(ZENIT News / Rome, 08.15.2024).- On Wednesday, August 14th, the Peruvian Episcopal Conference reported that the Pope had decided to expel the founder of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, who has been accused of sexual abuse by former members. We now provide the statement published by the Sodalitium following this notification.
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The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae welcomes the decision of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to expel Luis Fernando Figari Rodrigo from the Sodalitium, as announced today by the Peruvian Conference of Bishops. This measure is 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. We are grateful for it with filial adherence as part of the path of renewal that our community has been pursuing for several years under the guidance and accompaniment of the Holy See. With this measure, Mr. Figari is now dissociated from our community.
The authorities of the Sodalitium have closely collaborated with the Holy See in the pursuit of truth and justice, following the investigation of various allegations reported since 2011. In September 2014, the Sodalitium imposed disciplinary measures on Luis Fernando Figari after receiving testimonies of abuses, which were approved by the Holy See. In 2016, he was declared persona non grata by the Sodalitium. In 2017, the Holy See imposed new disciplinary measures, which were confirmed in 2018 after dismissing the appeals that Mr. Figari submitted.
In 2019, the V General Assembly of the Sodalitium in Brazil expressed an institutional apology to all the victims who have suffered any kind of abuse by Luis Fernando Figari and entrusted me, as Superior General, to assess the pertinence of initiating a canonical process for his expulsion. After much reflection and dialogue, in December 2019, I requested the Holy See to expel Mr. Figari from the Sodalitium.
As part of the mandate entrusted by the Holy Father to the Special Mission Scicluna-Bertomeu sent to our community and the collaboration we have been developing with it, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life issued the decree of expulsion, which has the approval of Pope Francis.
As we have stated previously, Luis Fernando Figari is the historical founder of the Sodalitium of Christian Life but is not a spiritual reference for our community or the Sodalite Family.
We are committed to a process of renewal to live with increasing fidelity to the charism received, a gift from God that we thank and embrace with humility. We want to continue working so that this gift is at the service of the Church’s evangelizing mission.
We deeply acknowledge the pain of the victims and reiterate our solidarity with them. The Sodalitium has an Listening and Assistance Office, which since 2016 has received people who have been victims of various types of abuse by members and ex-members of the Sodalitium, developing reparation processes. We reaffirm our commitment to continue the efforts to ensure a safe environment in all our communities and apostolic works.
Accompanied by the help of Our Holy Mother Mary and the Church, we trust in continuing the process of renewal of our community, as encouraged by the Holy Father on various occasions. We entrust ourselves to your prayers.
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