I think he is going forward with applying for laicization.
That may be harder to get than secularization. Pope Benedict is only giving them if have have been involved in a sexual scandal. Otherwise, it can take years. Secularization for religious in simple vows is easier to get, because it’s granted by the superior general, not the Holy See. The LC are in simple vows, not solemn. But if you request secularization, then you have to find a diocese to take you in. Either way that you slice it, it’s very hard on the person.
He doesn’t seem to have any doubts, although I’m not sure that is such a good sign. But he has been dealing with this since last February, when the Legion announced the proof of Maciel’s fathering a daughter.
I pray that he does have doubts. It’s healthier, unless he has already gone through that stage of the discernment process and is on the other side.
I guess it’s taken me a while to understand how “specialilzed” a vocation to an Order is,
Most lay people do not understand this. Because most lay people do not understand the difference between a vocation to religious life and a vocation to the priesthood. They are not the same. When a man or woman has a strong call to the religious life, his entire identity is changed. He becomes a Jesuit, an LC, a Franciscan, Dominican and so forth. It’s not something you do. It’s who you are. You view the world and faith through the eyes of the religioius institutes filters. This is the way that it’s supposed to be.
and how important the founder is to that Order and the vocations he inspires.
The founder does not inspire the vocation. The call comes from Christ. But the founder is the voice of Christ. When the founder falls from grace it throws the entire religious family into chaos. People begin to question if they truly heard Christ or someome else and became confused. They question themselves and their choice.
The founder is also the father or mother of a religious family. This is like discovering that your revered father, whom you love and trust, has been cheating on your mother. The house of glass comes chrashing down on your head. In some communities, more than in others, the devotion to the founder is very strong and fostered. This is the case with the monastic orders and others such as Francisans, Jesuits and Discalced Carmelites. From the moment that you walk in the door you lay down your life in the hands of the founder. I can understand the horror of not having that raft underneath you. I can’t even imagine what we would feel like if someone said that Francis of Assisi was not everything that we believe him to be. I don’t even want to think about it. It sounds like idolatry, but it’s not. It’s really about great love, admiration and leadership. You trust the founder as your guide to Christ.
I guess it’s not so simple to just transfer to another Order,
Unless it’s somethign that you are called to do, it’s very hard to do.
and the Diocesan life is quite different.
Of course it is. A diocesan priest is not a religioius. He is a secular man. He is not a consecrated man nor does he live a consecrated life. When you take away the vows, the constitutions, the community life, the structure, the spirituality, you left with nothing and you’re on your own. Diocesan priests do not have a religious identity or even understand what it feels like to live a life consecrated to Christ. The concept is foreign to them. They undestand it theoretically, but not from experience. They don’t live this way. They don’t have authority. They don’t have poverty. They don’t have chastity. The evangelical counsels bind you to Christ, the Church and your brothers in a very intimate way. As a diocesan priest, you’re on your own to develop your relationship with Christ, the Church and others as you see fit and as it meets your needs, not the needs of othes or according to a tradition. For those who find the intimacy and the discipline of the consecrated life oppressive, it’s a liberating transition. But to those who find the structures and demands of the religious life liberating, becoming a diocesan priest is like being thrown out of an airplane without a parachute. You have no clue what to do, how to get your spiritual life in working order again.
I also wonder if he had a vocation at all, because it seems that the Legion in general “put the hard sell” on these young men, and did not have a very good process for truly discerning a vocation. I think they used a certain amount of false “guilt” in keeping these young men in the order.
I don’t know how they do formation. But I don’t think it works the same way in everyone. I heard an LC priest talking the other day. He seemed very happy and well adjusted. I can’t remember his name. He just put out a book called, “Do we still trust Jesus Christ?”
My brother can barely remember the early days, when he initially made his decision to join. I find that rather odd, because I can clearly remember those early decisions as to where to go to college, what to study, and why. It’s all a blur for him.
Sometimes, part of the grieving process is blocking oiut the painful memories. I think that’s common to everyone: whether you lose your spouse or are a religiousin free fall, etc.
I will keep Father in my prayers.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
