The female branch of the Catholic movement Regnum Christi is on the hunt for a number of 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 is the Legion 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 women have abandoned their positions, but many others have left their communities temporarily to reflect and decide whether to stay or not.
Attempting to move forward with reform, the cardinal appointed one of his advisers, the Italian cleric Agostino Montan, as temporary Superior of the consecrated. He was forced to take the helm after the stormy exit of the previous leader, Malen Oriol. The latter submitted his resignation in February and, with a group of women, founded a new community in Chile called “Totus tuus.”
This was Regno’s first formal fracture - a situation that has particularly angered Velasio De Paolis, because the new community’s foundation was preceded by a heated internal debate involving a tangle of critics, exchanges of letters, and even accusations of treason against those who had abandoned Regnum Christi to form the new group.
Montán acknowledged an “initial time of consternation,” but also clarified that, in any case, “Totus Tuus” has nothing to do with Regnum Christi and its consecrated members, because the latter clearly has its own identity, charism, mission, and spirituality.
He said this in a letter dated 1 April, in which he also announced meetings for the election of the new “general manager” and four advisors. During the month of April, more than 700 female religious throughout the world were required to send to Rome, in a sealed envelope, a name selected for each one of these positions. He indicated that, by mid-May, the new general government should be ready.
“Church law, rich in experience and realism, requires the abstention from any abuse in the elections and, having in mind only God and the good of the institution, the choosing of those considered truly worthy and appropriate in the Lord,” indicated Montán in the text.
He also stated that the new General Government, with local assistants, would create a plan for pastoral year 2012-2013, while the rest of the leaders, who will also include new “territorial leaders,” with their respective advisers, will be chosen after a comprehensive consultation that will begin later this year - or later, in January 2013.
One of Montán and De Paolis’ biggest concerns seems to be to avoid a further exodus of religious. For this reason, Montán stressed that “without unravelling the bonds of prayer and friendship, the consecrated women of Regnum Christi, at this historic time, will avoid attending or soliciting invitations to attend meetings (of ‘Totus Tuus’).”
This advice is in addition to another recommendation by De Paolis, who in a February letter asks former consecrated to avoid “proselytizing” among women who chose to remain in the movement. According to several witnesses, the superiors of some Regno houses have interpreted these directions as if they were orders, prohibiting any contact with old friends.
There is the story of a young woman who was almost expelled from her community after attending a meeting with her friends from “Totus Tuus”: the superior would have allowed her to get her things, but not to sleep for a final night in the residence where she had lived just a few hours before.
There are also other cases, which many consecrated persons told the papal delegate in Mexico about during a private conference on 27 February, where members of the movement showed signs of suffering from the crisis, saying they felt insecure because of the various intrigues that were going on, and suffering from illness and depression.
The crisis cannot be denied, and it continues to cause desertions - some quite controversial.
The most recent such incident involved Nieves Garcia Horcaja, who left Regnum Christi on 28 April after 28 years as a consecrated. She submitted her official resignation letter, accusing the current superiors of the Legionaries of Christ of not wanting to seek the truth.
In an open letter, she wrote: “My poor reasoning was very simple. If this man (Marcial Maciel), whom I hope God has accepted in His mercy, and for whom I still pray, deceived us and was the founder of Regnum Christi, we must, of course, question everything he has done, because all of it came from him: charism, methodology, spirituality ... everything. After a short time, it was a very great surprise to me; I saw that there was a group of superiors who were not willing to seek out the truth. I witnessed their lies, and not just on one occasion. And I started to doubt. How can I obey people who lie? God is not the father of lies. And my conscience, where is it? I clung to it, and the light of truth began to make itself seen – bringing much pain, but also filling me with peace, a peace that the world cannot break. That was the way.”
Explosive words.