Leave your camel at the door

"'There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' But when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich." (Luke 18:22-23)

Jason Berry via Damian Thompson:

"In 1997 [Ratzinger] gave a lecture on theology to Legionaries. When a Legionary handed him an envelope, saying it was for his charitable use, Ratzinger refused. 'He was tough as nails in a very cordial way,' a witness said"...

"In 2004, John Paul – ignoring the canon law charges against Maciel – honored him in a Vatican ceremony in which he entrusted the Legion with the administration of Jerusalem’s Notre Dame Center, an education and conference facility. The following week, Ratzinger took it on himself to authorize an investigation of Maciel"...

"The Italian newsweekly L’espresso estimates the Legion’s assets at 25 billion euros, with a $650 million annual budget, according to The Wall Street Journal"...

That's a $1 million budget for every 3 priests or seminarians. 3M, American Express, and Coca-Cola bring in roughly that revenue per employee.

If the Legion is serious about escaping from Maciel and all his works, the first thing to go must be the fund-raising network.

Shut down Maciel's perpetual motion machine of buying eyes and scooping up cash and children. And check that camel at the door and walk through the gate without Maciel's burdens.