The Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana reported this Tuesday that between May 2016 and December 2024 it compensated 83 people who were victims of sexual, psychological and power abuse, through extrajudicial agreements.
According to the report published today on the website of the Sodalicio, of the total cases repaired, 15 were sexual abuses against minors between 11 and 17 years old, 18 against adults and 50 were abuses of another type.
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The document was initially presented on January 15 to the members of the general assembly of the Sodalitium held in Aparecida, Brazil.
The text indicates that in the 1990s and 2000s the largest number of repaired cases were committed, with 39 incidents in the first period and 29 in the second.
Likewise, it indicates that the agreed reparations consist of academic and therapeutic support and financial compensation, and that the total amount allocated is $5,348,000.
Of this amount, $336,000 was used in therapies and $5,012,000 in compensation.
In its report, the Sodalicio reiterates its request for forgiveness and points out that “it is an institutional duty to take concrete actions to repair the damage caused, beyond what civil or canonical justice can determine.”
“Reparation seeks to be an act of justice that seeks to help the person who has experienced some type of abuse by a member or former member of the Sodalicio to heal the wound suffered in their dignity,” he states.
This Monday, the Sodalitium of Christian Life confirmed that it was dissolved by decision of Pope Francis.
According to the portal Infovaticanathe dissolution decree “refers to the immorality of the founder, Luis Fernando Figari, as an indication of the nonexistence of a founding charisma, and therefore, the lack of ecclesial legitimacy for the permanence of the institution.”
Figari was expelled from the SCV by Pope Francis in August 2024. The Holy See had already sanctioned him in 2017 and prohibited him from having contact with any member of this society after it was proven that he committed sexual and power abuses.
To date, the full text of the dissolution decree is not known.
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Prensa I have been sent to cover Pope Francis’ trips to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synodality Synod in the Vatican in 2023.