Holy
See approves new constitutions for Legionaries of Christ
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has approved the
Constitutions of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. The
approval letter was signed on October 16th by Archbishop José
Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, and Fr. Sebastiano Paciolla, O. Cist., respectively
secretary and sub-secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The new Constitutions are in force.
In a letter to Legionaries general director Fr.
Eduardo Robles-Gil, stated the Congregation should be “grateful for the
paternal care with which Popes Benedict XVI and Francis and Cardinal De Paolis
and his councilors have guided our congregation’s steps in these years”.
This approval fulfills one of the principal
objectives of the renewal process that Pope Benedict XVI began in 2010, naming
Cardinal Velasio De Paolis as Pontifical Delegate, and which Pope Francis has
continued.
The text is the result of a 3-year period of
consultation and reflection in which all Legionaries had the opportunity to
participate and contribute. Cardinal De Paolis’ task as Pontifical
Delegate culminated with the Extraordinary General Chapter of the Legion of
Christ, which was held in January and February of this year.
In his letter, Fr. Eduardo Robles-Gil said: “We
now have the text of our Constitutions in our hands. As the path that
will guide us to holiness and apostolic fruitfulness in serving the Church and
men and women, they describe the specific way each of us should live religious
life in the Legion.”
Some characteristics of the new Constitutions
Among the principal tasks of the renewal process
were: clarifying the charism; simplifying the norms that govern the
Congregation and reducing their number; ensuring a mode of exercise of
authority that would allow for more participation by the members of the
Congregation and be more in accord with Canon Law; reviewing the formation
Legionaries receive, emphasizing the personal responsibility of each one in his
vocational discernment; guaranteeing the distinction between the internal and
external forums. These issues have been addressed in these Constitutions.
Simplification and reduction of norms: Many chapters, articles and numbers have been
eliminated from the text. The old Constitutions contained 872
numbers. The new Constitutions contain 235. As well, many details
and specific applications have been removed. This will enable the members
to focus on the essential and facilitate adaptation to the circumstances of
different times and places. The exhortative tone of the previous
Constitutions has been removed. The new text seeks to offer explanations
of the spiritual and theological motives behind the norms being proposed.
The charism: John Paul II in Vita Consecrata n. 93,
said that the charism of a religious institute makes a specific aspect of the mystery
of Christ present in the Church. This involves a particular relationship
with God, from which springs a particular spirituality, a particular
relationship with others, which is expressed in a particular way of living out
communion, and with the world, which becomes concrete in a particular
mission. The new constitutional text offers some of these aspects in
numbers 1 through 4. The mission of the Congregation is described in
number 4:
4.
In their mission of forming apostles, Christian leaders at the service of the
Church, Legionaries make present the mystery of Christ gathering the Apostles
around him, revealing to them the love of his heart, forming them and sending
them out to collaborate with him to build up his Kingdom (See Mk 3:13-14; Mt
10:5-10; 28:18-20). Consequently:
1.° Legionaries should bring others to live out their baptismal calling to the
full, fostering the spiritual growth, the integral formation and the apostolic
outreach of the men and women, including Regnum Christi members, who are called
to develop and exercise their leadership at the service of Jesus Christ who
transforms the personal, family, professional and social life of all people.
2.° Together with them, Legionaries should establish the institutions and
undertake the actions that most contribute in depth and extent to building up
the Kingdom of Christ in society and in this way respond to the needs of the
universal and local Church, in communion with their bishops and according to
their own charism.
3.° Legionaries should exercise their pastoral ministry principally in the
fields of spreading the faith, education, evangelization of the family, of culture
and of the media, youth work, clergy formation and the promotion of justice,
charity and solidarity with the neediest, as well as the spiritual care and
formation of the Regnum Christi members.
The exercise of authority: The structure of government and the way in which
authority is exercised on the general, territorial and local levels better
follow the indications of Canon Law: authority is exercised directly by the
superior in question, avoiding the multiplication of auxiliary offices (#
124 and 125); the duration of superiors’ mandates and the requirement to change
them correspond with what Canon Law stipulates (#126); appropriate
consultations are to be carried out before the naming of superiors (#126 § 5);
the superior is answerable for the community called together in Christ, and not
a mere representative of a higher instance of authority (Chapter 18);
responsibilities have been decentralized, with many now assigned to the
territorial directors (Chapter 17); emphasis is placed on the role of councils
to aid the superiors in decision-making processes and foster accountability
(#125 § 3; 149,5o; 176,6o; 201,3o; 223 § 2).
