[UPDATE: Just found out about the ReGain Network, which is trying to help counsel anyone who may be having trouble and suffering in the wake of yesterday's news (see below) - hat tip to Dawn Eden.]
I don't normally post on current Catholic news on this blog anymore, but this story is so odd, and so out-of-the-ordinary, that I had to write something about it. It seems that Fr. Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaires of Christ, fathered a child, had a mistress, and did many other scandalous things. It's quite a shock to me, because on one side, I've seen many very strongly-worded blog posts by people who, in my mind, are respectable Catholic bloggers, calling for the denunciation of the Legionaires and Regnum Christi (the lay affiliate of the L.C.). On the other side, there are Legionaires who seem to either deny the story, or are very reserved about apologizing for the sins of its founder.
I'm amazed that the Legionaires' press representatives haven't learned from what happened in the Catholic Church in America over the past few years, about maintaining a certain level of trust and transparency with its members and with the public at large, and most importantly realizing a mistake and calling it what it is.
Members of RC and the LC that I know and have met have been very holy men and women, and I have no doubt that they will remain integral members of the Body of Christ. So in that regard, I feel that some of the naysayers who are clamoring for the disbanding of LC/RC are being impolite at best. But on the other hand, how can the Legion maintain the status quo with the "cat out of the bag," so to speak?
It's something that I suggest everyone pray about, as many, many people are affected by the news. I know that God will guide whatever happens to a good end... but getting there can be very painful for some. Let us pray for them!
And an open suggestion to the Legionaires: Be open, be honest. Apologize for the sins of your founder. Do not remain quiet, but proclaim loudly the fact that you are working to build up the Church, and that your mission is not in any way dependent on your founder, who has been revealed to have been a duplicitous man. His sins are between Him and God, but they affect you. Do not deny that fact!