnum Christi with my eyes wide open.
It is very difficult to square my own personal experiences in Regnum Christi and with the Legion with these criticisms. The only aspect of these criticisms that I have experience with is that many of the young men who leave the Legion or who are asked to leave the Legion often have a difficult couple of years as they re-integrate back into society. But this is often the case with those who leave any religious congregation after years within its ranks. Yes, the difficulties of those who leave the Legion may be more intense, but everything about the Legion is more intense, including the love and dedication of its members. This could help explain the enormous let-down ex-members often experience. For them a beautiful dream has died.
I do acknowledge that the Legion needs to develop a gentler transition for those who leave, perhaps simply by reminding them often that they should never assume that they will be ordained or consecrated until these events actually take place.

Devin Rose - I am a frequent poster on the exlegionaries site.

Resentment and bitterness are not healthy, but they really are part of life for people that have been hurt.
Anger is probably more common and is definitely a stage of recovery.
exlegionaries allows former members to vent off steam, and somtimes anger is there.
The real questions that should be asked are what is making these people so bitter? Why is there resentment? Because there is no smoke without fire.

I am aware from my own legionary experience of a great amount of deception and lies in the legionary MO.

I look very carefully for the umbrella groups who hide LC association. We learnt in the legion that creating groups that did not have the LC/RC tag were excellent ways to gain new members unsuspectingly - "its just a boys club" when it was what we callen "an open means of recruitment". Etc.

I also look very carefully for any umbrella groups that request money - because we knew that if you gave money to any LC/RC run venture the central funds took a hefty cut.

The legion STEALS from the charities it sets up (perhaps the word is embezzles?) to go in to central funds.
I do not want people to be deceived like I was.

First off, I agree that secrecy in ANY part of religion is wrong. Second, I personally feel 'creepy' about the Legionaries of Christ, mostly because of the secrecy, but also because of the total separation from family they require of the young boys seeking a priestly vocation. That having been said, we in America do consider people innocent until proven guilty. And, I thought the break-in at the Watergate Hotel taught us not to steal information or files. And, I don't think ANYONE is persecuting the Masons, Mormons, Shriners, Moose, Elks or any other organization for having "secret" rules, handshakes, agendas, etc. So, let's let the courts fight this out and let's us be good Christians (or whatever your religion/non-religion is) and be peaceful and fair in what we write!

What's so wrong about wanting to know who your accusers are? In US law you are guaranteed: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him" (6th amendment). But it's somehow sinister and controlling for the legion to want to find out who's accusing them?

Is the Catholic church heirarchy, all the sub clubs contained therin, the rules and dogma today something Christ would approve of?

I have sincere doubts about this, from the current pope on down.

There are few experiences in life that stir emotions as intensely as leaving a religious congregation. It is very akin to the heart-rending experience of divorce. During the period when these intense emotions tend to dominate and control us it is difficult to make decisions that will affect our future. The first step is to find assistance in dealing with these emotions. For some, clergy can provide some comfort. Psychologists and support groups may be helpful to others. Focusing attention on the possibilities of the future, rather than over-analyzing the past, is the key to getting on with life. Any support group that is conflicted and still in the grip of “controlling” emotions is not in the best position to help. There is no "non-conflicted" support group available, as far as I know, for former Legionaries. This is a terrible thing. I am sure that most of us who participated whole-heartedly in the Legion, believing in the institution, had great difficulties in our adjustment to lay life. We are very aware of the institutional deficiencies and the suffering endured by many and the effects on our own psyches. Part of that suffering includes our relationship with our former “dysfunctional family”. It hurts to see excellent priests, seminarians and committed lay people, our former colleagues and brothers, being savaged. I hate to see the “baby thrown out with the bath water”.

