On the Use of a Badge by Legionaries

At the October meeting of the Seattle Comitium, a proposal was put forward to those in
attendance that the Comitium should consider the use of badges. These badges could have the
name of the parish, the words Legion of Mar!, an imprint of the ve"illum, and the name of the
individual legionar. Costs and the set up involved were also briefl discussed. These badges
could be especiall used at an point of contact with the public, including door to door wor#,
boo# barrows, et cetera.
A $uestion was raised about the propriet of using badges. %t was noted that at some point in the
past this issue had been raised, and a former Comitium officer had responded that this was not
permitted in the Legion. Subse$uent to the meeting, a former Comitium officer did note that the
Los Angeles Senatus had given direction on this in its published &oints of 'niformit.!
The Old Handbook
%n the ()*+ edition of the Legio Mariae ,the -andboo#!., there is a relevant provision. %t is
found in Chapter /0%, 0e"illum Legionis1 The Standard of the Legion, beginning on page +) of
that edition. Subsection ,d. states1
A miniature representation of the 0e"illum ma be used as a badge, and ma be worn
b Active Legionaries on occasions when it is desirable that Legionaries should be
#nown as such2 for e"ample, pilgrimages or other general gatherings under Catholic
auspices. 3ith the permission of the Senatus, it ma be worn in the course of certain
tpes of Legionar wor# where it is definitel necessar that the members be identified or
protected. %t ma not be worn during &robation, nor during one4s everda life, nor on
holidas, nor b 5unior or Au"iliar members2 and no purpose would be served b
wearing it at Legion meetings. Such a badge is to be called the 0e"illina.!
Subsection ,e. states1 The 0e"illum and the 0e"illina are copright and ma be produced onl
with the specific permission of the Concillium.!
The ()+* and ()6) editions of the -andboo# contain the same chapter verbatim.
The Points of Uniformity
%n the 7evised &oints of 'niformit! published b the Los Angeles Senatus, publication date
un#nown, there are two relevant sections.

On page 8) of the &oints of 'niformit, the section entitled 0e"illina 9 3hen %t Ma :e 3orn!
contains a ver specific list of times when the ve"illina could and could not be worn. The list of
prohibitions has seven items. The first si" are clearl drawn from the subsection ,d. $uoted
above, and basicall restate that the 0e"illina could not be worn at an regular Legion meeting,
nor during one4s everda life.
The seventh prohibition, which appears to be based solel on the considered ;udgment of :r.
3illiam Thompson, &resident of the Senatus, and not upon an communications from
Concilium, is as follows1
On ordinar Legion calls ou should not be conspicuous as a legionar2 thus, ou would
not wear the 0e"illina when visiting Au"iliaries, going house to house or on normal
Legion wor#. The thin#ing here ,and this is probabl more applicable in small
communities where everone #nows everone, rather than in a large cit where people
often do not #now their ne"t door neighbor. is that callers would be recogni<ed as
legionaries giving rise to speculation about the reason for the call, thus destroing the fact
that Legion wor# should be done discreetl.!
%n contrast, :r. Thompson includes the boo# barrow and the &&C among the occasions when the
0e"illina could be worn. : publishing this section of the &oints of 'niformit, :r. Thompson
was giving the permission of the Senatus, as re$uired b the -andboo# section $uoted above.
%mplicitl he had also determined that the boo# barrow or &&C ,whether in a small communit or
large cit. are wor#s where it is definitel necessar that the members be identified or
protected.! : the parenthetical above, :r. Thompson also shows that he would probabl ma#e
the same determination and grant permission to wear the 0e"illina when doing ordinar Legion
calls ,including visiting Au"iliaries, going house to house or on normal Legion wor#. in a large
cit.
On page => of the &oints of 'niformit, the section entitled ?ame Tags with Legion of Mar
&rinted on Them! includes the following relevant sentences1
:r. Thompson approached this $uestion from the direction the -andboo# provides on
the wearing of the 0e"illina. %f the wearing of the 0e"illina is forbidden on ordinar
Legion wor#, then a preprinted plastic name tag clearl showing Legion of Mar would
also be out of place on ordinar house to house wor#.!
Of course, if the wearing of the 0e"illina is forbidden on ordinar Legion wor#!, the -andboo#
in subsection ,d. $uoted above provides the Senatus with a means to grant permission to wear the
0e"illina on Legion wor# that is other than ordinar, i.e. the #inds of wor# noted b the &oints of
'niformit in the section detailed above. @ollowing :r. Thompson4s own logic, approaching the
$uestion of name tags from the direction the -andboo# provides on the wearing of the
0e"illina! would result also in appling the &oints of 'niformit to such name tags in the same
wa. The bottom line is that name tags could be used when doing the boo# barrow or &&C in a
small communit or large cit, and when doing ordinar Legion calls in a large cit.
Thus the conclusion can easil be drawn that :r. Thompson would approve of the use of badges
as proposed above.
The New Handbook
%n the ())= edition of Legio Mariae, the chapter entitled 0e"illum Legionis1 The Standard of
the Legion! has been renumbered as Chapter A*, and is on page (8). The introductor paragraph
and subsections ,a. 9 ,c. remain virtuall identical to the previous editions mentioned above.
-owever, after at least =6 ears in the -andboo#, old subsection ,d. has been entirel removed.
Thus the entire sub;ect of the 0e"illina and its permitted uses has been dropped from the
-andboo#. Since there are no other authoritative sources of Legion rules, old subsection ,d. and
its permissions and restrictions have been abrogated b the deletion from the -andboo#.
Old subsection ,e. has been significantl changed as follows1
The table ve"illum is copright and ma be produced onl with specific permission of
the Concilium.!
%n effect, the -andboo# changes have withdrawn from this section the Legion4s claim of
copright with respect to ve"illum other than the table ve"illum, and with respect to the ve"illina
per se. Subsection ,c. continues to contain the previous language on the need for a large model
ve"illum for use in processions and the Acies, and the dimensions and design of the same. The
cumulative result of these changes is that1
a. The Legion maintains copright on the table ve"illum. %t ma onl be produced
with the specific permission of the Concilium.
b. The Legion continues to specif the design, si<e and use of the large model
ve"illum.
c. The Legion is silent on copright claims with respect to nonBtable ve"illum,
including the 0e"illina, and has removed from the -andboo# an mention of the
0e"illina and its uses ,permitted and prohibited..
Since this section of the -andboo# would be the logical place to either ,a. prohibit production of
the 0e"illina without the specific permission of the Concilium, or ,b. absolutel prohibit the
production or use of an reproduction of the ve"illum other than as stated in the -andboo#, it
appears that the intent of the drafters of the ())= edition meant to lift all restrictions on the
production and usage of the 0e"illina.
Conclusion
%n #eeping with :r. Thompson4s comments on name tags as $uoted above, if we approach this
$uestion from the direction the -andboo# provides on the wearing of the 0e"illina!, there are no
restrictions in the -andboo# on the production and use of badges, and the proposal ma be
approved b the Comitium.