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Regnum Christi is an international lay ecclesial movement associated with the Legion of Christ, founded by Fr. Marcial Maciel. Regnum Christi is a movement of lay Roman Catholics who are dedicated to promoting the Catholic faith. Their motto is "Love Christ, Serve People, Build the Church". Regnum Christi is criticized for the conservative political views of its members and the strict demands it places upon them.

Contents 1 History 2 Relationship with the Legion of Christ 3 Activities of its Members 4 Criticism and Controversy 4.1 Allegations of Sexual Abuse 5 External links 6 References

Fr. Maciel wrote the first draft of the statutes for Regnum Christi in 1959. On November 25th, 2004 the Pope, then Pope John Paul II, personally approved the statutes of the movement. These statutes define the goals, spirituality and structure of the movement. It was an unprecedented move for the Pope to personally approve the statutes since it is typical for the approval to be given by the proper Vatican congregations. This is viewed as a sign of Pope John Paull II's favor for Fr. Maciel since it was announced on the 60th anniversary of Fr. Maciel's ordination.

Regnum Christi is directly tied to the Legion of Christ but is a separate entity within the Catholic Church. The nature of the association is that each member of the Legionaries of Christ is first a member of Regnum Christi and then a member of the Legion of Christ. A priest of the Legion is considered to be a 3rd degree member of Regnum Christi. One of the primary tasks of Legionaries is to direct the activities of Regnum Christ and to teach, train and give spiritual direction to the members.

Members of Regnum Christi make a commitment to specific daily prayers and meditation, weekly meetings and annual spiritual retreats. They are also required to work actively in some concrete way in service to Regnum Christi and the Catholic Church. Its members call this active work "apostolate". Their apostolates include Youth for the Third Millennium, Compass, Helping Hands Medical Missions, Familia, Catholic Kids' Net, Conquest, Challenge and Pure Fashion.

There are 3 degrees of commitment, the 3rd degree is reserved for those who commit totally to Regnum Christi and the Catholic Church. These are consecrated lay men, consecrated lay women and priests of the Legion of Christ. There is also a special reduced level of commitment for young people who are members of ECYD (Education, Culture and Youth Development). The members of ECYD also make commitments to pray, work in an apostolate and try to recruit new members.

Members of Regnum Christi are encouraged strongly to actively recruit new members. The founder has been quoted often exhorting the members to work harder to bring in new members.

The Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi have received criticism both from within the Catholic Church and without. From within the Church, it has been regarded with distrust and accused of "creating a parallel church." ^[1] It has also been criticized as elitist because it choses to target leaders in its effort at recruitment.

From the Manual of Regnum Christi (MRC):

243. Try to establish personal connections aimed at recruiting, especially of leaders, and to promote among your friends and professional acquaintances the open activities of the Movement, whether they be related to personal formation such as retreats, spiritual exercises, study groups, spiritual dialogue or orientation, etc., or to spreading of Catholic culture such as conferences, workshops, conventions, etc., or to some other specific apostolate.
244. Try to attain important posts in social, civic, cultural, professional, economic and other organizations in order to instill Christian spirit into the public and private lives of their members and thereby into all of society, and in order to procure a growing number of members for the Movement.

Schools and youth clubs (called ECYD) have the primary purpose of recruitment as well, according to Fr. Maciel:

343.That is why I am sorry to see that our schools and universities do not fulfill their primary goal: the expansion of the Regnum Christi, and especially the recruitment of leaders and vocations to the Legion and to the Consecrated Life of the Movement [Regnum Christi].
344. Allow me to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity the General Chapter has offered me to once again insist on this: the meaning and goals of our schools - like all apostolic work of the legion and the Movement - must not be worn down by operating solely as teaching facilities. They will not accomplish their true goal in God’s plan for us if they do not bring a large number of students, parents, family members of students and teachers into Regnum Christi. I have said it many times: for us these schools serve primarily as an open means of recruitment and of the recruitment of leaders.

In the words of Fr. Maciel:

“

This is what Regnum Christi precisely is: a movement of apostolate, a movement of evangelization, a movement in which each member wants to take seriously and responsibly the great missionary mandate Jesus Christ gave to all those who profess to be his followers. The Legionaries of Christ and the members of Regnum Christi wish to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel fearlessly, sustained by the almighty power of God, in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who told us: I will be with you until the end of time."

”

It is also viewed as having overly strict demands on its members. Third degree members take the private vow never to criticize and report anyone who does. From the Manual of Regnum Christi (MRC):

To never openly criticize, either with words, writings or by any other means, any act of governance of any person or director of the Movement, and to immediately report to the director any subject [person] who has done so, or in cases where the director is being criticized, to the immediate director of the criticized director if it is certain that a consecrated member has broken this promise.

From outside the Church, it is criticized for its conservative views and its close ties to the Vatican and the Pope.^{[citation needed]}

Maciel was removed from his position by the Vatican in 1956 and reinstated in 1959 following allegations that he was addicted to a morphine drug known as dolantine.

Since the 1970s, Marcial Maciel has been accused of having repeatedly sexually abused other congregation members, including young children. Maciel's accusers include a priest, a guidance counselor, a professor, an engineer, a lawyer and a former priest who became a university professor. The men, seven Mexicans and two Spaniards, described themselves as former members of a favored group, known as the "apostolic schoolboys." The abuse allegedly occurred over three decades beginning in the 1940s in Spain and Italy, where boys and young men were taken for schooling. The abuse, they said, involved some 30 boys and young men and extended over at least three decades.

Of the nine men making the accusations, one subsequently retracted his story, claiming it had been a fabrication intended to damage the Legion. The other eight continue to maintain these allegations. Fr Maciel and the organization deny the accusations. According to the ReGain organization, as many as 24 men have come forward with accusations of sexual abuse against Fr. Maciel. Fr Maciel and the organization continue to deny the accusations. The liable Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), lead by-then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, examined the allegations. Shortly after some media reported the reopening of the investigation in late 2004, Fr. Maciel stepped down as leader of the Legion. ^[2]

On May 19, 2006 the Vatican published a communique for press, instructing Fr. Maciel to retire to a life of "prayer and penitence". ^[3] The statement said Maciel had been "invited" to withdraw to "a reserved life of prayer and penitence and not carry out his ministry in public". The statement said that the investigation was dropped because of his "advanced age [and] frail health.^[2]

In Mexico, the Legionaries said in a statement that he had "accepted the instruction with faith, total calm, with a clear conscience knowing that it is a new cross which God, merciful father, has allowed him to suffer". It said that Fr. Maciel declared his innocence "and, following the example of Jesus Christ, decided not to defend himself in any way." ^[4]

• Regnum Christi
• Legion of Christ
• Regain Network
• "Marcial Maciel. Los Legionarios de Cristo: Testimonios y Documentos Inéditos"

1. ^ A. Frick, "St. Thomas More: A church divided"., The Yale Herald (February 4, 2005 VOL. XXXIX, No. 4)
2. ^ ^{a b} J. McKinley Jr., "Pope-to-Be Reopened Mexican Sex Abuse Inquiry"., New York Times (April 23, 2005)
3. ^ Vatican Communiqué, "Father Marcial Maciel Invited to Renounce All Public Ministry"., Zenit News Agency (May 19, 2006)
4. ^ P. Pullella, "Vatican disciplines Mexican priest after abuse case"., Reuters (May 19, 2006)