"The Purification of the Legion"

"The goal: to preserve and renew the order."


Father Thomas Williams: if it's not a work of God, nobody wants to be a part of it. I certainly don't.


Adapted from this source: a magazine called Inside the Vatican, April 2o09.


"The Vatican has ordered an apostolic visitation of the Legionaries of Christ to heal the grave problems facing the order.

"The goal: to preserve and renew the order.

"Now the future of the legion, one of the fastest - growing orders in the Church, with some 800 priests, 2,500 seminarians, and a lay arm with 70,000 members, will depend on the result of this investigation order by the Pope in March.

"Apostolic visitation is a form of internal Church investigation ordered by a Pope and undertaken by his delegate or delegates.

"The Pope sets the jurisdiction and powers of the visitation, which usually ends with the submission of a report to the Holy See.

"The Pope is clearly hoping the order will be able to overcome its current difficulties and be strengthened through reform and renewal.

"Father Thomas Williams, an American who heads the Legion's theology faculty [in] Rome, said the apostolic visitation was a necessary step, one that can restore confidence and credibility for the future.

"[H]e said, Honestly, speaking for my confrères and myself, if it's not a work of God, nobody wants to be a part of it. I certainly don't. And if it is, we want to know what we're supposed to be taking from this original charism and what we're not."


Now, a bit of what we might call the background:


"In February, Legionaries of Christ officials in Rome disclosed that Father Maciel had fathered a child.

"Sources in Rome said the order was also looking into accusations of financial irregularities by Father Maciel.

"In the past, Father Maciel had been accused of of sexually abusing young seminarians in the order.

"After investigating those allegations, the Vatican in 2006 told Father Maciel to renounce public ministry as a priest and to spend the rest of his life in prayer and penance

"Father Maciel was [also] the subject of a major canonical investigation by the Vatican from 1957 to 1959.

"Father Maciel died January 30, 2008, at the age of 87."


Me, I'd say this:

Good luck to these guys!

'Cause at least this Father Williams sounds like a good man willing to confront whatever Id Monster needs to be addressed, straight up front and no baloney!