So in March 2009 Fr Anthony was ingnoring the Maciel scandal and acting as Vocations Expert
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Report: LC "town hall meeting" with vocations director
On March 9th I posted news forwarded to me by a member of Regnum Christi about the first-ever Interactive Teleconference hosted by Legion vocations director Fr. Anthony Bannon.
Fr. Bannon was one of the figures instrumental in the founding and expansion of the Legionaries and Regnum Christi in the United States, and has been with them for more than thirty years.
Here are my observations of the conference call he conducted last night, numbered for convenience:
There was a moderator of the conversation that introduced Fr. Bannon. People calling-in were given the option of submitting a question. Some of these questions were submitted to Fr. Bannon by the moderator (scroll down). It was promised that every question would eventually receive a response from Fr. Bannon or one of his assistants.
Fr. Bannon began with a clarification of what the call was, and was not. He said it was not a news conference and he would not be discussing or answering questions about the "unexpected events" and "total surprise" of the "serious failings of the father founder" which he went on to say were "difficult to accept, but accept them we must." [These parts felt recited and measured.]
He said the time was not yet mature to discuss these matters and promised that the Legion was in constant contact with the Holy See. He said there were facts that still need to be investigated. Prudentially and without rushing. He promised they were working on it.
[This sounded more ad-libbed] He emphatically stated that "we’re deeply sorry and apologize to anyone who has been hurt or scandalized by these actions. Our directors are quietly trying to get in touch with possible victims." He went on to apologize again for the scandal caused to "you."
"Many of you have gotten in touch with us to say you are praying for us, so let me express my gratitude for your prayers over these past weeks."
"One of the main reasons that you have supported us is our fidelity to the Holy See. That part of our spirituality is not about to change nor will it ever I hope."
He promised that anything the Holy Father saw as appropriate (in terms of taking action), "we will do that and do it happily."
[It was evident at this point that he was in fact going to discuss the situation at some length.]
"First point, our trials have been a blessing. You have been very kind to us." He said the Legion has received many accolades including from many quarters in authority in the church.
He said the apostolates were growing tremendously. "All of this is good." But at the same time: "We are human and this is therefore a danger. We can get overconfident, begin to feel superior." He said there was a real danger of "losing the focus" and that "the present situation has helped bring us back."
He continued: "This experience of weakness has brought us back to the core of what we are doing as priests. We must review our actions to make sure no one except Christ is at the center of our lives. A better awareness that it is Christ we are following, and no one and nothing else."
These points are perhaps the most interesting of what he said: "Our constitutions were approved 25 ½ years ago. It was like the church took our charism out of our hands. Received from God, and taken out of our hands and our founder’s hands. For those 25 years, not even he could change them without going through a process."
[I'm paraphrasing:] The church has guaranteed ours as a valid charism, and protects it. It is a valid path to holiness. Regnum Christi was approved in similar fashion 4 years ago.
We work to do what the church has approved in order to make it a reality. [At this point it felt rather distinctly that he was reading from a prepared statement. Though perhaps rephrasing things in his own words. It was very fluid.]
He concluded by saying, in effect, "We want to make sure we are what we are supposed to be, in what the Church has approved."
(I forget exactly how long this opening statement took to complete, but I believe it was about 8 minutes.)
Next, he overviewed the situation of Legionary formation in the United States. "Vocations are up this year" was the bottom line. But he spoke at length and in great detail. He talked a lot about how happy the seminarians are.
He said formation of Legionary priests faces two challenges: fostering commitment to the vocation they have chosen on the side of the seminarians, and providing for the financial needs of their education on the side of the formators.
At this point, the moderator came back on the line and asked five survey questions of the listeners, which I paraphrase: a) how vital is the work of the legion to the future success of the Church? b) in addition to vocations, what are you most interested in -
Youth family programs; Schools/education; Work with poor abroad? c) what age group are you in? d) have you ever met a legion priest or seminarian? e) are you interested in a future teleconference?
Following this, roughly 30 minutes of the moderator asking questions from the listeners while Fr. Bannon responded. The questions: a) “how come the Legionaries aren’t assigned to parishes like regular priests?” b) “Should parents be allowed to see those in the novitiate more often?” [Fr. Bannon explained that the novitiate is "Almost like a year or two of contemplative life."] c) "how has the economic downturn affecting the legion in the way you operate?" [Fr. Bannon said it has affected them as much as anyone else, so seriously. They are looking to expand their donor base, I gathered] d) "how much time does the Legion spend supporting human life and against abortion, etc?" e) why does it take so long to reach ordination?" [The gist of Fr. Bannon's answer: because they are not ordained until they are ready to act as priests.] f) "We’re in a period of spiritual warfare. What should we do and what is the Legion doing?" [Here it was interesting to note that I believe Fr. Bannon slipped at one point into saying "John Paul II told the founder ... I mean, told us ..."] g) "do the Legion receive funds from anyone besides private donors? Do the dioceses?" [This question, perhaps because he did not understand it, I don't think Fr. Bannon ended up answering. He spoke about collaboration between the Legion and local dioceses instead.]
I've not posted most of the spiritual insights and attitudes that Fr. Bannon expressed. I had the impression I was in the presence of a holy man, very dedicated to his mission of forming priests.
He often thanked the listeners for supporting the Legion. He said "God’s providence is always there, and he will bless and help us" and asked that "we may have the perseverance to do what we need to do". He prayed that he could "Serve you and serve souls better" and promised to pray for the listeners in his prayers and Masses. He said God was very present to us now.
Afterwards the moderator returned to the line and thanked everyone, saying he thought it was an excellent way to be "close to you." People whose questions were not answered were invited to leave a voicemail.
I'm not sure that I have any commentary to add except one observation: it's a pity that this conversation had to be conducted about such pressing issues as the formation of seminarians, the financial stress of our times and on the Legion, and the future of the Legion in relation to the Church ... without any up-front discussion of the Maciel scandal. Clearly it is on people's minds, clearly they are looking for answers, and Fr. Bannon could not (read, is not allowed at this point to) give any.
Let us pray for priests and seminarians of the Legion, for the consecrated lay members of Regnum Christi, and for Maciel's victims, that a forthright solution will be pursued to these too-long-festering wounds.
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