Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Legionary of Christ helps fundraise for a gift to the Vatican

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This past July 5, a new fountain made its official debut in the Vatican Gardens, thanks in part to the fund-raising efforts of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, an organization headed up by...... Fr Mark Haydu, of the Legionaries of Christ. Why is this fact worth a mention?  On the one hand, it's a good excuse to take a look at this video which gives a view of the Vatican Gardens not often seen by outsiders. On the other hand, it reminds us of how supportive the Pope seems to be of the much maligned Legionaries of Christ.

Pope Benedict took decisive action against Fr. Marcial Maciel the disgraced founder of the Congregation. He then had a thorough investigation conducted of all aspects of life in the Legion. Most recently he named Archbishop de Paolis, an expert in finance and canon law, as his personal delegate to oversee the reform of the controversial group. Along the way, some of the Pope's lieutenants have been accused of accepting "gifts" from Fr. Maciel (now deceased) and friends of the Legionaries. Time will tell if these accusations are the result of malicious gossip, total ignorance of how the Vatican operates or if indeed there was financial malfeasance.

Meanwhile, the Legionaries have, once again, collaborated with the Holy Father and the Vatican this time thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, an organization headed up by a Legionary of Christ, Fr Mark Haydu, LC. It's hard for me to believe that the Pope takes the allegations of Fr. Maciel "buying" Vatican influence seriously - if he did, he would hardly preside over the donation of a new fountain orchestrated, however tangentially, by the Legionaries of Christ.

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