Holy See names commissary for Sodalitium Christianae Vitae

By Christopher Wells

With a decree issued on Wednesday, the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has appointed an Apostolic Commissary – a commissioner – to oversee the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a society of apostolic life based in Peru. The Sodality has been in crisis since its founder was accused of sexual and psychological abuse.

A statement from the Holy See Press Office said Pope Francis has been carefully following all the information that had been received about the Sodality over a number of years. The Holy Father, it continued, “has shown particular attention to the gravity of the information regarding the internal regime, formation, and economic and financial management,” which was the basis for his “insistent” instructions for the Congregation to devote particular attention to the situation.

The decision to place the Sodality under a commissioner also took account of the serious measures taken by the Peruvian judicial system against the founder of the organization, Luis Fernando Figaro; and was only made after “a profound analysis” of all the documentation related to the group.

The new Commissary is a Redemptorist, Bishop Noel Antonio Londoño of Jericó, Colombia. The statement of the Press Office noted that American Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, as Delegate “ad nutum” (serving at the pleasure of the Pope), will continue to be the point of reference for the Congregation in relation to the Sodality, especially with regard to economic questions.