Rome, May 9, 2012 - The Central Commission for the revision of the Constitutions of the Legion of Christ has sent to all Legionaries its report on the activities undertaken during the first year of work on the revision of the Constitutions.

A summary of the report follows.

The first year of the revision process has seen all communities participating intensely, with the vast majority of the Legionaries showing great interest in providing input and suggestions.

1. Chronology

On December 10, 2010, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, papal delegate, established the Central Commission for the revision of the Constitutions. On January 28, 2011, he met in Rome with the superiors of the communities in Europe to explain the renewal process. Meanwhile, on January 31 and February 4, 2011, Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, S.J., — one of the Cardinal´s personal advisers — met in Merida, Mexico, with the superiors of the communities of North and South America.

Shortly thereafter, territorial commissions were established. Their purpose is to ensure that local meetings run smoothly and to resolve issues as they arise. The territorial commissions analyze, summarize and evaluate proposals from the communities before forwarding them to the Central Commission.

In 2011, Cardinal De Paolis and his two counselors, Fr. Ghirlanda and Fr. Agostino Montan, gave several lectures in Rome on topics related to religious life in the Church to orient the process of renewal. Recordings were made available to Legionaries worldwide.

2. The Method of Revision

- The Central Commission prepares reflection guides containing a doctrinal and canonical overview of the topic being studied, proposing relevant texts from the Church’s Magisterium. The guide includes a questionnaire that serves to guide the dialogue and the exchange of views and makes a proposal for the new text of the Constitutions.

- Communities meet on a regular basis to discuss the guides. Minutes are taken at each meeting, primarily recording comments on principles, criteria and topics which need to be expressed in the Constitutions, as well as aspects to be improved, updated, added or deleted in order to better articulate and safeguard the spiritual heritage of the Congregation.

- The territorial commissions meet regularly to examine the points of consensus and divergence, to organize the input received and to send the results to the Central Commission.

- Since the summer of 2011, the Central Committee has been meeting once a month for a week to review all submissions and proposals received.

3. Next Steps

The Central Commission will continue to develop the reflection guides for 2013, which focus on the government and financial administration of the Congregation. The commission has begun to study the contributions they have received from the Territorial Commissions for the topics assigned for 2012.

4. Conclusions

The committee’s report notes that the members of the congregation have already reflected on topics such as the following:

- Purpose and nature of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ

- The fundamental lines of Legionary spirituality- The living out of the Christian virtues and religious life in the Legion

- The way of living the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience

- Prayer practices and the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation

- Some of the norms of religious discipline and the means of perseverance

- The canonical and moral obligation of the Constitutions

Once more, we thank God for this journey of renewal that the Legionaries of Christ are following under the supervision of the Papal Delegate. We ask our readers to join us in prayer so that the Holy Spirit may continue to guide these steps which are so critical for the future of the Legion and its service to the Church and society.