ROME
Vatican Insider
No peace for the movement now seeking new leaders
Andrés Beltramo Álvarez
Vatican City
The female branch of the Catholic movement Regnum Christi is seeking a few things. These days, the consecrated women must choose their new superior – but that is the least of their problems. For them, the real challenge will be to regain the serenity lost in an internal crisis that some members have been unable to withstand, falling into chronic physical illness or depression.
The “Regno” (as is well-known by now) is undergoing reforms, as are the Legionaries of Christ, the congregation it is tied to. The two institutions have been going through a true dark night of the soul because of the immoral actions of their founder, the Mexican priest Marcial Maciel Degollado. This has been publicly acknowledged by Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, the delegate appointed by the Pope to complete the transformation.
The crisis struck the Legion first, and then spread to Regnum Christi. In recent months, De Paolis pushed for some changes in the movement, but then lost control of the situation. Over the past three years, more than 200 consecrated have abandoned the work, but many others find themselves on the outside of their communities for the purposes of discernment.
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