Legio Christi: anyone heard of them? are they Catholic?

[Londoner]

Hi, all. I had never heard of Legio Christi until today. They are not to be confused with the Legion of Christ. I stumbled upon this group as there is a CAF member who has a Legio Christi emblem as their avatar and I was curious to know what it was about. My questions are, how many people have actually heard of Legio Christi, and is it a Catholic organisation?

Here they are online: Legio Christi

Although their literature makes references to some other branches of Christianity, mainly Eastern Orthodox, but some Oriental Orthodox and Protestant, most of their material seems to be very much in the Catholic tradition. Overall, it seems that the articles on their website are clearly written from a (kind of) Catholic perspective and largely address Catholic concerns.

They sound eccentric at best. Their stated aim is to try to return to the kind of society that existed in the 18th century. They advocate a monarchical/aristocratic constitution or, as an alternative, an authoritarian, nationalistic republic. There is an article on the website in praise of Franco, comparing him with the judges in the Bible. Apparently they believe in ‘Faith, Family, and Folk’. Although they do, to their credit, reject fascism as such, that word ‘Folk’ surely has ethnonationalist overtones.

Their official reading and watching lists are a mixed bag. Perfectly sound material (the Bible, the Catechism, the Church Fathers) sits alongside the eccentric (from The Hobbit to Colonel Gaddafi’s Green Book) and the downright unpleasant. Luther’s On the Jews and Their Lies is prescribed reading. So is What World Famous Men Said about the Jews by Edward R. Fields. The notorious documentary film Marching to Zion is also prescribed.

There’s also a bizarre section on their site about homosexuality which goes way beyond anything that is orthodox Christian teaching. There are scientific claims that are either contradictory, based on hopelessly outdated research, based on very selective evidence, or just plain wrong. There’s also a section about homosexuality being degenerate which is based on a totally unrepresentative sample of materials. There are a couple of examples on there which are simply jokes or hoaxes, e.g. cocktails made with semen and the student who lost his virginity in front of a live audience as performance art.

Just curious to know what anyone else thinks of them and what experience anyone has of them.

Cheers.

 

[Ann_Stanton]

I had never heard of them until I read the link you posted. Their website does not look “Catholic”. They appear to want to go back to an earlier time period. I would not want to join them. I like the present very much.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

You need a warning on that website. It has very graphic photos

Reading their goals

We must rebuild the Aristocracy which the revolutionary spirit has either killed or made complacent to the new order.

What do we believe in

We consider Monarchy, whether hereditary or elective, to be the ideal form of government. A natural aristocracy has a vested interest to protect the commoners, just as the commoners have a vested interest to keep a ruling class whose lives are fully devoted to protecting the kingdom from harm. Authoritarian, nationalistic governments represent an acceptable Republican alternative due to their adherence to natural social hierarchy and condemnation of the false notion of equality, promulgated during and after the French Revolution.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

After reading your description, I’m not even going to bother looking at their website as they sound like a horror show.

 

[mVitus]

Same. They sound like a Catholic in Name only kind of organization that has a very warped perspective on what Catholicism looks like. We’re not an immovable monument, but a living body. Different situations call for different approaches.

@Londoner when they listed The Hobbit, did they list it for entertainment or something else? You mentioned it as eccentric hence my curiosity because IMO, it’s a good book.

 

[Londoner]

Apologies for being slow to reply. I’ve been taking time away from the internet to focus on studying Acts without distractions.

Their website does not look “Catholic”.

They look Catholic insofar as they have posts about Pope Francis, sedevacantism (they are against it), apparitions of Our Lady, history of Catholicism in Spain, there’s a photo of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, etc., but I’m guessing the are a group of oddballs who wouldn’t get any endorsement from the hierarchy.

You need a warning on that website.

Apologies. Apparently I can’t edit my own post.

when they listed The Hobbit , did they list it for entertainment or something else? You mentioned it as eccentric hence my curiosity because IMO, it’s a good book.

Oh, what I meant was that it seemed weird to be recommending that their members should read something as innocent as The Hobbit alongside some pretty disgusting antisemitic propaganda. I don’t think it was being recommended as entertainment per se. It’s on the “general section” of the “official reading list” alongside the works of Homer, Plato’s Republic, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot by Russell Kirk, treatises on political philosophy by Joseph de Maistre, and so on.

Overall, it’s reassuring to know that everyone here who’s replied thinks they sound very odd and not at all representative of the Church.

