Dear Regnum Christi members and friends,
Greetings as we near the end of December and 2017!
As you know, we have been in a process of renewal and revision of the Statutes of Regnum Christi for some years now. I am sending you a letter that provides updated information on this process.
You are invited at this stage in the process to read this letter, pray about it, and ask for light for all involved going forward. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.
Count on my prayers for you and your families this Christmas!
[English translation of Spanish original]
Prot. DG-RC 797-2017
Class. II.5.24
Rome
December 18, 2017
To all the members of Regnum Christi
Dear friends in Christ,
We send you warm greetings in this Advent season, which fills us with special joy, given the recent ordination to the priesthood in Rome of a group of thirty-three deacons of the Legionaries of Christ, for the service of the Church and the whole Regnum Christi Movement.
1. The assimilation of the territorial assemblies
In these days the territorial joint and branch assemblies have wrapped up. They analyzed the Draft General Statutes of Regnum Christi, which were published together with a letter this past May 23. Thank you all for your effort and dedication over the past months in bringing forward the process of the draft review in the midst of so many apostolic responsibilities. We also recognize and express our thanks to Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, who has accompanied us throughout this time, as an expression of the nearness and maternal care of the Church.
In the upcoming weeks, in the General Committee and together with our general councils, we will be working at assimilating the conclusions of the territorial joint and branch assemblies, so we can continue to draw up the material for the upcoming assemblies and General Chapter. You can see the results of the territorial joint assemblies for yourselves on the webpage rcstatutes.org.
We will study these results in depth during the IV Plenary Meeting of Regnum Christi, which takes place in Rome from January 22 to 25. Participating are the general councilors and the administrators of the consecrated branches, together with five lay members of the Movement: Mike Williams from North America, José Antonio Lebrija from Mexico, Francisco Gámez from Venezuela, Luiz Flavio Azevedo from Brazil and Carmen Fernández from Spain.
2. Directives from the CICLSAL
As indicated in the second appendix to the Draft General Statutes, “The Pontifical Assistant is now in contact with the Holy See regarding this proposal. He will be able to point out any issues that need to be reconsidered before the Extraordinary General Assembly in 2018.”* Since then, we, the three general moderators of the consecrated branches, accompanied by Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, the pontifical assistant, have had several appointments at the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL). This dicastery is the organ of the Holy See with which we are in contact concerning the canonical configuration of the Movement.
In October, we once again presented a formal request for the approval of the Consecrated Lay Men and the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi. In our meetings in December, they let us know under which conditions the CICLSAL can approve a Movement that includes within one joint legal structure all the vocations that live the Regnum Christi charism.
On December 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we, the three general moderators, had an appointment with the secretary of CICLSAL, Archbishop José Rodríguez, OFM, and with the undersecretary of the Dicastery, Fr. Sebastiano Paciolla, OCist. During our meeting, Archbishop Rodríguez Carballo:
- Expressed once more that the CICLSAL is open to approving Regnum Christi as laid out in the draft version of the General Statutes, in other words, as a Federation with three consecrated branches, to which the lay members associate themselves individually, with all forming one and the same Movement.
- Informed us, in accord with the competencies of this discastery, that the proposed make-up of the Federation would have the following consequences:
- a) For the Federation to contain a religious congregation (the Legion of Christ), all the parts would have to depend on the CICLSAL.
- b) Therefore, the Consecrated Lay Men and the Consecrated Women could not be approved as associations of the faithful in the form we presented it. They would have to assume a canonical structure that would be under the CICLSAL. After speaking with the dicastery, and having listened to the opinion of the general councils, we proposed that they become lay societies of apostolic life, since that seemed to be the structure most suitable and in line with our identity. The nature of the societies of apostolic life is described in canons 731 to 746 of the Code of Canon Law. The general governments of the Consecrated Lay Men and the Consecrated Women are analyzing the implications this would have so we can present a document explaining this to all the members and present a proposal for the approval of the General Assembly of our respective branches.
- c) The general and territorial governing bodies of the Federation have to be composed of members of the consecrated branches since they are the ones who federate. The lay members who associate with the Federation on an individual basis could participate in the general and territorial government with a consultative vote.
- d) It is possible for the general and territorial governing bodies to be led by a member from any one of the branches that federate, if we so desire.
- e) The chapters of the Draft Statutes related to the lay members should be put in a rule other than the Statutes.
3. The Chapter and the general assemblies at two stages
Faced with these factors, we are going to have to make some significant changes to the Draft General Statutes and the process of review. Given this, and because one of the recommendations of many territorial assemblies—both joint and branch—was to move forward without rushing on this path of such transcendence, the General Committee has proposed, and has obtained the consent of our general councils, that the General Chapter of the Legion, the general assemblies of the Consecrated Lay Men and the Consecrated Women, and the General Joint Assembly, be held in two stages. Therefore, the same participants, both those present ex officio and those elected by the consecrated branches, will take part in both stages.
The first stage will take place on the dates already established, dedicated to assimilating the results of the territorial joint and consecrated branch assemblies, and to analyzing the impact of the new factors introduced into the Draft Statutes in line with the directives from the CICLSAL. It will also serve to advance the process of discernment regarding the themes about which there still was not consensus during the territorial assemblies.
In this first stage of the General Assembly of the Consecrated Lay Men and the Consecrated Women, we will have to analyze if we accept to structure ourselves as societies of apostolic life. If so, we will ask the CICLSAL to establish us as such, according to the rule of law.
Together with the lay members who participate in the General Joint Assembly, we will reflect on the way the factors introduced into the General Statutes guard and promote the dignity and richness of their vocation to the Movement.
The second stage of the Chapter and the general assemblies will most likely take place at the end of 2018. During this second stage, each number of the Draft General Statutes will be voted upon so that the final text of the Statutes can be presented to the CICLSAL once it has been ratified by the supreme bodies of each consecrated branch. How the lay members participate will be seen in the General Joint Assembly itself in April 2018.
Even though the path now appears longer, and different from what we had expected, we are confident that it will allow us to continue with the reflection, dialogue and deliberation that a process like this requires. We are committed to continue this journey in communion with and in obedience to the Church, trusting that the Lord will keep guiding and blessing us. Above all, we want this process itself to be a path of interior renewal, thanksgiving and configuration with Christ.
We entrust this journey to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We take the opportunity to wish each and every one of you a fruitful Advent season, a very blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with grace and blessings for the apostolate.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Eduardo Robles-Gil, LC
General Director of the Legion of Christ
Gloria Rodriguez
General Director of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi
Jorge Lopez
General Responsible for the Consecrated Lay Men of Regnum Christi