Freedom of Conscience: The Constitutions stipulate that there be spiritual directors
and confessors that are distinct from the superiors of the Congregation whom
the religious may approach freely; internal forum and external forum are
clearly distinguished. (# 50; 59; 60; 212 § 3)
Formation: The
Constitutions place a special emphasis on the responsibility of each religious
to discern his own vocation and freely choose for it (#63 § 1,3o;
65; 69; 77 § 2; 83,1o; 91 § 1; 109). The meaning and value of
discipline is underlined, as well as the fact that it should be accompanied
with education for freedom in Christ (#39 § 1; 71; 83,4o; 98).
The text emphasizes the importance of graduality and of adapting to different
stages of formation, ages and circumstances (#53 § 2; 60 § 1).
Insertion in the Local Church: #5 of the Constitutions stipulates that “Legionaries, in
their various apostolic activities, participate in the overall pastoral program
of the local Church.” (See also #4.2o; 14,3o).
Relationship with the Regnum Christi Movement: The General Chapter of the Legion of Christ and the
General Assemblies of the Consecrated Men and Women of Regnum Christi expressed
their desire to be united in the Movement Regnum Christi. The numbers 1,2o;
16; 112 and 130 § 2, which express this desire, show up as not approved. They
will have to await a definitive legislation regarding the canonical
configuration of Regnum Christi. Therevision process of the Statutes of Regnum Christi is
under way, with the expert advice of Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda who is serving as Pontifical Advisor. This issue is projected
to be resolved in the next general chapter of the Legion in the year
2020. (More information regarding the process to define the canonical
configuration of Regnum Christi can be found here.)
Some issues the Constitutions do not address, and
the reasons why
According to Canon Law, the Constitutions contain
the fundamental norms for the governance of the institute and of its members’
discipline, admission, formation and sacred vows. (Cf. Canon Law 587) For
this reason, they are not the place to establish more detailed processes and
procedures or norms that do not hold for all the members.
Safe Environments: The Legion of Christ is firmly committed to preventing
abuse of minors, to responding quickly and responsibly to any accusation that
is presented in this area, to attending to the needs of victims and their
families and to cooperating with civil and ecclesiastical authorities.
Since these policies are in a process of continual improvement and since they
must be in accord with legislation in each country, the text of the
Constitutions is not the place where these policies should be defined.
The Constitutions do offer orientation regarding respectful dealings with
women, children and adolescents (#29). The Legion’s General Chapter
addressed these issues in #32-34 of their communiqué on Government, Authority and Obedience. The
Legion’s website has the most recent policies and the Legion’s Code of Conduct.
Fr. Marcial Maciel: For this reason, the Constitutions are not the place to
address the issue of the founder’s behavior and his relationship to the
congregation. The communiqués published by the Holy See’s press office onMay 19, 2006 and May 1, 2010 clearly distinguish the
Congregation of the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi Movement from the
immoral behavior of their founder. Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz restated
this distinction in a press conference on January 31, 2014: “You
must distinguish between the founder who brings a charism and the charism
itself. This is a distinction we are learning to make because, honestly, it
applies not only in the case of the Legionaries, but we have several similar cases,
both ancient and new. […] Not all founders who bring the church a grace that is
good and beautiful live according to the grace they communicate. This is
something we must recognize. This is how it is.”
In 2010, Pope Benedict began a renewal process in
order to correct the negative influence that the founder’s behavior had on the
Congregation. In this book-interview “Light of the World”, Pope Benedict
affirmed:
To me Marcial Maciel remains a mysterious figure.
There is, on the one hand, a life that, as we now know, was out of moral
bounds—an adventurous, wasted, twisted life. On the other hand, we see the
dynamism and the strength with which he built up the congregation of
Legionaries. Meanwhile we have had an Apostolic Visitation carried out and
appointed a delegate who together with a group of collaborators is preparing
the necessary reforms.
Naturally corrections must be made, but by and
large the congregation is sound. In it there are many young men who
enthusiastically want to serve the faith. This enthusiasm must not be
destroyed. Many of them have been called by a false figure to what is, in the
end, right after all. That is the remarkable thing, the paradox, that a false
prophet, so to speak, could still have a positive effect. New courage must be given
to these numerous young men. A new structure is needed so that they do not fall
between the cracks but are guided correctly so as to be able to continue
performing a service to the Church and to mankind.”
The new constitutional text is the core of the
new structure that Pope Benedict foresaw in the interview just quoted.
From the Legion of Christ’s point of view, the
last General Chapter adopted a position regarding Fr. Maciel on behalf of the
whole congregation on February 6, 2014.
(Emer McCarthy)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét