Background: The Catholic Church, Legion of Christ, Regnum Christi, Marcial Maciel, San Patricios
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Jack Keogh's autobiography covers twenty years of his life from
adolescence in Dublin, Ireland, to adulthood as a Catholic Priest in
the Legion of Christ and onwards: transitioning to a new life as
husband, father and international management consultant. During
those twenty years his life was intertwined with the Legion of
Christ, a religious congregation, Regnum Christi, a movement for lay
persons, and the controversial founder of both organizations, Father
Marcial Maciel.
However, the book is NOT about the Legion of Christ
nor Father Maciel - it is Jack's story, told with candor. It offers
a realistic insight into the inner workings of a Mexican
congregation caught up in a global controversy, while holding to a
non-judgmental outlook since Jack left the Legionaries long before
the allegations about the founder were made public.
Some readers, totally unfamiliar with the Catholic Church and the Legionaries of Christ, asked for background information to help them understand the nuances of the stories. The following information is for them.
The Catholic Church
(see here for more information - some of the material below is adapted from a longer article)
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the
world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The
Church's leader is the Pope, currently Pope Benedict XVI, who holds
supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is
the head. The Pope resides in Rome, Italy at the Vatican (which is a
State separate from Italy). His Church is the Basilica of Saint Peter.
In the Church, the Pope holds primacy of jurisdiction
in matters of faith, morals, discipline and Church governance and is the
head of state of the Vatican City. For advice and assistance in
governing, the Pope may turn to the College of Cardinals,
the next highest level in the hierarchy.[When a pope dies or resigns,
members of the College of Cardinals who are under age 80 meet to elect a
new pope.
The Catholic Church is organized in a system of dioceses,
each one overseen by a Bishop. Dioceses are sub-divided
into individual communities called parishes, each
staffed by one or more priests. Cardinals who serve in
the Vatican bureaucracy reside in Rome. Others may head a diocese and
only make stipulated visits to Rome.
Priests may be assisted by deacons. Only priests and
bishops are allowed to administer the sacraments of the Eucharist,
Reconciliation (Penance or Confession) and Anointing of the Sick. Only
bishops can administer the sacrament of Holy Orders, which ordains
someone into the clergy.
The ordained priesthood is generally restricted to celibate men.
Ordained Catholics, as well as members of the laity, may join a
Religious Order or Congregation as monks or
nuns. Members of these congregations take additional
vows confirming their desire to follow the three
"evangelical counsels" of poverty, chastity and obedience.
The vow of chastity forbids all voluntary sexual pleasure, whether
interior or exterior. Strictly speaking, it differs from the vow of
celibacy (or abstinence from marriage). Diocesan priests, who are not
members of Religious Congregations promise obedience to their Bishop and
they take a vow of celibacy. They do not necessarily
commit to a vow of poverty. So, even though many of us think that
priests are all alike, the reality is that there are substantial
differences between diocesan priests and priests who are members of a
Congregation. Some Religious Congregations of men never become ordained
priests although they take vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.
Examples would be the Marist Brothers or the Brothers of the Christian
Schools. More often than not they are called "Brothers"
whereas priests are addressed as "Father" and nuns as "Sister."
Examples of religious Congregations or Orders are the Benedictines,
Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, the Sisters of Mercy, School
Sisters of Notre Dame and the Legionaries of Christ. Members of
Religious Congregations tend to live in communities. Each Congregation
or Order has a special "personality" and mission. Traditionally, for
instance, Franciscans emphasize a life of poverty, Dominicans
"specialize" in preaching.
Men preparing for the priesthood are called "seminarians"
because they attend "seminary schools." Members of Religious
Congregations go through various stages of preparation before committing
to making their "final" vows. Most Congregations have their candidates
begin with a one or two year Novitiate at the end of
which the candidates take "temporary" vows for three years. The stages
of study for the priesthood are often referred to as a "Juniorate"
(in the Legion it is a period of one or two years dedicated to the study
of classical humanities,) then Philosophy, and finally
Theology.
Fr. Marcial Maciel
Father Marcial Maciel, LC, was born on March 10, 1920, in Cotija de la
Paz, Michoacan, Mexico. In May 19, 2006, the Holy See’s Press Office
issued a communiqué as the conclusion of a canonical investigation that
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) had begun in 2004.
At that time, the CDF reached sufficient moral certainty to impose
serious canonical sanctions related to the accusations made against Fr
Maciel, which included the sexual abuse of minor seminarians. Father
Maciel, LC, died in the United States on January 30, 2008. His mortal
remains are laid to rest in his Mexican hometown.
The Legion of Christ
The Legion of Christ is a religious congregation of pontifical right,
founded in 1941. Its stated mission is to extend the Kingdom of Christ
in society according to the requirements of Christian justice and
charity, and in close collaboration with the bishops and the pastoral
plans of each diocese. Today the Legion has over 800 priests and 2,500
major and minor seminarians, with houses in 22 countries.
