Source: Vatican News
At the headquarters of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Vatican, they signed the decree of suppression as a society of lay apostolic life: “We also ask forgiveness from the whole Church and society for the pain caused.” Among the reasons for the suppression was the lack of foundational charisma.
“We inform that today, April 14, 2025, the Superior General of the Sodalitium, has signed the decree of suppression of our community at the headquarters of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in the presence of Sister Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery,” as reported in a statement through its website by the same society of lay apostolic life. They also report that Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu Farnós was appointed as Apostolic Commissioner for the tasks of suppression.
“Our gaze is also directed to the victims, we reiterate our sincere request for forgiveness for the mistreatment and abuse committed in our community. We also ask forgiveness from the whole Church and society for the pain caused. We are confident that the efforts we made in the reparation process will bear fruit, and we will continue to offer our prayers that the Lord may heal the wounds that have occurred,” the Sodalitium of Christian Life statement said.
And they express gratitude to the laity and clerics, “who have been part of the community throughout our history and who have generously dedicated years of their lives to collaborate with the apostolic mission of the Church.”
“The Good Lord has mysterious ways,” they quote in their statement, “by which he can always make all things new. With hope we entrust ourselves to the prayers of all in these moments, so that, always accompanied by the intercession of Holy Mary, it may be for us a privileged time of conversion and of listening anew to the voice of God, always in communion with the Holy Father and our Mother the Church.”
In August 2024, its founder, Luis Fernando Figari, had been expelled from the movement due to accusations of physical, psychological and sexual violence, including against minors. The first allegations of abuse surfaced in the early 2000s following allegations from former members and media investigations.
In July 2023, Pope Francis had sent two special examiners to Peru to “investigate, listen and report” on the case of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, and the Spanish priest Jordi Bertomeu, both members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As early as January 2018, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life published a Decree in which the Commissariat of the Society of Apostolic Life Sodalitium Christianae Vitae was appointed after learning of the seriousness of the information about the internal regime, formation and economic and financial management.
The Sodalitium of Christian Life is an institution of the Catholic Church canonically recognized since 1997 as a Society of Lay Apostolic Life of pontifical right. As such, it is ecclesiastically dependent on the Holy See, specifically on the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
The statement of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life
On April 15, a statement from the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, signed by the Prefect, Sr. Simona Brambilla, was also made public. “Having concluded the investigation ordered by the Holy Father Francis on July 5, 2023, in order to verify the validity of the accusations of responsibilities of various kinds, attributed to Mr. Luis Fernando Figari and several other members of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, it has been decided to suppress both the Societies of Apostolic Life of the Sodalitium of Christian Life and the Marian Society of Reconciliation, such as the Associations of the Faithful of the Servants of the Plan of God and of the Christian Life Movement,” the document says.
“Recently, the respective decrees of suppression have been notified, issued by the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and specifically confirmed by the Holy Father,” explains the note signed by Sister Brambilla. And it confirms that “at the same time, Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu has been appointed Apostolic Commissioner so that he has at his disposal the acts, procedures and all kinds of initiatives, useful and in any case functional to apply the provisions related to the measures of suppression, as well as to deal with all the consequences derived from the same decision”.
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