Vatican expels Peruvian founder from influential lay movement
August 14, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: Luis Fernando Figari, the founder of the Sodality of Christian Life (SCV), has been expelled from the group after a Vatican investigation into abuse complaints.
Founded in 1971, SCV became the largest lay movement in Peru. But rumors of abuse began to circulate in 2016, and an internal investigation by SCV leaders confirmed multiple complaints against Figari. In February 2017 the Vatican ordered Figari not to have further contact with the movement.
In 2018 a Vatican “commissioner” was appointed to ensure a reform of the group. More recently new complaints against the SCV have included charges of financial misconduct and reports that members have harassed reporters attempting to expose corruption. Last year the Vatican launched a new investigation, led by Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
On August 14 the Peruvian bishops’ conference announced that Figari had been formally expelled from the SCV by a Vatican decree, for conduct “unacceptable in a member of an institution of the Church, as well as for cause of scandal and serious damage to the good of the Church and of each one of the faithful.”
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