LETTER FROM CUZCO

Likened to the Fernando Karadima case in Chile, or that of Marcial Maciel and the Legionaries of Christ in Mexico, the Sodalicio affair is Peru's biggest scandal concerning sexual and psychological abuse linked to the Catholic Church. For decades (from the 1970s to the 2000s, and even beyond according to recent testimonies), several dozen victims, including minors, suffered abuse within the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC), a lay apostolic society created in 1971 and recognized by the Pope in 1997.

Its founder, Luis Fernando Figari, a consecrated layman, was sentenced by the Vatican in 2015 to a life of prayer and penance, in Rome. In 2017, the Peruvian justice system had ordered nine months of pre-trial detention for him and three other former SVC leaders, indicted for "criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and grievous bodily harm."

At the end of July 2023, the Vatican gave its first-ever mandate for a commission of experts in Lima to explore the activities of this organization, which features among some of the most conservative fringes of the Catholic Church.

The arrival in the Peruvian capital of the two experts – Archbishop of Malta Charles Scicluna and Spanish priest Jordi Bertomeu – was welcomed by the victims and raised hopes of restorative justice. These prelates are, in fact, among the most recognized investigators of sexual crimes against children in the Church. They were the ones who investigated the case of Chilean pedophile priest Fernando Karadima, convicted by a Vatican court of multiple sexual assaults on minors. Their findings led to the resignation of the entire hierarchy of the Chilean Catholic Church in 2018.

This time, the duo isn't investigating a single man, but an entire Catholic institution close to the far right, one that wields considerable economic power and political influence. It comprises a sprawling movement, bringing together various religious organizations under its auspices, and owns a multitude of establishments – colleges, universities, cemeteries and health centers – under the aegis of a holding company.

SVC is also suspected of having embezzled several million dollars and enriched itself illegally by using loopholes in the Concordat, an agreement between the Vatican and Peru allowing religious organizations to be exempt from taxes. At the end of July, the Peruvian Public Prosecutor's Office opened a preliminary investigation into three of its members, all of them business owners, for alleged money laundering in connection with offshore companies.

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