“Granted, the primary motivation behind such living of obedience is the ideal of total ‘immolation’ of oneself for the love of Christ as embodied in the relentless living of all norms and indications of the superiors,” Berg explained.
While their motivation is “valid,” over time it has proven to become “problematic.”
Fr. Berg also noted a few items of concern that he hoped the apostolic visitors would look into such as why priests were meeting for a two-month retreat in Cotija, Michocan Mexico and why they are continuing to “engage in vocation work” at the present time.
One of Berg’s “deepest concerns” is that Legionary seminarians cannot adequately discern their vocation because they need a “complete presentation of the basic facts of Fr. Maciel's double life” and an “honest admission on the part of the major superiors of the Legion's errors.”
The Question of the Legion's Charism
A question of great relevance for members of Regnum Christi and the Legionaries “is the question of the charism,” the former Legionary priest noted.
He said there is a need for the Church to “reaffirm the validity of an institutional charism in the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi.” Berg believes that Regnum Christi members need to know if there “really was a genuine charism inspired by the Holy Spirit” that created the Legion and Regnum Christi, or whether the Church witnessed a “phenomenon of the Legion was rather God simply drawing much good out of a primarily human and deeply flawed enterprise.”
This issue, Berg said, “is very serious” and is “unprecedented in the history of the Church.” His hope is that the Holy See's visitors will find useful information that will assist the Church in discerning the authenticity of the Legion charism.
Looking toward the future, Fr. Berg acknowledged that docility must be the strength that the Legion must rely on to move forward. “If the Legion is true to its word, then the Church should be able to count on the docility of Legionaries and Regnum Christi members to embrace whatever is ultimately determined about them and their future.”
Berg said he believes that “The Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi are composed of hundreds of good, holy men and women of God” and prays that the Holy See will arrive at “proper discernment of the most adequate solution for the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement.”
Finally, responding to the question of whether or not the Legion can survive without the “model” provided by Maciel, Fr. Berg placed his trust in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
“The Holy Spirit could surely raise up a group of Legionaries - cofounders who have disassociated themselves interiorly from Fr. Maciel - who, under the Spirit's inspiration, could provide model lives for future members and direct a new generation of Legionaries to draw from the rich treasure trove of religious spirituality which is the Church's patrimony.”
“This could also be transmitted to the Regnum Christi movement,” he concluded.