BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Decree says papal delegate
will supervise Legion from
top to bottom for the Pope -
but leadership remains





July 23, 2010 - The papal delegate to the Legion of Christ, Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, is the person responsible for the Congregation. Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone clarified this in a decree sent to the Order to explain the delegate's role.

Velasio De Paolis exercises authority on behalf of the Pope over all the Legionaries of Christ, from its general director Alvaro Corcuera to its last religious.

While De Paolis is delegate, the superiors of the institute will remain in office, but will have to run their decisions by the papal delegate. He will then decide whether or not to approve them.

The delegate can denounce acts of the superiors of the institute if he considers it necessary. The Holy See reserves the ability to relieve the superiors without having to explain why.

Bertone clarified in the document that the main task of the delegate is to “direct, monitor and carry out the revision of the Constitutions.”

Bertone says that a committee must be formed “as soon as possible” to review the Constitution. De Paolis will chair the committee and it will include participation of all the members of the Congregation.

If the delegate sees the need to study and broaden certain topics, whether of people or things, study commissions can be undertaken.

De Paolis will not be alone in developing this work. He will enlist the help of four close advisers, who have yet to be named. The advisers specifically will visit other communities.

This decree, reviewed by Benedict XVI, leaves no doubt of the role of Archbishop Velasio De Paolis. He will have the important task of solving the grave problems caused by the congregation's founder
Marcial Maciel.


The above report is apparently based on a copy of the decree signed by Cardinal Bertone on July 9 and published today on the website of Regnum Christi,

www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?se=362&ca=966&te=707&id=30420&cse...
the lay arm of the LC [possibly also on the LC main site itself, but I have not chekced it out]. Here is Regnum Christi's unofficial translation of the original decree in Italian:

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DECREE
MODALITIES OF FULFILLMENT
OF THE OFFICE OF PAPAL DELEGATE
FOR THE CONGREGATION OF THE LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST

I. In his letter of June 16, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI:

- appointed His Excellency Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, CS, Titular Archbishop of Telepte and President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, as his Delegate for the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ;

- conferred on him the responsibility of governing this religious institute in his name “for as long as it takes to complete its path of renewal and lead it to the celebration of an extraordinary general chapter, whose main purpose will be to bring to completion the revision of the Constitutions”;

- considered the “need and urgency of a path of in-depth revision of the Institute’s charism” and expressed his “desire closely to accompany, sustain, and guide this process” through his own personal Delegate for that Religious Family, who would both be a concrete sign of his closeness and act in his name;

- left for a specific Decree “some further modalities regarding the fulfillment of this Office”.

II. Now, by this Decree, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State, issues the following specifications and instructions approved by the Supreme Pontiff regarding the modalities in which the Papal Delegate for the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ will fulfill his Office:

1. The broad authority granted by the Holy Father to the Papal Delegate, to be exercised in the name of the Supreme Pontiff himself, covers the entire institute. It extends over all the superiors at the various levels (general, provincial, and local), all communities, and the individual religious. This authority regards all the problems proper to the religious Institute and the Delegate may always exercise it when in his judgment it is necessary for the good of the institute itself, even overruling the Constitutions.

2. The superiors of the Institute at every level exercise their authority according to the Constitutions and under the authority of the same Papal Delegate. Therefore, they remain in their positions, ad nutum Sanctae Sedis, unless it becomes necessary to provide otherwise.

3. The Institute’s superiors are to act in communion with the Papal Delegate. He is to be informed of the life of the institute, in particular the most important matters, and in addition, only he can approve the decisions of the general government itself: decisions regarding persons (admission to novitiate, profession, priesthood; appointment and transfer of personnel); apostolic and formation choices (seminaries, academic institutions, schools), and extraordinary administrative matters or the disposal of assets.

4. If necessary, the Delegate himself may act firsthand or indicate the decision to be made in specific instances.

5. Everyone has open access to the Delegate and all can deal personally with him. The Delegate, in turn, has the power to intervene wherever he sees fit, including in the internal government of the Institute, on all levels.

6. As he goes about his task, the Delegate will have four personal advisors to aid him in carrying out his work according to the circumstances and possibilities. These aides may be assigned specific tasks, particularly visits ad referendum. With their help, the Papal Delegate will identify, discuss, and clarify the principal topics as they arise during the process he is called to lead.

7. Whenever it becomes evident that certain topics, regarding either persons or things, need to be studied more deeply, the Papal Delegate may appoint study committees using either personnel internal to the Congregation of the Legionaries or competent external persons.

8. At his own discretion, when it seems opportune or necessary, he may select someone other than his advisors to study a point or make a visit ad referendum.

9. The paramount task of the Papal Delegate is to initiate, accompany, and complete the revision of the Constitutions. This implies a profound knowledge of the Congregation of the Legionaries, their history and development. All members of the Institute must collaborate in the revision of the Constitutions, both as individuals and communities, following a plan to be drawn up and activated from the outset. Therefore, a Commission for the revision of the Constitutions is to be created as soon as possible on the various levels of the Institute, with the participation especially of the members of the Institute itself, who must feel personally responsible for revising and rewriting their own plan of gospel living, always in harmony with the teaching of the Church. The president of the central Commission for the revision of the Constitutions will be the Papal Delegate himself.

10. The Papal Delegate coordinates the Apostolic Visitation to the Regnum Christi Movement, following the indication of the Holy See.

11. Appeals against acts of the superiors of the Institute will be directed to the Papal Delegate himself; regarding acts of the Papal Delegate, it will be possible to appeal to the Holy Father.

From the Vatican, July 9, 2010

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Secretary of State

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What does it say of the regular Vaticanistas that it takes ROME REPORTS to give the first news of Cardinal Bertone's implementing decree - which was not otherwise released by the Vatican itself? It's not as if they are overworked with their regular coverage - it's the summer doldrums and the Pope is on vacation! Even the usually super-motivated John Allen used his weekly column today
ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/vatican-literacy-quiz
for a 10-question trivia quiz - not so trivial really - to test entry-level knowledge about the Catholic Church that an aspiring religious beat reporter should know, at the very least! In other words, he had apparently found nothing to report... And all the while, there was this decree from Cardinal Bertone...

However, expect a lot of flak - from outside the Church and from staunch Catholic commentators like George Weigel and Sandro Magister - for the decision to leave the current LC leadership in place! Granted they are all directly answerable to Mons. De Paolis now, the implementing decree is hardly the clean sweep that would have been commensurate to the Augean stables that the LC leadership had become! Obviously, the Holy Father is giving them a chance to redeem themselves, but as a layman looking on, it looks like they are getting a reprieve for all their apparent cover-up and lying - or at the very least, lack of good faith - all these years about Fr. Maciel.