February 11, 2009
Dear Fr. Corcuera and the Legionaries of Christ:
As friends of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, we are
writing to you out of loving concern following the recent news regarding Fr.
Marcial Maciel.
While we, the undersigned, may not agree with every particular
nuance in this petition, we agree with its overall substance and intention.
As Catholics, our first concern is for any possible victims of Fr.
Maciel's conduct. We pray that God's healing grace may bind their wounds and
comfort them.
Our thoughts also turn to the many devout members of the movement
who must now contend with the revelations of Fr. Maciel's gravely sinful acts.
We pledge our prayers and sacrifices on behalf of any victims as
well as the members of the Legion and Regnum Christi.
We are, however, concerned that many important questions remain
unanswered since the Legion's disclosure that Fr. Maciel fathered a child and
committed acts "not appropriate for a Catholic priest." The lack of
official information, and the seemingly haphazard nature of the statements
coming from various members of the movement causes confusion and even
contributes to a sense of mistrust.
We must state frankly that for many of us, this sense of mistrust
began to build in May of 2006. At that time, as the result of its canonical
process, the Vatican invited Fr. Maciel to “a life of prayer and penance,
renouncing all public ministry.”
The Legion's official public response to the Vatican on this
matter included the following: "Father Maciel, with the spirit of
obedience to the Church that has always characterized him, has accepted this
communiqué with faith, complete serenity and tranquility of conscience.”
At the time, many of us considered this an unfitting response
because it seemed to consider the Holy Father's decision only in terms of the
Legion's desire to continue its defense of Fr. Maciel. At the very least, the
Legion should have accepted the Holy Father's decision without publicly
repeating its support of Fr. Maciel's innocence when there was evidence to the
contrary significant enough to cause the Legion to subsequently open its own
internal investigation. Such public insistence on Fr. Maciel's innocence even
after the Vatican's decision caused grave concerns and mistrust regarding the
judgment of at least some members of the Legion.
With the recent turn of events, we see that this sense of mistrust
was entirely justified. Not only was the communiqué handled poorly, Fr. Maciel
indeed did not have a clear conscience. The beginning of a remedy for this
mistrust is greater disclosure followed by public, concrete actions.
At this date, the official statements from the Legion's leadership
reveal few facts about the nature and extent of Fr. Maciel's misconduct, and
give no indication whether the factors that contributed to his misconduct have
been addressed or how the Legion plans to seek justice for any victims.
We urge you to disclose the following information as soon as
possible:
1. Was Fr. Maciel's involvement with a mistress, resulting in a
child, part of a larger pattern of sexual or other misconduct and abuse? Did
other members of the Legion abet or conceal vicious deeds, and if so how has
the Legion dealt with this information?
2. Were there structural problems within the Legion that
contributed to its founder's abuse of authority, and if so, what steps have or
will be taken to identify and remedy this?
3. How does the Legion plan to dialogue with any victims, receive
their versions of events, come to some kind of determination and evaluation,
and make amends? (It is our understanding that most who claimed to be victims
are still alive and therefore we are not persuaded that the passage of time
diminishes the responsibility of the Legion in this matter. It may diminish the
degree of certitude that can be reached regarding Fr. Maciel's specific
actions, but it does not diminish the responsibility of trying wholeheartedly
to arrive at the truth.)
We also ask the Legion's leadership to undertake the following
acts of investigation, renewal, and reparation:
1. Publicly acknowledge that the communiqué issued in response to
Pope Benedict's decision in May, 2006 was, at best, unfitting. The Legion may
very well have acknowledged this personally to the Holy Father. However, we the
faithful need to hear from the Legion that they understand this crucial
concern.
2. Request the Holy Father designate an independent commission to
conduct a full investigation of the Legionaries of Christ with respect to the
misconduct of Fr. Maciel and any persons who may have knowingly aided his
sinful actions.
3. With the permission of the Holy See, publish the key results of
this investigation.
4. Undertake to fully and immediately obey all directives from
Church authorities that may result from the investigation.
5. If this is not already accomplished in #2 above, establish
direct contact between the Legion and those persons who have already leveled
formal accusations against Fr. Maciel to hear the basis for their accusations
and to weigh their side of the story.
6. If there is, in good conscience, substantial reason to believe
specific persons were indeed victimized by Fr. Maciel, make reparation to them.
7. Publicly request the forgiveness of any victims for the grave
sins of Fr. Maciel and dedicate a period of prayer and penance for reparation
and renewal.
We understand that this is a time of grief and deep shock for the
Legion and that it can be difficult to act swiftly and clearly at such a time.
In addition, we have not brought up the preceding suggestions assuming they are
not already being considered by the Legion. We bring them up in order to
highlight their grave importance.
Please be assured of our prayerful support as you lead the
Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi during this difficult time. We entrust
you in particular to St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus Christ. We ask the
intercession of Our Lady to bring comfort to your members and to intercede for
all of us in the Church, so that we may better bring about Christ's kingdom of
love on earth.
Your brothers and sisters in Christ,
The undersigned.