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	Legion - Cultural Dynamics By Joan Frawley Desmond The Cathoholic February 22, 2009 http://www.thecathoholic.com/the_cathoholic/2009/02/legion-cultural-dynamics.html In the course of researching an article on the Legion of Christ, I have spoken with many ex-Legion priests from the United States about the reasons they left the order. One issue they mentioned is the cultural tensions between Americans and Mexicans in the Legion. I have not addressed this problem before because it's not an easy topic to discuss. Such problems are not uncommon in any religious order that draws recruits across national boundaries. When the MIssionaries of Charity sought a successor for Mother Teresa, I recall some reports about tensions within the order regarding the nationality of various candidates, and even, in the case of Indian sisters, their caste . In the end, the Missionaries chose a wonderful woman that I, for one, deeply respect -- Sister Nirmala. However, it's interesting to note that despite the many Indians in the order, and the large contingent of Europeans and Americans, the founder's successor was not an Indian or a Westerner, but a Nepalese convert. The point is: cultural values matter even in Catholic communities anchored in a faith that transcended such distinctions from its foundations. Cultural values shape human interactions,the handling of money, tolerance of corruption, management styles, and the prosecution of evildoers. Several ex-Legion priests said they left in part because their Legion superiors ignored their concerns about a host of issues--from financial accountability to the double standard that permitted Father Maciel to operate outside the Legion's norms. When one U.S. priest shared his concerns with another superior, he was admonished not to judge a "Mexican reality with an Anglo-Saxon mentality." He responded: "I am judging a Christian reality with a Christian mentality." I am raising this issue because it may surface in the months ahead, as the Legion begins to investigate the possibility that others abetted the founder's misdeeds. Any attempt to "name names" will be complicated by differing cultural interpretations of the Legion's institutional culture, and of specific acts of omission and comission. If the priests close to Father Maciel ignored unexplained absences and troubling inconsistencies, did their silence signal respect for a beloved founder or a profound lack of courage? Compassion for the failings of a spiritual father, or the amoral indifference of fellow travellers? These days, Americans in general are obsessed with "transparency." At times, this preoccupation has more to do with process, than substance. At times, this preoccupation with clarity, efficiency and individual rights appears brutish and antiseptic to Latinos, who value discretion and believe that the family (the Legion?) has greater claims on personal loyalty. But Catholics in the United States also have learned the danger of skirting the truth to "avoid scandal." Ex-Legion priests and bystanders offer a variety of explanations for the Legion's apparent difficulty with making full apologies and acknowledging the scope of the accusations raised against the founder.. One Latin American friend didn't try to excuse the Legion's strategy, but explained that Mexicans prefer subtle methods of signaling dismay, not public pronouncements that make headlines. However, one former Legionary who once stumbled into the dark corners of Maciel's legacy in Mexico, argued that the founder fostered a cult of personality with the intention of discouraging independent moral judgment. All of this suggests that any attempt to justify the order's silence as a legitimate approach - within the context of Mexican social norms -- ignores the truth that the late Pope John Paul II shared with the world: cultural practices can be employed as a shield for misdeeds. I do not write this with any sense of smugness as an American (first-generation, with a Nicaraguan grandmother). The church in the United States has paid out over $2 billion to victims of clergy sexual abuse. We know the church both here and abroad is an earthen vessel; there will be more scandals to come, until the Bridegroom returns for his Bride. Only the hope that comes from faith in Jesus Christ allows us to continue. And within the Legion, a new found sense of hope will arise from the willingness of its superiors to strip away everything and dare to confront what lies at the heart of their community. If the truth and love of Christ reside there, the Legion will go on in some form. And maybe, as the "reforming" of the order moves forward, there will be a place for that irritating American preoccupation - you know, transparency.
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