Minneapolis archbishop bars legionary group

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis has barred the Legionaries of Christ religious order from working in the archdiocese and prohibited its associated lay movement Regnum Christi from using archdiocesan property or parishes for its activities.

The conservative Legionaries are a favorite of Pope John Paul II, but the order has been criticized by former seminarians and others for being too rigid, secretive and competitive with other officials within the Roman Catholic Church. Also, its founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel of Mexico, has been accused of sexual abuse — allegations the religious order has denied.

Flynn notified parishes of his decision in a Nov. 23 letter that was made public a month later by a group critical of the religious order. Dennis McGrath, a spokesman for the archdiocese, confirmed the letter's authenticity. The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, enacted a similar ban in 2002, said Robin Miller, a spokeswoman for the Columbus diocese.

Jay Dunlap, a Legionaries spokesman, said, "We're simply trying to be faithful," and said the order hoped to continue talking to the archbishop to work out any misunderstandings. The Legionaries, founded in 1941, claim more than 500 priests and 2,500 seminarians worldwide. In his letter, Flynn said the Legionaries had given him "vague" and "ambiguous" answers to his questions about their work and he feared the order was encouraging creation of a "parallel church" within the archdiocese.