Pope Francis expels 10 members of the Peru Catholic movement after allegations of sexual abuse

Pope Francis approved the expulsion of ten members of the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (SVC) of Peru this Wednesday, after serious allegations of sexual abuse by a group of alleged victims came forward.

Among those expelled were prominent figures such as former Superior General Eduardo Regal Villa, former Archbishops of Piura and Tumbes José Antonio Eguren Anselmi.

Catholic News Agency Executive Director Alejandro Bermúdez was also expelled.

“Some journalists have also asked for my comments,” the former news agency director wrote on Twitter. “I am a journalist, I do NOT answer questions, I make them. So please find below a written and adapted version of my podcast explaining my expulsion.”

The Episcopal Conference of Peru (CEP) said that the decision was adopted after assessing the defenses corresponding to the complaints that arose during a special mission between July and August last year.

This measure was taken a month after the expulsion of Luis Fernando Figari, the founder and former superior general of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), the first male religious society in Peru to operate with papal approval.

Figari’s expulsion came after complaints of sexual abuse surfaced in the 2015 book “Half Monks, Half Soldiers,” by journalists Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz.

The 10 expelled members of the Sodalitium of Christian Life are the following:

The former Superior General: Eduardo Antonio Regal Villa

The archbishop emeritus of Piura: José Antonio Eguren Anselmi

The former Regional Superiors: Rafael Alberto Ismodes Cascón and Erwin Augusto Scheuch Pool.

The former trainers: Humberto Carlos Del Castillo Drago, Oscar Adolfo Tokumura Tokomura and Daniel Alfonso Cardó Soria.

The former members incorporated: Ricardo Adolfo Trenemann Young and Miguel Arturo Salazar Steiger.

The journalist Alejandro Bermúdez Rosell.

Pope Francis highlighted that the decision was based on a “scandal produced by the number and severity of the abuses reported by the victims.”

The charges included: Physical abuse with sadism and violence, abuse of conscience (using sectarian methods to break the will of subordinates), spiritual abuse (using information obtained in the internal non-sacramental forum or spiritual direction), abuse of position and of authority (hacking communications and harassment in the workplace, as well as covering up crimes), abuse in the administration of ecclesiastical assets and, finally, abuse in the exercise of the apostolate of journalism.

The first complainant of the abuses, José Enrique Escardó Steck, came forward in 2000. He described the recent expulsion as an act of “cover-up” by the Catholic Church and said the recent measures from the church do not represent true justice for the victims.

According to him, the expulsion is simply a marketing strategy to clean up the image of both the Church and the Sodalitium and was not a true search for justice.

Gracias a @mhidalgo1973 de @larepublica_pe por consigar mi opinión sobre lo que viene sucediendo en el caso #Sodalicio, su tema de portada hoy. pic.twitter.com/tIRH8qZO8d

— 𝔧𝔢𝔢𝔰𝔵𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔦𝔰𝔪𝔬 (@JEESxorcismo) September 26, 2024