In his message, Fr. John Connor, L.C., General Director of the Congregation, invites everyone to continue expressing love for the Holy Father, Vicar of Christ, whom He has entrusted to guide the Church with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
On February 22, 2023, the liturgical feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, which gives thanks to God for the mission entrusted to the apostle Saint Peter and his successors, the General Director of the Legionaries of Christ, Father John Connor, L.C., reminded the Legionaries of the importance of adhering to the Holy Father with filial love, as love for the Church and the pope is an essential axis of Legionary spirituality, which is manifested in knowing His teachings well. He also invited them to pray that Our Lord Jesus Christ guide the Supreme Pontiff in his mission as pastor of the universal Church.
The letter begins by recalling the primacy of Peter, since the Gospels highlight Simon Peter, a fisherman from Bethsaida in Galilee, as a figure of special prominence among the twelve apostles. Jesus calls him, along with his brother Andrew, while they were fishing on the shores of the lake, inviting them to become “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). From that moment, Simon holds a prominent place among the apostles, witnessing crucial moments in Jesus’ life, such as the resurrection of Jairo’s daughter (cf. Mk 5:37), the Transfiguration on Tabor (cf. Mt 17:1), the agony in Gethsemane (cf. Mk 14:33), among others.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mt 16:18-19)
The message continues with the magisterium of the successor of Peter, which manifests, in a special way, in the authority of his teaching and magisterium. To fulfill the service of guiding the People of God in the truth that sets free, “Christ has endowed pastors with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals today” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 890). Especially, the successor of Peter, Head of the Episcopal College, enjoys infallibility when he proclaims definitively a doctrine of faith or morals.
The letter concludes by emphasizing that, together with the entire tradition of the Church, there has always been a special veneration and adherence to the Holy Father within the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ. The Constitutions call on the Legionaries to adhere “with filial love to the Roman Pontiff,” to study and “spread his teachings, put into practice not only his mandates but also his orientations, promote his initiatives, and defend with courage the charisma of his primacy and magisterium” (CLC, 14, 2nd paragraph).
Like every Catholic faithful, the Legionary, and the member of Regnum Christi is called to give the religious assent of understanding and will to the ordinary and authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff. Strive to know such doctrine, understand it, assimilate it, act upon it, and spread it.
We invite you to read the full letter:
