A Bishop speaks.
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Retired Archbishop Harry Flynn banned the Legion of Christ from the Archdiocese of St. Paul - Minneapolis several years ago. Some people who considered Flynn a bit too liberal and permissive of dissident groups pretty much blew the story off as another example of persecuting more orthodox Catholics. I'm quite certain the recent revelations concerning the double life led by the Legion's founder, Fr. Maciel, as well as allegations of irregularities associated with the governance and discipline of the order, certainly vindicate Archbishop Flynn's decision today.
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The Legion of Christ stifles the free will of its members.
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Yesterday I noted that Archbishop Edwin O'Brien pretty much echoed Flynn's statements concerning the Legion, albeit daring to go even further:
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Archbishop O’Brien said he has grave concerns that the Legion fosters a “cult of personality” focused on Father Maciel. “While it’s difficult to get a hold of official documents,” Archbishop O’Brien said, “it’s clear that from the first moment a person joins the Legion, efforts seem to be made to program each one and to gain full control of his behavior, of all information he receives, of his thinking and emotions.”
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“It seems to me and many others that this was a man (Maciel) with an entrepreneurial genius who, by systematic deception and duplicity, used our faith to manipulate others for his own selfish ends,” Archbishop O’Brien told The Catholic Review in a telephone interview following his Feb. 20 Rome meeting with Father Alvaro Corcuera, director general of the Legion.
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“Father Maciel deserves our prayers, as every Christian who dies does, that he’ll be forgiven and we leave the final judgment to God as to what his life and death amounted to,” Archbishop O’Brien said. - Source
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I've now changed my mind about the group - not that my opinion matters. I think the Legion should probably be suppressed and reorganized into a new congregation. The Legion attracted a lot of wealthy donors - perhaps by design - so that could be problematic.
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One other note: The archbishop refers to a "cult of personality" surrounding nuestro padre. He makes an interesting observation. We see that today with Obama. We also saw it with John Paul II to some extent. Incidentally, JPII had a very high regard for Maciel. Cardinal Ratzinger did not. It seems to me, as Pope, Benedict XVI is in no danger of being at the center of a cult of personality whatsoever. That is a good thing.
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Photo: Retired Archbishop Harry Flynn.
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