(OSV News) -- Luis Fernando Figari, the controversial lay founder of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, accused of sexual and psychological abuse, was expelled by the Vatican from the lay movement he established, the Peruvian bishops' conference announced.
In a statement published Aug. 14, the Peruvian bishops' conference published the decree, which was signed by Pope Francis Aug. 8 and issued by the Vatican Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Citing several sections of the Code of Canon Law dealing with the dismissal of members of a community, the decree stated that Figari's actions were "incompatible and therefore unacceptable in a member of an institution of the church, as well as for cause of scandal and grave harm to the good of the church and of each of the faithful."
The decision to expel the movement's founder, it said, was made "in order to reestablish the justice damaged by the behavior of Mr. Luis Fernando Figari Rodrigo over many years, as well as to protect in the future the individual good of the faithful and of the church."
According to the Code of Canon Law, a member of a community can be dismissed for various offenses, including the "offence against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue with a minor or with a person who habitually has an imperfect use of reason or with one to whom the law recognises equal protection."
In 2015, Peruvian journalists Paola Ugaz and Pedro Salinas co-authored a book titled, "Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados" ("Half Monks, Half Soldiers"), which detailed the alleged psychological and sexual abuse, as well as corporal punishment and extreme exercises, that young members of Solidatium were forced to endure.
A 2017 internal investigation found that Figari, who founded Sodalitium in 1971, and three other high-ranking former members abused 19 minors and 10 adults.
Ugaz and Salinas were sued in 2019 by Peruvian Archbishop José Antonio Eguren of Piura, a professed member of Sodalitium since 1981, who has also been accused of involvement in abuse cover-up operations waged by the religious group. The prelate later dropped the lawsuits after facing considerable backlash from the public and the Peruvian bishops' conference.
The Vatican launched an investigation in July 2023, led by Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu, an official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. During their investigation, the prelates met with victims and leaders of Sodalitium, as well as journalists who investigated the organization.
Following their investigation, the Vatican announced April 2 the resignation of Archbishop Eguren who, at 67, was eight years shy of the age canon law requires bishops to hand in their resignation.
Shortly after the announcement, José David Correa González, the current superior general of Sodalitium, said in a statement that he welcomed the Vatican's decision and that the expulsion was "a gesture of pastoral charity, justice, and reconciliation within our community and with all those who have been affected by the abuses committed by Mr. Figari."
He also highlighted that "Sodalitium imposed disciplinary measures on Luis Fernando Figari after receiving testimonies of abuses, which were approved by the Holy See" in 2014 and that three years later, "the Holy See imposed new disciplinary measures, which were confirmed in 2018 after dismissing the appeals that Mr. Figari submitted."
However, Martin Scheuch, a survivor and former Sodalitium member, said the movement's statement on Figari's expulsion was "full of lies," stating that it failed to act when accusations against Figari first surfaced.
"According to ecclesiastical law, the superior general of an institute has the power to expel a member and does not need to ask permission from the Holy See," Scheuch wrote in a post on his X, formerly Twitter, account.
Another survivor, Jose Enrique Escardó, expressed doubts that the Sodalitium will truly cut ties with its founder.
"Where will he live if he is no longer a member of the sect?" Escardó wrote in his X account. "Who will pay his expenses? Rhetorical question, obviously. The answer: the Sodalitium."
Escardó also noted that the decree failed to specifically mention "victims and survivors. Again" and accused Pope Francis of trying "to make people believe that the Catholic Church is doing something."
"The church has already accustomed us to this absolute lack of empathy with us," he wrote.
Ugaz also took to her X account to note the length of time for any formal action against the movement's founder.
"53 years after the founding of Sodalitium, 24 years after José E. Escardó's denunciations, nine years after 'Half Monks, Half Soldiers' that I published with (Pedro Salinas), the Vatican expels its founder, Luis Fernando Figari," she wrote.
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