In an editorial by columnist Damian Thompson of the U.K. Telegraph, Thompson reports that Thomas Peters of the blog: American Papist attended a "Healing" Mass said by the Superior, Fr. Alvaro Fr Corcuera and concelebrated by 12 Legionary priests. During the course of this Mass some chilling events unfolded.
To read the whole column you can go here http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/
(sorry to post the website but unfortunately the link is not working).
In spite of rumors that the Founder will be denounced, or at best ignored so that the movement can continue the following prayer was read by all present while kneeling [emphasis mine]:
Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us the mission of furthering the Legion and Regnum Christi. This mission comes to us as an utterly free, unforeseen, mysterious reality, out of all proportion to our abilities.
Since the Legion and the Movement will be vigorous and will flourish as long as the spirit of our founder is present and active in our lives and behavior, we ask you to open our eyes to the urgency of learning, assimilating and passing on the doctrine, spirit, apostolic methods, genuine traditions, discipline and lifestyle of the Legion and Regnum Christi, just as our founder has made them known to us, since this is our responsibility.
Lord, help us to adhere totally to the charism you inspired in our founder. We ask from you what you ask of us: faith, great faith in your work, love for it, trust in its mission, docility, loyal collaboration, humility, a sense of responsibility, and fidelity. Amen.
I am not sure how the supporters of the movement will continue to "spin this". One theory put forward is the Fr. Alvaro will be remembered as the "true founder".
Mr. Peters was approached at the end of the "Healing Mass" and how he had known about the Mass (?). He replied that he was invited by a friend. The interrogator continued, "which friend". Peters repeated, "a friend."
You can read Thomas Peter's account of the Mass here.
Early spin item: Father had brain surgery and wasn't OK. See http://exlcblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/tales-out-of-school.html
Here's the link to Damien's article:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/blog/2009/02/12/the_legionaries_of_christ_scandal_did_fr_maciel_have_accomplices
Here comes the unified story: the LC guidelines for answering some questions.
http://exlcblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/lcrc-talking-points.html
Excerpt:
Q: Were the superiors aware of these facts?
A: "The superiors had no evidence of these facts, and they suspected nothing."
Q: And how was that possible?
A: "We all trusted our founder; it never occurred to us to be suspicious of his behavior. Frankly, with 20/20 hindsight we see that we should have been more alert to possible signals.
"But the superiors acted unsuspectingly; they never knowingly collaborated with his misdeeds or covered up the situation once they found out."
Remember Sgt. Schultz on the old TV show "Hogan's Heroes"? "I see nothing! I know nothing!"