Pope Francis expels 10 for 'sadistic' abuses in Peru sect

The pope's public move against Sodalitium leadership listed abuses that have not previously been punished canonically

(Image credit: Eric Lalmand / Belga Mag / AFP via Getty Images)

published 26 September 2024

What happened

Pope Francis expelled 10 members of Peru's controversial Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) movement on Wednesday, including a bishop, several priests and multiple lay members. The Vatican said the former members were guilty of "sadistic" abuses of power.

The pope's public move against Sodalitium leadership was "unusual" and "astonishing," The Associated Press said, because it listed abuses that have "rarely if ever been punished canonically," like hacking a journalist's communications, and "cited the people the pope held responsible." Those expelled are accused of committing "physical abuse, including sadism and violence," as well as mental and spiritual abuse, and "abuse of authority," the Vatican said in a statement published online by the Peruvian Bishops Conference.

Wednesday's expulsion comes just over a month after the Vatican expelled Sodalitium founder Luis Fernando Figari, who was accused of "physical, psychological and sexual violence, including against minors," Vatican News said. At its height, SCV "represented one of the most active forces for evangelization in South America," a conservative counterweight to Catholic liberation theology.

It isn't clear "how exactly the expulsions can be enforced," especially "for the laypeople involved," the AP said. But the "very public announcement" shows that Pope Francis was "willing to take an unorthodox approach to interpreting the church's in-house laws to send a message." The Vatican said the pope and Peruvian bishops are "seeking the forgiveness of the victims" and urging SCV to pursue a "path toward justice and reparation."

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.