Vatican Orders Expulsion of Sodalicio Founder Luis Fernando Figari Amid Abuse Allegations

Luis Fernando Figari, a Peruvian, was for years the leader of a religious organization whose motto, according to the reporting, was “who obeys, never wrong.” He founded the Sodalicio de la Vida Cristiana, known in English as the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, and members called sodalites were expected to obey him.

According to many people who passed through the organization, Figari and other Sodalicio leaders built a system of loyalty based on violence, aggression, harassment and sexual abuse. The source reports that dozens of young people were affected, that some still carry after-effects today, and that they have never found justice.

The Sodalicio was founded in 1971 by Figari together with Germán Doig and others. It is a Catholic community of consecrated lay people and priests who live in common under declared commitments of celibacy and obedience. The source says Figari initially did not foresee a religious aspect to the group. Journalist Pao Ugaz told BBC Mundo that Figari sought an ideological response within the Church to liberation theology, and that the sodalites saw themselves as soldiers against the left.

Pope John Paul II officially recognized the organization in 1997 as one of the Societies of Apostolic Life of the Church, placing it under the authority of the Dicastery responsible for such bodies. The Sodalicio grew to operate in 25 countries and reached more than 20,000 members. In Peru, the source reports, it established connections with political and financial power, and according to its victims and detractors, this influence helped explain why complaints were systematically ignored or silenced in the country.

The source reports that the Vatican has now taken a decision described as a possible turning point. According to the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life decreed last week that Figari be expelled from the organization he founded. The Vatican said it seeks to “restore justice damaged” by Figari’s behavior over “many years” and to “protect in the future the individual good of the faithful and of the Church.”

Figari studied at the Santa María de Lima school, which children of well-to-do families traditionally attended. According to Pao Ugaz, a journalist who has investigated his career, he was a “grey student.” He graduated in Humanities and Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and later studied theology.

In their 2009 book “Mitad Monks, Half Soldiers,” journalists Pedro Salinas and Pao Ugaz reported accounts of sexual abuse, abuse and assault by dozens of Sodalicio members, several of whom directly accused Figari. According to the source, those accounts had not yet drawn a response from the media or local authorities.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)