Stanisław Jan Dziwisz is a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Kraków from 2005 until 2016. He was created a cardinal in 2006. He was a long-time and influential aide to Pope John Paul II, a friend of Pope Benedict XVI, and an ardent supporter of John Paul II's beatification.
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC in Mexico in 1941. Maciel was also Director General of the congregation for over 60 years until forced to step down in January 2005 as a result of grave sexual scandals against children.
Marcial Maciel Degollado was a Mexican Catholic priest who founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was general director of the legion from 1941 to 2005. Throughout most of his career, he was respected within the Church as "the greatest fundraiser of the modern Roman Catholic church" and as a prolific recruiter of new seminarians. Late in his life, Maciel was revealed to have been a long time drug addict who sexually abused many boys and young men in his care. After his death, it came to light that he had also maintained sexual relationships with at least four women, one of whom was a minor at the time. He fathered as many as six children, two of whom he is alleged to have abused.
Regnum Christi is an international Catholic Movement. It is open to all lay Catholics and in addition has three consecrated branches the Legion of Christ, consecrated women, and consecrated men. Regnum Christi is dedicated to promoting the Catholic faith. Their motto is "Love Christ, Serve People, Build the Church."
Opus Dei is a personal prelature within the Roman Church that has been the subject of numerous controversies. Throughout its history, Opus Dei has been criticized by many, including by numerary members who knew the founder and had roles in Opus Dei's internal government. The reports by former members in the USA, England, Spain, Latin America, France, Germany, and other countries are published. Journalists have described it as "the most controversial force in the Catholic Church" and its founder Josemaría Escrivá as a "polarizing" figure.
Edwin Frederick O'Brien is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2012. He headed the Order of the Holy Sepulchre from 2011 to 2019. He was the 15th Archbishop of Baltimore from 2007 to 2011 and the 7th Archbishop for the Military Services from 1997 to 2007.
A society of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live fraternally.
Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, in accord with Jesus' instruction: "Do this in memory of me." The Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican Council decreed that "devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them." In accord with this, many additional forms of prayer have developed over the centuries as means of animating one's personal Christian life, at times in gatherings with others. Each of the religious orders and congregations of the Catholic church, as well as lay groupings, has specifics to its own spirituality – its way of approaching God in prayer to foster its way of living out the Gospel.
Álvaro Corcuera Martínez del Río LC was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest. He was the former General Director of the Catholic Order of the Legion of Christ, serving since January 2005. On October 15, 2012 he went on sabbatical until the convocation of a general chapter; he had an advanced incurable brain tumor, which was undiagnosed at the time.
Brian Farrell, LC, is an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church. He was named a bishop and the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in December 2002.
Velasio de Paolis, C.S., JCD, STL, was an Italian member of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians) and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See and Pontifical Delegate for the religious institute of the Legionaries of Christ.
Marcial Maciel was the founding leader of the Legion of Christ, based in Mexico, and its general director from 1941 to January 2005. The scandal was related to accusations that since the 1970s the prominent Mexican Roman Catholic priest had sexually abused many minors and fathered six children by three women. Described as a charismatic leader and the "greatest fundraiser of the modern Roman Catholic church," he was successful in recruiting seminarians at a time of declining priestly vocations. Maciel was the "highest ranking priest ever disciplined because of sexual abuse allegations."
There are several controversies surrounding the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi, including aggressive recruiting practices, elitism, rampant sexual abuse scandals of minors, and having multi-million dollar offshore holdings in tax havens.
Ricardo Ezzati Andrello is an Italian-Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from December 2010 to March 2019 and has been a cardinal since February 2014. He previously served as Archbishop of Concepción. He headed the Episcopal Conference of Chile from 2010 to 2016.
ECyD is an international Catholic youth organization affiliated with the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ and their lay movement Regnum Christi. ECyD membership is open to youth ages 11 to 16.
Luis Garza Medina is a Roman Catholic priest of the Legion of Christ who previously served as its Vicar General and Territorial Director of North America. Garza is accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in the early 1990s.
The Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi are a Society of Apostolic Life and branch of the Regnum Christi Movement made up of lay women who dedicate their lives fully to Christ through the evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience lived within international communities. They live consecrated life in the Church within the lay state, being "in the world but not of the world". Their mission is to make present the mystery of Christ who goes out to people, reveals his love to them, gathers them together and forms them as apostles and Christian leaders, sending them out to evangelize people and society. They collaborate with Regnum Christi and the Church, accompanying thousands through formation of seminarians, lay leaders, teachers, students, young people and parents; preaching, offering spiritual direction, and leading courses, pilgrimages, missions and retreats in over 15 countries around the world.
Established in 2005, Sacred Heart Apostolic School (SHAS) is a Roman Catholic minor seminary, a private, all male boarding school in the United States for those who are considering a vocation to the priesthood. It is located within the Diocese of Gary and operated by the Legionaries of Christ, a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church. The school is located in the north-central Indiana town of Rolling Prairie. It serves approximately 20-35 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12.
Sylvester Heereman van Zuydtwyck is the former Vicar General of the Catholic congregation, the Legion of Christ.
The Center for Higher Studies of the Legion of Christ is where most the members of the congregation study their philosophy and theology in preparation for priestly ordination. It is located on the west side of Rome near Via Aurelia, right behind the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. Most of the religious brothers study at Regina Apostolorum while living at the center.