 

[halogirl]

They sound cuckoo - avoid xx

 

[lingui5t]

This isn’t particularly un-Catholic…

 

[Roseeurekacross]

@lingl5t
which bit

@londoner no worries mate.
were you able to find out anymore

 

[help1]

They might be Catholics, though they seem like the ultra-traditionalist types that denounce any smidgen of modernity, I’m sure they do not think favorably of the Second Vatican Council or Pope Francis. There’s nothing wrong with holding true to traditional teachings, but it’s not like the Pope doesn’t do this. A distinction must be made between those that adhere to Catholic teaching and those that are quite radical for other purposes, sentimentalists for the time before democracy came about. I think they’re cuckoos personally, singing praises of people like Francisco Franco and recommending blatantly anti-semitic reading material. I think they’re the kind that think the Church never made any mistakes (until the Second Vatican Council I suppose).

My opinion is different, the Church was not always right throughout history. That’s why Pope Saint John Paul II made apologies.

 

[lingui5t]

There isn’t any part of the following that is un-Catholic:

Reading their goals
We must rebuild the Aristocracy which the revolutionary spirit has either killed or made complacent to the new order.

What do we believe in
We consider Monarchy, whether hereditary or elective, to be the ideal form of government. A natural aristocracy has a vested interest to protect the commoners, just as the commoners have a vested interest to keep a ruling class whose lives are fully devoted to protecting the kingdom from harm. Authoritarian, nationalistic governments represent an acceptable Republican alternative due to their adherence to natural social hierarchy and condemnation of the false notion of equality, promulgated during and after the French Revolution.

They are political statements, and they don’t condone any politics that are decried by the Church (such as socialism, etc)

 

[help1]

Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.

Nostra aetate

The website recommends blatantly anti-semitic reading material.

 

[TechieGuy]

Their stated aim is to try to return to the kind of society that existed in the 18th century. They advocate a monarchical/aristocratic constitution or, as an alternative, an authoritarian, nationalistic republic.

Yeah? Well I want a pony…

 

[lingui5t]

What was pasted in this thread above was not anti-Catholic.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

And how did Jesus deal with the hierachy of society. who would Jesus consider an ideal form of Government.

the term ‘commoners’ vs ‘aristocracy’ doesn’t exactly follow the equal under God theology.

they claim equality is a false notion, and are promoting pre french revolution monarchism.

shouldn’t their aim be to restore the country to the catholic faith, rather then restore the country to a haves and have nots.

 

[lingui5t]

who would Jesus consider an ideal form of Government.

Sigh…
A monarchy, with Christ as King.
The only times that God has ever set up or acknowledged a system of government in the Bible are monarchies or otherwise unrepresentative systems. Democracies are not part of Christianity and need not be. The Church has gotten on quite swimmingly with monarchs in history.

I hope you mean optimal and not ideal, since the ideal can’t be attained.

the term ‘commoners’ vs ‘aristocracy’ doesn’t exactly follow the equal under God theology.

There are proper places for certain people that are not proper for everyone, in every society in history. Not everyone in an entire nation is an astronaut or a college professor or a Senator. Oh no! Are they unequal under God? Oh no!

shouldn’t their aim be to restore the country to the catholic faith, rather then restore the country to a haves and have nots.

So much wrong with this.

First, one can have goals that are not religious goals. “Shouldn’t your aim be to raise your children in Christianity rather than enroll them in physical education programs?” Plus, I do believe the Catholic faith plays a part of this group’s goals… which is how it ended up on this forum in the first place.

Second, do you believe that non-monarchical countries actually solve the “issue” of haves and have-nots? Particularly when the thing that is “had-or-not-had” is political power? How much political power do you feel you actually have at the moment?

 

[Inquisitor_rex]

Funny, if you’re going to create a gossip thread about me and the organization I help with I would recommend at least PMing me rather than trying to poison the well in a public manner. I am absolutely happy to discuss our positions which are admittedly not contained in the overton window. You think we are the past, I think we are the future. I’ll make a further response once I’ve gotten some rest.

Pax Christi and God bless!

 

[SeriousQuestion]

This thread isn’t very charitable.

 

[Inquisitor_rex]

This thread isn’t very charitable.

However, --ever so defiant of CAF form – I won’t even bother flagging it. I’d rather have a dialogue since by some of his previous statements I can imagine Londoner thinks that’s the only Church position that matters these days .

 

[Londoner]

My apologies. I didn’t PM you because I couldn’t remember your name, so in creating the thread I was hoping that somebody would see it and say, ‘Oh, that’s me, let me explain’, or, ‘I think the person you’re thinking of is x, y, or z’.