VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service
Vatican City, 9 January 2014 (VIS) – Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, C.S., Pontifical Delegate for the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, yesterday celebrated the Mass for the opening of the Extraordinary General Chapter of the Legionaries of Christ. The mass, celebrated in the Centre for Higher Studies of the Legion of Christ, was preceded by a Novena to the Holy Spirit in which all the Legionaries participated, and a week-long retreat for the Chapter fathers.
Following a path of renewal, which has lasted three and a half years and had a precise mandate from the Holy Father Benedict XVI, the Chapter will appoint the new government of the congregation, and approve the new constitutions.
In his homily, Cardinal De Paolis stressed that the revision of the constitutions “cannot simply be considered a technical effort, but should be accompanied by a process of examination of life, of review and of spiritual renewal for the institute”. Therefore, it cannot be regarded simply as a “code of laws”, that unites them “only in discipline”, but rather as “an expression of a common vocation, a common ideal, a common mission, a common path to healing”.
Referring to the appointment of the new government of the institution, the Cardinal repeated that its primary duty “is to preserve and promote the Institute’s charism; the charism is only guaranteed when authority is exercised as service, in the spirit of the Gospel and in fidelity to the norms of the Church. It is a point which should always be given special attention, especially for you, who have a history of suffering in this regard. It is important not to forget that. And this has been a topic about which the new constitutional text has been careful and vigilant”.
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