“We do indeed need to recognize that we are sinners. But to stop there is death! If that is a time for realizing that we need God, then it is a grace, and grace is what comes to meet us,” the cardinal said.
“The community, or our group of interest, is not an instrument for venting our frustrations or finding justifications. Our community is a not a ‘spit bowl.’ And we should feel humiliated when we are used like this,” he said.
Changes
Cardinal de Paolis also discussed the changes that are taking place within the Legion of Christ, including the work done by commissions looking at the order’s economic situation, financial settlements and the work of the European University of Rome.
“The work carried out by me and my advisors has been done, above all, in conjunction with the superiors in their service of authority, which is particularly delicate during this period. We believed it was appropriate to broaden the general council with two new advisors named after consulting the entire congregation,” the cardinal said.
“We have addressed various problems that have come up with greater urgency, such as that of defining the figure of the founder and his writings in the life of the congregation; legislation on internal and external jurisdiction; on the relationship between superior-spiritual director-confessor, with regards to religious in particular; there has also been a review of Regnum Christi, in particular the consecrated branch, especially the consecrated women, which included an apostolic visitation that concluded just recently.
“We will carefully examine the question when the visitor presents his conclusions,” he said.
“But the most important issue the Pope has given us is that of revising the constitutions, inasmuch as they mold your lifestyle, your spirituality, your apostolate; they contain your charism and the instruments for living it,” Cardinal De Paolis said.
“We have tried to avoid as much as possible, making any immediate changes to the constitutions, preferring instead that definitive decisions be made by the chapter,” he added.