Pope Francis Extinguished the Flame of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) by Dissolving the CommunityPope Francis has dissolved the conservative Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), an international Catholic lay community that also includes about a hundred priests. Once again, the actual or perceived failure of individuals in the intra-Church directional conflict provided the lever for the welcome dismantling of the opposing side on a completely different level. The dissolution of the Sodalitium cannot be understood without considering the open properties that remain in Latin America.
The dissolution was announced yesterday by the Vatican Press Office and also disseminated by the secular media with obvious satisfaction. The reason given was the failure of the founder, who is accused of severe sexual abuse, although no formal proceedings, let alone a conviction, have taken place in any secular or ecclesiastical court.
What is being concealed: The dissolution decisively resolved a decades-long power struggle in the Church in Latin America, as the Sodalitium represented a counter-movement to Marxist liberation theology.
The Vatican Press Office published the decree of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, which, however, bears no date, leading to initial assumptions that it was dated yesterday. In fact, the dissolution had already taken place on March 29th, a few days after Francis' return from the Gemelli Clinic to the Vatican. This was announced yesterday by the Sodalitium itself.
The dissolution followed years of investigations involving serious abuse allegations against the founder, as well as alleged financial irregularities within the community. The wording of the statement released yesterday is as follows:
"Upon conclusion of an investigation ordered by Pope Francis on July 5, 2023, to verify the validity of the accusations of various responsibilities attributed to Mr. Luis Fernando Figari and numerous other members of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, it was decided to dissolve the Societies of Apostolic Life of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae and the Marian Fraternity of Reconciliation, as well as the Associations of the Faithful of the Handmaids of the Plan of God and the Movement of Christian Life.
The corresponding decrees of dissolution, issued by the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and expressly confirmed by the Holy Father, have recently been notified."
The 85-year-old Luis Fernando FigariThe SCV was founded in Peru in 1971 as a movement for spiritual renewal within the Catholic Church. It developed into an international community with a broad global presence. Over the years, however, increasing concern grew regarding the internal practices of the community. At least, that is the generally vague portrayal.
In reality, the matter goes deeper, with two levels to be distinguished: the Sodalitium and its significance for the Church in Latin America, and the personal actions of its founder.
The Background
Let's take a step back. During the Cold War, Latin America became an ideological and geopolitical battleground between the two power blocs. The Soviet Union at that time sought to lead the decolonization movement and thereby expand its influence. This was particularly true for Africa and Asia. In Latin America, while not the primary focus, communist propaganda attempted to introduce such elements, but the main issues were stark social disparities and, in particular, a major adversary, the USA, which, since the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904, claimed the entire American continent as its sphere of interest and exercised dominance there.
Thus, political forces that had sympathized with European fascism or even National Socialism before 1945, primarily as a chance to break free from US encirclement, switched to the communist side after 1945, as the Soviet Union alone seemed a promising counterplayer to the USA. This phenomenon also occurred within the Catholic Church. A particularly well-known example of this shift is the Brazilian Archbishop Hélder Câmara, but Pope Francis himself, albeit in the wake of a lingering movement, is personally involved through his sympathies for Peronism.
Within the Church, against the backdrop of these political and social conflicts, Marxist-influenced liberation theology emerged, aiming to unite Christianity and socialism. Peru was a core region: There, in 1971, the Dominican Gustavo Gutierrez gave the movement, which had been active since the early 1960s, its powerful name: Liberation Theology.
In the same year, also in Peru, Luis Fernando Figari, a layman strongly motivated by personal faith, founded the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), which, in contrast to the Marxist liberation theologians, sought to provide less a political but more a religious response. Social and political answers had to arise from personal conversion, the conviction held, which is why everyone had to start with themselves.
Peru had been ruled since a military coup in 1968 by General Juan Velasco Alvarado. As the leader of the Peruvian Revolution, he pursued a decidedly left-wing course. Velasco took a critical stance against the USA and sought closer ties with both the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. In his numerous fundamental reforms, Velasco was supported by liberation theologians. The Church in Peru was deeply divided by the overall developments.