I was a member of RC for many years. I was very (100%) committed to it for a long time. I remember when I first heard stories about abuse in LC/RC. I had a panicky feeling that if these stories were true what would I do? If I had to let go of RC I don't know if I would know who i was. My very identity was tied to this movement. So I did what every member who is inordinately attached to RC/LC does; I rationalized every gnawing feeling I had. I found a way to blame the accusers. But God did not let my peace from this "coping mechanism" last for long. He began to gradually reveal the reality of the situation. I was living in an illusion. I really thought that LC/RC were a foundation in my life. I associated this foundation with Christ. What I came to find out through much heartache was that my faith in RC/LC was built on sand. Through a series of unfortunate events my eyes were opened to the truth that i was not useful to them any longer. Once you become useless to them psychological abuse takes the place of the previous flattery that had been the MO. There are subtle threats to damage your reputation if you let the truth be told; you are purposely isolated from your close friends; the LC priests purposely try to stir up jealousy between you and your friends; the LC priests try to provoke outbursts of anger by stirring up your pride or vanity; whisper campaigns are started against you to undermine your influence as you are indirectly pressed to go inactive. The legionaries are trained in emotional manipulation. The know exactly how to say the bare minimum with just the right look or sigh to plant seeds of doubt or to steer your very dear friends away from you. At the same time they appeal to the pride and vanity of your friend with flattery to secure an inordinate attachment to the priest and this is another potential source of division between the flattered friend and the rejected member. These are just a few aspects of the MO that is part of the methodology of the movement. It is not just the weakness of the priest. This is the way the elite priests of the LC are trained to force the useless member out of the movement. Stories like this are common in all parts of the country.

haro | Aug 28, 2007 10:40:43 AM
haro's comment strikes me as being like someone who signs to be a paratrooper and does not know he will be jumping our of airplanes!
pan

catholic,
This is what has happened in my parish, too, albeit on a much smaller scale. They are careful not to make direct accusations but use innuendo and the right tone of voice to be "misleading but legally accurate" about an RC/LC opponent's behavior. They will attack their opponents integrity and motives in lieu of a substantive response. This is called "discretion", I'm told?

So here's my advice: parse their words. If they make a promise, get it in writing. If they seem to be making an accusation against an RC/LC opponent, demand that they be specific.

"LC AS DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY"
Dear Gabon,
maybe it is providential that you and i be discussing the Legion here. I confess that i did not take your brotherly admonition to "get on with my life" a couple of years ago. But you know that we were good friends and there is a bond that will survive even this test.
One of the straws that broke this camel's back re the Legion was the way you were treated back in c.1983. You, I think, were the one who came up with the "Dysfunctional Family" paradigm and applied it to the Legion. Remember how such institutions are governed by the basic principles of DON'T FEEL, DON'T TALK, DON'T TRUST...

Say it ain't so...I thought what my Catholic mother did to me was just the standard catholic guilt trip thing, but now I have to wonder if she was a member of the LC. Say it ain't so, MOM!!!

Paul: From my perspective 1982, when I left, is now 25 years ago. I've moved on with no major regrets for my contribution. We did much good! And we got hurt. Meanwhile, change happened: you, the "network",me and the Legion too, albeit slowly. Bill and Devin Rose make great points; breaking up is hard to do. Former Legionaries need support - from the Legion and from each other. Anger, resentment, and lashing out at the other is understandable and forgivable but it doesn't work. "Internal reconciliation" with the positives and negatives of our "dysfunctional family" works for me. Time to give happiness a chance. I wish you peace.

My son had a very strong calling from Christ to serve the Catholic Church as a priest. The Legion of Christ failed in many aspects to further his love for the priesthood. Silence; forbidden to talk with family and friends against the order and its leaders. Secrecy; forbidden to criticize the leaders and rat on anyone who did so. Money; solicit from the rich for the personal gains of the order and it leadership, and seminarians lived at the poverty level. Lies; promising his ordination, then after two years of hard labor then releasing him, but not before many struggles. I could go on and on, but after fourteen years I would need to write a book to list all the events and details. The Legion of Christ say that they are charitable, love christ, and follow the teachings of the Pope. They have failed according to my standards, and those of the Catholic Church. The only reason for secrets of this nature is if you have something to hide. I hope the church deals with this mess soon.

This lawsuit is just a public manifestation of what the LC has been doing for years behind closed doors. As many of us know, the LC attempts to control and silence former members who wish to continue in the ministry of the Church by telling them exactly to which Diocese they may go (or even that they may go nowhere at all). Otherwise, they will call around bad mouthing the individual (usually with lies). For others, they use whatever potential blackmail they may have on that individual and threaten them so that they will play nice and keep quiet. Some, as a result, keep quiet out of fear.

With ReGain and other members who are (i) not continuing in the ministry or don't wish do be diocesan priests and (ii) were good boys while in the LC, they have no means of controlling/silencing us. So, they have to resort to public means (i.e., this lawsuit and the prior cease and desist letters. That is, legal threats and legal action, however unfounded or baseless).

