I'm pleased to report that the founder of Miles Jesu has been dismissed for 'totally unacceptable behavior'. I got to know the members of Miles Jesu when I lived in England. American Steve Ryan was the leader of the community of celibate, consecrated laymen. Steve is an intelligent, devoted and spiritual man who lived a very sacrificial life in service of the church. The guys at Miles Jesu organized the annual Path to Rome conference in London at which various converts to the Catholic Church were invited to speak. At a couple of the conferences the founder, Fr. Alfonso Duran turned up with his retinue. I have to say that the guy gave me the creeps from the start. My impression was of a sinister, power hungry leader of a cult.
However, this was simply my personal, subjective impression, and always wishing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and not liking to accuse anyone of being a Catholic Darth Vader, I kept my opinions to myself. Nevertheless, I was not surprised a few years later to discover that Miles Jesu was under investigation, that my friend Steve Ryan had left the organization, nor that he was being persecuted and having false allegations made against him by those members who remained loyal.
The case is too much like the problems of the Legionairies and Fr. Marcel Marciel. Anyone associated with this kind of religious behavior will recognize that it is not only a problem with Catholicism. There are fundamentalist, Evangelical colleges, churches and other organizations that operate with the same cult-like mentality--demanding total loyalty and black listing and ostracizing those who criticize or leave the little fortress of faith. The problem is complex and is not only the blame of the domineering cult leader. Those who belong to such groups collude with the leadership, and a sick symbiosis of the dominator and those who wish to be dominated develops. Often those who follow such leaders desire the security and absolute certainty that comes with membership and the totally unacceptable demands for loyalty and mindless obedience that are part of the system.
The same problem can exist within marriages, families, parishes, schools and workplaces in a less extreme form. Anyone who demands total, unquestioned loyalty and anyone who wishes to submit themselves to such a regime or relationship is living out a frighteningly immature and irresponsible reaction to life's challenge. Such systems, wherever they occur, breed infantilism--not the proper child-like trust of the saint--but a diabolical counterfeit that controls and oppresses (and even more sickly) desires to be controlled and oppressed. Saints are not made in this way. All that results from such a life is spiritual, social and psychological abuse of a profound nature which produces not saints, but sad and stunted souls.
Finally, we should understand that those who are involved in this sick relationship are more often sick than evil. The dominator really thinks he is doing God's will and is simply exerting the necessary discipline to produce saints. The dominated really thinks he is doing God's will by living out a life of sacrifice and total obedience. Most often the great growth of such organizations, their ability to raise funds and attract followers and their undoubted good works make them difficult to criticize. Their deception operates at many different levels to both themselves and outside observers. Either way, sick or evil, such religious behavior has to be exposed and rooted out.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
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7 comments:
Err this is old news..the up to date info is on the Miles Jesu website..
Steve was a very good friend of our family..I like to think he still is..
Up to date
http://www.milesjesu.com/About_Miles_Jesu/Leadership.html
I have met people like that, both in my religious and personal life, who have tried to take advantage of my seemingly constantly accomodating nature (just don't push it. We all have our breaking point).
Fortunately, my big argumentative mouth always ends up getting in the way of total subservience and I eventually get shown the rebel's door, sometimes taking others with me!
As God's people, we stand on our feet. We don't crawl before anyone. (Page 83, Alcoholics Anonymous).
I have been close to Miles Jesu at times in the past and must report that all of the domus and vinculum members that I met were pleasant, charitable, well balanced people. Steve Ryan was one of my favoriesm of course. In justice I must also state that my wife and I owe a particular debt of gratitude to the MJ priest and members who helped us make emergency travel plans, from Prague, from the MJ pilgrimage following the 2003 "Path to Rome" conference in Vienna, occasioned by our yonger son's fatal automobile accident in California.
As a member of Regnum Christi, I can very much relate to the process through which MJ is now going, but knowing that with faith, hope and charity, the path of service to Our Lord and His people will be made clear.
Just for the record, I did not mean to suggest by my comments that all members of Miles Jesu were sick. I was using the MJ situation to speak about larger issues.
Excellent Piece Father.
A group like Miles Jesu who call their members to live in a certain way, have writings that are supposed to be for members only, who can change the outlook and even personality of their members, should be regarded with caution.
Groups like this can be destructive. Some have been known to cause divisions in parishes, even in families.
It is perhaps the unhealthy enthusiasm the members have for their founder that does not sit well, it gives the impression of cult like tendencies. Very often the members will profess their profound love for Christ and their fidelity to the Holy Father and the Bishops, and yet it is the hero worship of the founder and his priests that puts them apart.
No group should consider themselves exclusive or spiritually superior to the rest of us. We are all sinners and equal in the eyes of The Lord.
I will be forever grateful to the Miles Jesu priest who heard my general confession during a retreat years ago. I could see, though, that they may possibly have erred on the side of being too eager for vocations (though my impression may be mistaken), but I can also see that this is an error that one may easily fall into when oneself has entered on the road of renunciation and a radical giving of oneself to God.
I hope they can get everything sorted out so that the good remains and the unhealthy aspects are rooted out. The members I met definitely seemed to be very dedicated to the service of God and I hope they do not suffer discouragement in their love of God in the ongoing process, but rather a purification and correction where that is needed.
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