The founding of the SCV, like Opus Dei, met the needs of many Catholics aligned with the traditional order. Thus, the SCV was not only a movement of spiritual renewal but, from the beginning, if not directly, a counter-movement to liberation theology.
While liberation theology found great and often favorable media support in Western Europe, the SCV remained largely unnoticed for a long time but was perceived in Latin America as a conservative bulwark against leftist subversion of the Church – by both sides.
The conservative orientation in Catholic doctrine, the emphasis on the hierarchical structure within the Sodalitium, the recognition of ecclesiastical authority, the strong spiritual focus, the rejection of leftist ideologies and revolutionary aspirations, and the defense of Catholic identity made the SCV one of several conservative magnets in Latin America. Thus, the Sodalitium became a Catholic reference point and attracted numerous young men seeking a clear Catholic identity in contrast to the spreading progressive tendencies in the Church. The SCV maintained schools in several countries and had direct influence on at least one university founded by it in Peru. In 2002, Figari was appointed Consultor of the Pontifical Council for the Laity by Pope John Paul II.
With the election of Pope Francis, liberation theology circles in Latin America saw the opportunity to decide the decades-long power struggles in their favor. This primarily included the suppression or complete elimination of disliked communities, such as Opus Dei, the SCV, the Instituto del Verbo Encarnado, and the Heralds of the Gospel, to name a few.
Pope Francis himself comes from Latin America and is very familiar with the conditions there. Above all, he supports the fight against markedly conservative communities out of his own conviction.
The Scandal and the Dismantling
Around 2010, internal allegations of psychological and homosexual abuse by Figari against young men of the Sodalitium reportedly became known. Publicly, this happened only several years later. Figari continues to deny the allegations. In 2010, at the age of 70, he resigned from the leadership of the SCV, of which he had been the Superior General since 1971. Outwardly, the resignation was presented as a voluntary withdrawal; internally, it is said, there was pressure due to unspecified allegations. Thus, his figure remained untouched within the community for the time being. He no longer had formal influence but continued to enjoy great respect and thus informal influence over the community's houses.
In 2011, the General Chapter elected the former Vicar General Eduardo Regal Villa as the new Superior General. Like his predecessor, Regal is also a layman. Although the SCV also includes priests, it is fundamentally a lay movement, which is why the leadership of the community was also in lay hands. During Regal's tenure, the abuse allegations against Figari intensified and likely led to Regal's resignation.
In 2012, Alessandro Moroni Llabrés was elected as the new Superior General.
In 2015, the book "Mitad monjes, mitad soldados" ("Half Monks, Half Soldiers") by former SCV member Pedro Salinas, in collaboration with a Peruvian journalist, was published. He accused Figari of psychological violence during his time as Superior General and claimed, albeit vaguely, to have been a victim of psychological and physical abuse himself in the 1980s. He reported homosexual abuse, which he accused Figari and some others of, from hearsay.
The Peruvian Public Prosecutor's Office initiated preliminary investigations, which were archived in 2017 because they were substantially insufficient or already time-barred, but above all because no victims came forward. Subsequently, five alleged victims filed a criminal complaint for forming a criminal association and kidnapping, which is why another prosecutor reopened the investigation in 2018 amid polemics against his colleague who had archived the case. The politicized media accompaniment apparently played the largest role, suggesting that there was a cover-up even in the judiciary. However, the new investigations, despite being pursued for eight years, also had to be archived without result in 2024.
Pope Francis, however, had initiated ecclesiastical investigations in parallel in 2015.
In 2015, Pope Francis sent Bishop Fortunato Pablo Urcey, Prelate of Chota in Peru, as Apostolic Visitor.
In 2016, the Sodalitium declared that an internal investigation had confirmed the allegation of sexual abuse and that Figari was therefore declared persona non grata. Based on the visitation report, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith imposed sanctions on Figari for sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and unethical behavior. Figari emphasized his innocence and spoke of a campaign to discredit his person and the Sodalitium.
