Fr. Thomas Berg, LC, directs

The Westchester Institute for Ethics & the Human Person

, a think-tank specializing in exploring and responding out of the wisdom of the Church to vexing moral, especially medical-moral, issues.

Fr. Berg has just issued a short, superb statement regarding the Maciel debacle

. Read it carefully first, so as to better follow my observations on it.



Notice: Instead of oblique references, Berg calls Maciel by his full name and title; Berg expressly identifies the grave offenses which he now knows Maciel to have committed, and he makes no claims, for or against, the possibility of other crimes which have not been disclosed to him.



Berg issues no cost-free, third-party apologies for things he (Berg) did not do, but instead expresses his profound personal sorrow for the victims of Maciel. Berg has no power to make material reparations to the victims, but he has pledged the power of his priestly prayers and personal penances on their behalf. Berg recognizes that the Maciel crisis is not simply some sort of internal Legion imbroglio, but a crisis for the whole Church. Berg clearly understands what "communion of the saints" demands of us in this life, as well as what it portends for the next.



Finally, Berg makes no rash and premature predications about the future of the Legion, but asks for prayers toward discernment of that future, keeping Christ and his Church first in view, and not just focusing on a small part of it.



In sum, Berg's is a moving statement from an accomplished priest and scholar; I hope it's a break-through statement for the Legion at large, or at least for many of Berg's brothers who doubtless feel exactly as he does.