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	Legion-Who Is in Charge? By Joan Frawley Desmond The Cathoholic February 25, 2009 http://www.thecathoholic.com/the_cathoholic/2009/02/legionwho-is-in-charge.html Once again, the long-awaited statement from the Legion of Christ has been delayed. According to press reports, the statement was expected to establish an authoritative narrative and clarify disputed points regarding recent disclosures that the order's founder, Father Marcial Maciel maintained a mistress and fathered a child. It was also expected to set up a plan for dealing with the Legion's on-going problems with establishing its future course and reviewing its charism in the wake of the crisis. Even Legion priests aren't sure why the statement has been delayed. And some members of the order now question whether the document is being issued by the Legion or the Curia, where a number of powerful cardinals are weighing in with their specific concerns. In other words, who is in charge? If the Curia is running the show, it must be frustrating and disheartening for the Legion. With every passing day, the silence builds up more pressure on the order and increases the perception of institutional paralysis, arising from the members veneration of a founder who led a double life. The lack of authoritative information regarding the order's status and future plans has created a vacuum that is being filled by others who have no ultimate authority over the order's affairs. This week,after meeting with the Legion's director general, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore expressed concerns about the Legion, and signaled his reservations about the order's approach to religious formation. Published in the archdiocesan paper, Catholic Review, the article stated that Archbishop O'Brien was "[c]oncerned that the Legion of Christ stifles the free will of its members and lacks transparency, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien told the religious order’s director general that he cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone join the Legion or Regnum Christi, its affiliated lay movement."
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