Pope Francis has dissolved a Peruvian-based conservative Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), after a Vatican investigation uncovered widespread sexual abuses, financial mismanagement, and spiritual abuses. The probe found that the group’s founder, Luis Figari, had subjected recruits to humiliating psychological and physical abuse.
The decision was made despite previous attempts at reform, and it marks a final end to the movement, which was founded in 1971 as a conservative reaction to liberation theology. At its height, the SCV counted around 20,000 members across South America and the US.
Francis’ willingness to suppress the group outright contrasts with his predecessor’s decision to allow a similar Latin American conservative order, the Legionaries of Christ, to undergo renewal rather than suppression.
The Vatican has not commented on the dissolution, citing confidentiality. The SCV confirmed the news to its members in Brazil over the weekend, stating that “central information” about the dissolution had been leaked by two members who were expelled.
Victims and critics praised Francis’ decision, saying it was long overdue. One victim described the group as a “social scourge disguised as a Catholic association,” while another noted that the group’s leaders “prefer[ed] to look the other way instead of accompanying the Argentine pontiff in his struggle for a Catholic Church without abuse.”
The future of the SCV’s assets remains unknown, with victims seeking compensation for their trauma. The Vatican reserves this decision to itself under the code of canon law.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/vatican-peru-sodalitium-c7d1ed37bada78394e4569cc03a1289f