The Sodality of Christian Life reported that Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu Farnós, an official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), has been named to carry out the process of dissolving the society of apostolic life.
In a Feb. 1 statement, the Sodality of Christian Life (SCV, by its Latin acronym) announced that Pope Francis appointed Bertomeu apostolic commissioner to carry out the dissolution process, “which will begin in the coming days.”
The Spanish priest, along with Archbishop Charles Scicluna, deputy secretary of the DDF, was part of the special mission that the pope sent to Peru in July 2023 to investigate accusations against SCV members for sexual abuse and the abuse of power.
As a result of his report, in August 2024 the pope ordered the expulsion of the founder of the SCV, Luis Fernando Figari, whom the Vatican sanctioned in 2017 for sexual abuse. In September and October 2024, the Holy See announced the expulsion of 14 other members without explaining in some cases the reasons for which they were sanctioned.
On Jan. 31, at the end of its Sixth General Assembly held in Brazil, the SCV announced that the pontiff had decided to dissolve the society of apostolic life.
The Vatican decree indicating the reasons for the dissolution of the SCV is not yet known. According to Infovaticana, the document “refers to the immorality of the founder, Luis Fernando Figari, as an indication of the nonexistence of a founding charism, and therefore, the lack of ecclesial legitimacy for the permanence of the institution.”
In its Feb. 1 statement, the SCV expressed its “adherence to the decisions of the Holy Father” and assured that it would collaborate “in the best possible way in this process.”
The apostolate also clarified that it “disassociates itself from any publication and/or public demonstration that goes against the Holy Father or the delegates appointed by the Holy See.”
Bertomeu is currently in Lima and celebrated Sunday Mass on Feb. 2 at Our Lady of Reconciliation Parish, which has been administered by the SCV since 1989.
In his opening remarks, the priest explained that the suppression process includes “everything that Figari founded,” which includes the Christian Life Movement, the Servants of the Plan of God, and the Marian Fraternity of Reconciliation.
According to Bertomeu, Pope Francis told him that after a long discernment he came to the conclusion that “there was no initial charism” and that Figari “did not receive a special grace.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
