Rome, January 31, 2011. Today, the Legionaries of Christ announced that the Pontifical Delegate for the congregation, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, C.S., has established the “Commission of Reconciliation,” as announced in his letter of October 19, 2010.
The commission will have two main tasks. First, it will listen to individuals who, because of Father Marcial Maciel or in relation to him, request actions from the Legionaries of Christ congregation. Then, it will prepare a detailed report which will be submitted to the Pontifical Delegate who, assisted by his advisors, will make decisions about what the Legion of Christ should do in each case.
To ensure the objectivity and impartiality of the commission’s work, it is chaired by Mons. Mario Marchesi, one of the Pontifical Delegate’s personal advisors, and composed of four additional members: the Legionary priests Florencio Sánchez (Chaplain of the Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid) and Eduardo Robles-Gil (Director of a section of the Regnum Christi Movement in Mexico City), and two external experts: Don Silverio Nieto Núñez, a priest of the Madrid archdiocese, former judge and magistrate who now directs the Civil Legal Service of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, and Dr. Jorge Adame Goddard, a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Legal Research of UNAM and professor at the Faculty of Law of the Pan-American University in Mexico City.
Individuals who wish to be heard by the commission can contact the following address, briefly explaining the situation they wish to present:
Postal mail:
Commission of Reconciliation
c/o Legionaries of Christ
Via Aurelia, 677
I – 00165 Rome
Email: acercamiento@legionaries.org
The decree establishing the commission states that it will not handle cases unrelated to Father Marcial Maciel and will not intervene in cases pending resolution by civil or ecclesiastical courts.
When presenting the Legionaries of Christ with the “Commission of Reconciliation,” Father Álvaro Corcuera, L.C., emphasized that its purpose is “to continue addressing with seriousness and responsibility our recent history regarding Father Marcial Maciel’s conduct and the implications and consequences it has had on some people. We want, as far as humanly possible, to close this chapter in its most painful aspects, seek reconciliation, and ensure that justice and charity prevail.”
At the same time, the general director of the Legionaries of Christ urged everyone to accompany the work of this commission with their prayers so that all the work carried out is supported by God’s grace and thus a true good can be achieved for the people involved and their families.
