Archbishop John Favalora of Miami has prohibited priests of the Legionaries of Christ from exercising any ministry in his archdiocese, effective immediately. The October 29 letter addressed to all priests of the archdiocese is here.
The spokesman for the Legionaries, who are under investigation by Rome, said: "We will be obedient to Archbishop Favalora’s directives. We also hope to gain a clearer understanding of his concerns and demonstrate our ability to serve the local church."
The archdiocese's letter says that the movement's priests' ministry in the diocese has in the past been restricted to members of its lay arm, Regnum Christi, adding that because "the Legionaries of Christ have not abided by these restrictions, Archbishop Favorola has barred them from any ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami".
That means, presumably, that Regnum Christi members will be unable to look to Legionaries for the sacraments and spiritual guidance -- at least not in Miami.
The letter goes on to accuse Regnum Christi of being "involved in several schools without archdiocesan approval" and tells them to cease.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore last year forbade Legionaries to act as spiritual directors to men under age 18. Dioceses in Ohio and Minnesota have also placed restrictions on them.
I have just returned from a conference of the national group known as the Voice of the Faithful which was held in Long Island, New York. There I heard and talked with Juan Vaca one of a number of men who were sexually abused by Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder and long time leader of the Legion of Christ.
I have great admiration for individuals such as Vaca who have chosen to speak out against this horror, against all odds.
It is disgraceful that the adult victim/surviviors who came forward years ago with their testimony of being sexually abused as children were defamed and vilified by church officials as in documented in Jason Berry's book.
These latest revelations only show the levels of corruption that are at the heart of the Legionaries of Christ and its founder, Marcial Maciel Degollado.
The investigations by Archbishop Chaput and company should not take all that long if he and the rest of the investigating team can get the truth out of the LC officials now in charge.
However the institutional RCC probably already has much of the truth if they care to act on it. As I have said elsewhere, the LC should be suppressed and the good men given the choice to join another established religious order in the church or seek incardination in a particular diocese.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish Victims' Advocate
New Castle, Delaware
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
Odd. Is there some some kind of spiritual transformation that happens at 12:01am on your 18th birthday? Isn't it a kind of red flag that these priests are forbidden from those under the age of majority?
Maybe the Archbishop suspects the Legionaires of encouraging underage voting or underage smoking?