In 2017, the SCV leadership declared that it accepted the Roman judgment and that Figari was no longer a member of the Sodalitium, as he had lost all rights and duties as a member. Based on the aforementioned conviction, the Roman Congregation for Religious imposed a series of penalties on Figari: he was expelled from the community, he had to lead a life of penance and seclusion in an assigned place (Rome); he was no longer allowed to return to Peru and he was not allowed to have contact with the community. Figari complied with the measures.
In 2018, Pope Francis sent Msgr. Noel Londoño, Bishop of Jericó in Colombia, as Papal Commissioner with full powers to lead, supervise, and reform the SCV, although the community's leadership formally remained in office, but the final decision on all matters rested with Londoño. Figari's appeals against the Roman measures were rejected.
In 2019, a new Superior General was elected: José David Correa González took office.
In 2022, the homo-activist and Pope's friend Juan Carlos Cruz, inexplicably a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, demanded the dissolution of the Sodalitium. This move fueled doubts about the motives of the papal actions in the SCV case.
In 2024, the Vatican expelled ten members from the SCV. Some were accused of abuse of various kinds, especially psychological. Mainly, the Vatican decision stated, the individuals had contributed to maintaining Figari's "system" and its cover-up. Figari himself was also expelled, as, according to the justification, there had been no formally legally valid expulsion decree until then. Emeritus Archbishop José Antonio Eguren of Piura was also expelled. No guilt is discernible in the case of other expelled individuals. The accusation that they had "endangered the credibility and integrity of the Church" is very broadly worded. The fact is that there were efforts to save the SCV, not least to prevent the ecclesiastical balance from tilting further to the left. An appeal against the expulsions was prohibited by Francis.
In 2025, the Sodalitium and all affiliated associations were dissolved.
David Correa, the fourth and last Superior General of the Sodalitium, pictured with Pope Francis.Necessity or Revenge?
Figari had resigned in 2010, his influence had been minimal since 2012 and non-existent since 2016. He has not been in the community for almost ten years. Therefore, the question arises whether the dismantling of the Sodalitium is really a necessary and appropriate measure. The repression applied since 2015 is seen by secular and ecclesiastical media as a "turning point in the Church's handling of internal abuse scandals" and demonstrates "the Vatican's willingness to hold even influential members accountable." However, this interpretation is precisely where the reading falters. The fact is that under Francis, a strict selection takes place in the fight against abuse: abuse is actively and unilaterally fought, then all the more loudly, when it can be used to eliminate conservative intra-Church opponents. Were revenge thoughts ultimately the real driving force behind the Roman interventions against the SCV?
The purge that Francis has carried out in Latin America is considerable. A look at the four conservative communities mentioned above paints a clear picture. Opus Dei was made compliant through some targeted measures (withdrawal of the legal status for the Work of God and the episcopal dignity of the Superior General) and massively weakened in Peru by the retirement of Cardinal Cipriani Thorne; the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae was dissolved, and the Instituto del Verbo Encarnado and the Heralds of the Gospel were placed under Apostolic Commissars. The accusations that were taken as the occasion (or pretext?) vary greatly. What these communities have in common, however, is that there are old, open scores to settle and that they stand in the way of the Bergoglian agenda.
Since 2024, the Vatican has prohibited the Sodalitium from holding its planned General Chapter and conducting new elections. Thus, Correa remained in office as Superior General until the canonical dissolution, but was under the constant supervision of the papal commissar, who was somewhat euphemistically called a delegate. Since the appointment of the commissar , no significant decisions could be made in the SCV without Vatican approval.
Summary
In the long shadows of the ecclesiastical directional conflict, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae was an uncomfortable thorn for many – conservative, loyal to the Pope, committed to doctrine, hierarchical. For the representatives of a progressive theology, not least in the circle of Pope Francis, it was a thorn in their side. The lever for an open dismantling was apparently provided by one of their own: Luis Fernando Figari, founder and charismatic leader. His alleged moral failure ultimately became the target that had been sought for years and, through the election of Francis, could be used against the SCV from above with the full papal authority. Thus, the alleged misconduct of the individual became a triumph of the opposing side over an entire community – not through persuasive power, but through the weakness of the opponent. The conservative side did not fall behind due to a loss of arguments, but due to actual and alleged personal failure.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: SCV/VaticanMedia/MiL (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
