ROME
Legionaries of Christ
Fr Alvaro Corcuera, LC, general director of the Legion of Christ, offers the following letter to members and friends of Regnum Christi.
The letter is also available in pdf format.
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Thy Kingdom Come!
REGNUM CHRISTI
MOVEMENT
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GENERAL DIRECTOR
Rome, May 21, 2012
To the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi members in North America
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
All of us have had to deal with very difficult news over the past few days. And of course, this comes in light of the terrible news three years ago regarding Father Maciel.
I want to take this opportunity to share with you my part in what many of you may regard as failings – and to explain how the Legion is working to ensure better performance in the future.
While serving as the rector of our seminary in Rome, I had heard rumors about Fr. Thomas Williams’ misbehavior. I inquired about them, but Father denied them, and I believed him.
In 2005, I found myself the second General Director of the Legion of Christ. I knew that I would face great challenges, but had no idea of all that was to come. Early in my new assignment, I learned that Fr. Thomas Williams had, in fact, had a relationship with a woman and they had a child. I reviewed the situation with Fr. Williams, asking him to start withdrawing from public ministry. In May of 2010 I placed restrictions on his ministry. Unfortunately, these restrictions were not firm enough as he was not asked to leave teaching. This March I gave Fr. Thomas the explicit indication to fully withdraw from all public ministry. I also must admit that, in the midst of all that was happening I was not diligent in setting proper restrictions and enforcing them.
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