Regnum Christi

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Regnum Christi (RC) is an internationally active apostolate of the Catholic Church , which is affiliated with the Legionaries of Christ (religious order).

Kingdom of Christ

Regnum Christi (Latin: Kingdom of Christ) was brought into being in 1959 by Marcial Maciel , the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. On November 25, 2004, shortly before the end of the term of office of John Paul II , it was officially approved by the Holy See. The decree of recognition was signed by the Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life , the work of the apostolic work was described below: “Its aim is to build up the kingdom of Christ among men, through the sanctification of its members in the state of life and in the environment, in which God has called them, as well as through a personal and communally organized apostolic work in the service of the Church and her Pastors. The special charisma corresponds to that of the legionaries of Christ and consists in knowing, living and proclaiming the love command of the Savior Jesus Christ, which he brought us in his incarnation. "

Lay movement

Regnum Christi is led by the General Director of the Legionaries of Christ and, according to his own information, has around 70,000 members (as of December 2010). In addition to the laity, there are also consecrated members in the Regnum Christi, whose status as consecrated , however, is derived from membership in another institute of consecrated life or assignment to a diocese . In collaboration with the Legionaries of Christ, RC maintains 40 higher education institutions such as universities and 150 schools. It allegedly coordinates the collaboration of 340,000 active volunteers who work on social programs, family and mission projects, etc. v. a. work.

Criticism of the movement and allegations of abuse in the area of ​​RC

The criticism no longer relates solely to the founder. According to the Pope's assessment, he has also built up a power system in the Order that must be counteracted. The legionaries and RC are also banned in several Catholic dioceses, partly because of their aggressive recruiting methods among children and young people. In the meantime it has also been revealed that other members of the order besides the founder abused boys in several apostolic schools of the order. In the press the children are mostly referred to as underage "seminarians" because the facilities are also referred to as "small seminars". Abuse in schools in Chile, Italy, Spain and the USA is well known. Critics assume that there is a pedophile network around the two communities: "The importance of the visitation becomes explosive through further documents, according to which there should continue to be a" network of pedophiles "within the Order and in Regnum Christi."

Main article : Sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church: Legionaries of Christ

Visitations of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi

By decree of March 10, 2009, the Holy See ordered an extraordinary visitation of the " Legionaries of Christ ". Five bishops investigated for over a year. In a statement dated May 1, 2010, the Holy See expressed clear criticism of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. The results of the visitation made it clear that a reorganization of the order was inevitable. The congregation needed purification. Accordingly, a delegate was placed in front of the Order , Archbishop Cardinal Velasio De Paolis CS , who leads the community on behalf of the Pope. He was installed for an indefinite period and is intended to reorganize the congregation. The latest measure is the prohibition of the personality cult around the order's founder Maciel.

The problem also affects the lay organization of the legionaries, which was also founded and shaped by Maciel. The Pope appoints a visitor to Regnum Christi as well. In a message from Vatican Radio it is said that the visitor Ricardo Blazquez wants to approach the Visiation calmly: "Hurry is not good advice," said Blazquez. Therefore, the whole visitation should be carried out in a "reasonable time".

Web links

Commons : Regnum Christi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Christian Modehn: A corrupt Founder. M. Maciel and the Legionaries of Christ. Radio broadcast. In: NDR INFO. Sunday, August 1st, 6:05 am to 6:30 am and 5:05 pm to 5:30 pm. NDR , July 27, 2010, accessed December 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Declaration of the Holy See on the apostolic visitation of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ of May 1, 2010 ( Memento of July 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Message from Radio Vatican of December 13, 2010. Vatican: No more pictures of Father Maciel
  4. ↑ Vatican Radio: Visitation of Regnum Christi