The Founder and First Superior General, Father Maciel declined
re-election as Superior General in 2005. Father Álvaro Corcuera, who
studied at the Irish Institute in Mexico City, when Jack was there, was
elected as his successor.
In May 2006, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after an
examination of accusations brought forward against Father Maciel,
invited him to “a reserved life of prayer and penance, renouncing all
public ministry."
The Vatican note at that time recognized "the distinguished apostolate
of the Legionaries of Christ and of Regnum Christi," saying they were
"acknowledged with gratitude."
In early 2009, the Legionaries said they had learned that Maciel had
fathered a daughter and that Maciel had had a longstanding relationship
with the child's mother.
On March 26, 2010 the Legion acknowledged that Father Maciel, sexually
abused young seminarians, and they asked forgiveness for failing to
believe his accusers.
Following the death of the founder, Pope Benedict XVI ordered an
"Apostolic Visitation" - a high level Vatican inquiry - of the
Legionaries. The results of the inquiry have not yet been made public.
In Mexico, the order reaches the upper strata of business, and
government. For almost all his life, Father Maciel was treated as an
extraordinary leader, revered by his followers.
Regnum Christi
Regnum Christi is an apostolic movement founded by Father Marcial
Maciel, LC, in the Church and at the service of the Church. Regnum
Christi helps its members live out their baptismal commitments –personal
holiness and apostolic action– according to its charism.
The Regnum Christi Movement includes laymen and women, deacons, and
diocesan priests. They contribute to spreading Christ’s message to
humanity by undertaking personal, organized apostolic activity. One of
the unique characteristics of Regnum Christi is its close relationship
with the Legionaries of Christ.
Regnum Christi´s current membership consists of about 65,000 youths,
adults, deacons and priests in more than 30 countries.
The Scandal
The Legionaries of Christ now admit their late founder, Fr.Marcial Maciel, fathered at least one child and molested underage seminarians:
"We later came to know that Fr Maciel had fathered a daughter in the context of a prolonged and stable relationship with a woman, and committed other grave acts. After that, two other people surfaced, blood brothers who say they are his children from his relationship with another woman.
We find reprehensible these and all the actions in the life of Fr Maciel that were contrary to his Christian, religious, and priestly duties. We declare that they are not what we strive to live in the Legion of Christ and in the Regnum Christi Movement."
Pope Benedict XVI ordered a Vatican investigation of the Congregation
in 2009. The results are expected soon. They will come in the midst of a
"perfect storm" for the Legion because the Holy Father and the Church is
under intense pressure to aggressively deal with the scandals of abuse.
A secondary issue in the scandal surrounding Fr. Maciel is the need to
find out if any Legionaries deliberately covered up for the founder's
misdeeds. Legionary leadership will come in for close scrutiny and may
be replaced by the Vatican. Legionaries, during my time, were intensely
loyal to Fr. Maciel, although I believe most of them had no clue about
his double life.
The Vatican Response
The Vatican
announced on May 1, 2010, its initial steps toward reforming the
Legionaries of Christ. Pope Benedict will name a personal delegate with
authority over the order and a commission to study its constitutions.
The statement is unusually blunt and to the point. Ultimately, it is a
helpful and pastoral summation of the current state of affairs.
The Vatican indicated that the Legionaries would need to undergo
changes, including a redefinition of the order’s religious charism and a
revision of the way authority is exercised among its members. This, in
Vatican parlance, translates into a refoundation - rather than outright
supression - of the Congregation. The Pope will have the final word on
whatever changes are eventually imposed.
The San Patricios
The St. Patrick Battalion (El Batallón de San Patricio) was a unique
unit of the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848.
The unit consisted of several hundred soldiers, who’d deserted the U.S.
Army, because they believed they had more in common with the Mexicans. I
had never heard of them during my schooling in Ireland. After defecting,
they fought on the Mexican side in five major battles. Unofficially, the
group was called the Irish Volunteers, or the “Colorados” (red guards)
because of the many redheaded and ruddy-complexioned men in it. They’re
considered heroes in Mexico because of their exemplary performance on
the battlefield. They were ultimately defeated, suffering severe
casualties at the Battle of Churubusco, which was the Mexican army’s
Waterloo. General and President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who
commanded the Mexican forces, stated afterwards, “if I could have
commanded a few hundred more men like the San Patricios, Mexico would
have won the battle.”
The musical souls of two nations, Ireland and Mexico, are movingly
brought to life in "San Patricio," the latest international
collaboration by six-time Grammy winners The Chieftains - the leading
practitioners of Irish traditional music for the past four decades. The
album features multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Ry Cooder,
another multiple-Grammy winner, who co-produced with The Chieftains'
Paddy Moloney.
It tells the nearly forgotten story of the brave San Patricio battalion
- a downtrodden group of Irish immigrant conscripts who deserted the
U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side against the invading
Yankees in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).