LIMA, Peru — Peru’s top Catholic officials conducted a ceremonial apology Saturday to Indigenous communities affected by land seizures connected to a Catholic organization that has since been disbanded.
The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which operated in Peru, was shut down in 2025 by the late Pope Francis following a Vatican probe that revealed sexual misconduct by its founder, financial wrongdoing by leadership, and spiritual mistreatment by senior members. The dissolution came after years of failed reform efforts.
Saturday’s apology ceremony took place in Catacaos, a northern community, before members of the Tallán Indigenous group.
“We are here to ask for your forgiveness in the name of the Church,” Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, apostolic commissioner who was in charge of the dissolution process of the Sodalitium, said before a packed church. “We are late. We should have come 20 years ago, and we are truly sorry.”
Established in 1971, the Sodalitium emerged as one of several Catholic organizations created as a conservative response to the liberation theology movement that gained momentum across Latin America during the 1960s. The group reached approximately 20,000 members throughout South America and the United States at its peak, wielding significant influence in Peru.
Abuse allegations against founder Luis Figari were brought to Lima’s archdiocese in 2011 by former members. However, neither local church officials nor the Holy See acted decisively until a victim and journalist published a book about the allegations in 2015.
Following unsuccessful reform attempts, Francis dispatched his most trusted investigators, Bertomeu and Archbishop Charles Scicluna, to examine the Sodalitium abuse claims. Their investigation revealed “sadistic” cult-like abuse of authority and spirituality, financial misconduct in handling church resources, and harassment of critics.
During Saturday’s ceremony, Bertomeu referenced a 2024 message from Francis to the community, telling them: “Fight for your lands, I am with you.”
The land conflicts stretch back at least ten years, when companies connected to the Sodalitium initiated legal proceedings to remove people from thousands of hectares in Catacaos after property transfers that farmers do not acknowledge as legitimate. Numerous farmers faced prosecution for alleged “usurpation,” and two community leaders died in violent confrontations related to the eviction attempts.
The religious ceremony occurred months after Peru’s Episcopal Conference announced a potential visit by Pope Leo XIV to the South American nation later this year.
“Forgive us, offer us your forgiveness, because we too need it,” said Bertomeu, who characterized Catacaos as a community “fearful and broken.”
Tania Pariona, secretary of Peru’s National Human Rights Commission, called the ceremony a “historic gesture” in which the church “is taking the lead over the state, which has failed to protect rural communities.”