My own experience when I was interviewed by the local New Haven, Ct. ABC news station was that the LC got their lawyers involved and had them contact the station and threaten legal action. They also then sent the reporter all of my grades from when I was in the high school seminiary equivalent of the LC, phone records from when I was in D.C., and an email in wish I wished Bailleres and certain LCs (by name) well [note: in their press release, they later said that I had sent emails wishing the LC well, which was a lie (but nothing new to the LC)], none of which was relevant or damaging to me. After the reporter caught Bailleres lying on video, I provided my medical records from the hospital that proved they were lying. Then of course their story changed several times. Frist, it never happened. Then, after I produced my medical records, I was a hypocondriac (although I had never claimed to be sick before). Then, I had a history of back problems (I had scoliosis, but didn't seem to jive with the hypocondriac accusation). Then, finally, the story became that I always received medical care whenever requested... which was an obvious lie. All the time (according to their press release) stating that they were praying that God would grant me light, happiness and peace. He did; that's why I spoke out.

So, this lawsuit isn't anything new to the LC way of doing things.

Pan im not sure what you mean but you could be not very far from the truth - I had no idea of what I signed up to when I joined the legion because the three rule books which govern a LC life were KEPT SECRET and HIDDEN from me - from all of us and were only shown to us in degrees as they were being explained and taught to us. You never quite knew what was coming next.

If I had of known about all of those rules before I joined the legion at the age of 16, then I probably would not have joined up. It is for that reason that I feel it is so important to make these rules, constitutions and norms public. If you like, I want people to know for sure that paratroopers jump out of airplanes. I want people that are interested in joining the legion to have FULL access to the rules that will possibly govern their lives, and to be able to share with their loved ones these same rules that affect them also.

You know it is possibly worse than your description - not only did i join the paratroopers without knowing id have to jump from a plane, but they kept it secret and hidden from me that I would have to jump - to use your analogy.

It was not until after 5 years of being in the LC and just before I was shipped off to another county that I was told I was to use a whip and a thing you tied around your leg with hooks to give yourself pain and offer it to God . . .

I remember asking my superior if in the future I was ever going to be caught so off guard as to the suggestion of using these instruments to inflict pain on myself. He told me not to worry and that I had to be prepared in the LC for years before I could be told about these instruments, but that I would not be so surprised about LC formation in the future.

He was wrong . . .

If secrecy is their mission then the LC blew it bigtime. For without the lawsuit I would never have known about the Legion...And I'm a former Catholic.

Now to mirror all contained on the ReGain site so it doesn't just disappear. Once that genie is out of the bottle it is way too big to stuff back in. The LC are idiots to think it ever can be...They must not understand the internet very well.

I was in the LC for a number of years. As all former Legionaries and RC members would know, everything about the LC/RC is to build the Kingdom of Christ. While the intention is good, the methology and the means to achieve it may not be questionable.
I get this feeling that the LC/RC is no different from the pyramid marketing scheme or any corporate America culture. As it grows, it naturally falls into the trap of trying to meet the quotas and the numbers every month/year. When you are living in a close-knit community, that pressure of trying not to appear a failure among your peers is always there. Nobody wants to be a failure in your "apostalate" in front of your superiors and "before Christ". As a result, the ends may or may not be used intentionally to justify the means. You will do whatever it takes to make the "Kingdom" grow. Inevitably, good people are "used" to make the numbers grow, keep the financial income pouring in, etc. Once you are unable to produce, it really is a waste of time to continue putting in effort to your development. It is time to move on and look for someone else who can produce and contribute to the growth of the "Kingdom". In this sense, I wonder if that "zeal" for Christ is pure Christian charity or pure egostic human abuse . Is the value of a soul judeged primarily by how much he or she can produce in the extension of the "Kingdom of Christ"?
I am sure many people join the LC and the RC with pure love and zeal for Christ. Somewhere down the road, however, it seems that many of them (?) are turned into a driving machine for more recruitments and more fund raising activities. The trouble is that it becomes very difficult to have a genuine love for the soul of the person and in the person's loving relationship with Christ, because you are more concerned about showing the "fruit" of your labor in numbers. It seems that you just want to "capture" the person into the fold and then immediately move on so as to bring in more people...
Having said all these, I am not implying that ALL the LC/RC members are like this. There are some LC/RC members I know who are truly genuine apostles of Christ, who really love Christ and souls..

"Somewhere down the road, however, it seems that many of them (?) are turned into a driving machine for more recruitments and more fund raising activities."
The problem is -- THIS IS INTENTIONAL by the LC system. It has ALWAYS been designed for this purpose by Maciel.