Legionaries of Christ barred from ministry in Archdiocese of Miami

Miami, Fla., Oct 30, 2009 / 09:40 am

On Thursday the Archdiocese of Miami published a short disclaimer on its website, without any link, announcing both in English and Spanish that “the Legionaries of Christ are prohibited from functioning in the Archdiocese of Miami.”

“Furthermore, Regnum Christi - a group of lay Catholics related to the Legionaries of Christ - are not and have never been approved by Archbishop Favalora to work in any parish, school or other Archdiocesan entity,” the short web post says.

On the same day, all parishes in Miami received a memorandum signed by the Chancellor, Monsignor Michael Souckar, stating that “the Legionaries of Christ are prohibited from functioning in the Archdiocese of Miami, effective immediately.”

“In the past,” the memorandum explains, “their priests were given individual approval by the Vicar General each time they wished to come to the Archdiocese of Miami but their ministry was restricted to their own members.”

“Because the Legionaries of Christ has not abided by these restrictions, Archbishop Favalora has barred them from any ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami.”

In addition, Msgr. Souckar’s letter says, “Regnum Christi is not nor has it ever been approved to work in any parish, school or other Archdiocesan entity. It recently has been discovered that Regnum Christi was involved in several schools without Archdiocesan approval. Any such involvement with Regnum Christi is to end immediately.”

“Pastors/Administrators are asked to share this information with school principals and those who coordinate parish events,” the memo finishes.

Legionaries of Christ spokesman Jim Fair offered CNA a brief reaction on Friday, stating, “First of all, we're really surprised.”

Fair explained that the reason for the decision was not yet clear to the Legion and that he expects there to be further discussions. “Obviously, we'll be obedient to the directives” issued by Archdiocese of Miami, he added.