Legionaries of Christ © Wolfgang Radtke (KNA)
Pope Francis has called on the Legionaries of Christ community to continue on its path out of a years-long abuse crisis. The pope found praise for the new overall statutes of the community.
However, there are still several stages ahead, Francis wrote in a greeting on Saturday. He addressed them to the participants of a general chapter of the Legionaries taking place in Rome.
The assembly of leadership and delegates of the order, which has been meeting since January, had announced a more decisive approach against sexual abuse. During the General Chapter, which is now ending, appropriate documents were adopted and a new leadership was elected with the Superior John Connor (51).
The head of the church certified the community after the scandals around order founder Marcial Maciel Degollado (1920-2008) a "change of mentality". One cannot deny its merits as founder, but by its "criminal behavior" and its "double life" Maciel had harmed the church.
New overall statutes
Francis praised the new overall statutes that have applied to the "Regnum Christi" federation since 2019. It includes, in addition to the legionaries, the corresponding communities of non-priestly consecrated persons and lay people. The statutes are "truly new" and the result of years of hard work, the Pope stressed. This was only possible because all those involved recognized the "real need for renewal". This "path of true discernment" must now be continued. For there is still much to be done.
According to the Legionnaires, they currently number around 1.540 members in 21 countries. The most recent General Chapter took place in 2014. After Maciel's moral lapses came to light and in view of deficiencies in the internal governance structures, Pope Benedict XVI had. Ordered sweeping reforms in 2010. The community has since distanced itself from its founder.