Sodalitium Christianae Vitae
Sodalitium Christianae Vitae ("Association, or Community, of Christian Life" in English) is a Society of Apostolic Life founded by Luis Fernando Figari in Lima, Perú, in 1971 and approved by Pope John Paul II in 1997.
The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SVC) is comprised mainly of consecrated laymen but it also includes priests, who make promises of celibacy and obedience and who live in community. Married couples may also participate. The Sodalitium is closely associated with the Christian Life Movement and the Marian Community of Reconciliation for consecrated laywomen.
The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is actively engaged in promoting the efforts towards holiness of its members and of other Roman Catholics. They are convinced that the truths contained in the Church’s Deposit of Faith constitute a glowing alternative way of life for all humanity. The Christian heritage is the key to the survival of the world as a civilization respectful of human dignity. From within its identity as sons of the Church, they commit themselves to working with other Christians and men and women of good will to achieve a more reconciled and just society according to God's Plan.
Society of Apostolic Life
A Society of Apostolic Life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together to live for a specific mission. Their members do not take religious vows, but instead make promises defined in the Code of Canon Law (731-755).
The institution of Societies of Apostolic Life can be directly traced to the Second Vatican Council. After the Second Vatican Council, the Church saw an opportunity to introduce this new form of Christian living to better respond to the today’s culture.
After reading and reflecting upon the documents of Vatican II, Luis Fernando saw the creation of the Sodalitcium as a response to the Church’s call to form a new way to live the Christian Life.
While Societies of Apostolic Life are considered a new form of life in the Church, the idea of this way of living has roots that can be traced back as far as the 16th and 17th centuries with the foundations started by Philip Neri, Charles Borromeo, Pierre de Bérulle, Vincent de Paul, Louise of Marillac, Jean-Jacques Olier, Jean Eudes, and others. Members of these Societies undertake the goal of being fully dedicated to the apostolate and life in a fraternal community, with a formal commitment that order their lives to announce Jesus Christ in the world.
Since then, the Catholic Church has realized a strong positive response with people living faithfully, a strengthening of families, and a vigorous vocational response from the youth.
Luis Fernando has been quoted as saying, “The ecclesial movements, such as CLM —each with own traits and style— offer ambits of Christian life where people deepen their adhesion to the Lord Jesus. Therefore, in the CLM one can: deepen, live and celebrate one’s faith, discover the wonders and gifts of God, express charitable solidarity, strive to give glory to God with one’s everyday life, share paths and faith experiences with their peers who are searching —hungry for the Bread of Life, thirsting for the Living Water that satisfies the deepest longings of the human being. In the center of the CLM member’s faith experience lies the aspiration (I) to live holiness, (II) to commit with ardor to the apostolate, and (III) to serve God and fellow brothers and sisters with generous and fraternal donation. These three dimensions are an expression of the vision of the Christian Life Movement for its way of living the faith of the Church, and its contribution to the construction of a Civilization of Love in the world.”
History
The Sodalitium started as a group of young enthusiastic Catholics around the Founder, Luis Fernando Figari, in 1971. Although several of the intuitions where implicit in the small group, no one really imagined what the Sodalitium would become in the future.
In 1972, after a meeting with the young Founder by the then Auxiliary Bishop of Lima, Most Reverend Germán Schmitz, Sodalitium was encouraged to freely thrive in the Archdiocese of Lima.
Later that same year, the Bishop of the Peruvian Andean diocese of Huaraz, Most Reverend Fernando Vargas Ruiz de Somocurcio, promulgated a "Decree of Praise," inviting the members of Sodalitium to carry out apostolic missions in the territory of the diocese. This missionary experience is still practiced today and encouraged by Sodalitium members.
In 1977, Cardinal Landázuri promulgated a canonical Decree erecting Sodalitium Christianae Vitae as a Pious Society, according to the Code of Canon Law of 1917.
In 1988, through another decree, this time according to the new Canon Law Code, the Cardinal Archbishop approved the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae as an Association of Public Right within the Catholic Church.
Apostolic Society of Diocesan Right - In 1994, after obtaining the official nulla osta ("No obstacles") from the Holy See, the new Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Augusto Vargas Alzamora, formally erected the Sodalitium as a Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right.
Pontifical Approval - Three years later, in 1997 Pope John Paul II granted his Pontifical Approval to the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae as a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right.
The Sodalitium is the first male religious society in the whole history of Peru to have received the approval of the Vicar of Christ. By 1997 there were already Sodalit communities in other countries. Five years later, in an Audience at Castelgandolfo in 2002, Pope John Paul II gave the Founder and Superior General a Letter of encouragement and praise.
Pontifical Approval
The growth of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) in different countries has been positively recognized by many members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church[1]. Also, two of the SCV members have been ordained bishops by the Holy See. They are Most Reverend Jose Antonio Eguren S.C.V.[2], Archbishop of Piura and Most Reverend Kay Schmalhausen S.C.V.[3], Bishop of the Prelature of Ayaviri. In the same way, parishes in the Archdiocese of Lima[4] (Peru), Diocese of Chosica[5] (Peru), Archdiocese of Medellin (Colombia) and Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro[6] (Brasil) have been entrusted to the Sodalitium.
The Founder, a short biography
Luis Fernando Figari, was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, on July 8, 1947.
His parents were Alberto Figari (1902-1990) and Mrs. Blanca Figari (1909-1995). Both were Peruvians.
Luis Fernando was Baptized in the Virgin of the Pilar Parish, by Father Constancio Bollar, a Passionist Priest, some days after he was born. Father Bollar was not only the Pastor, but also a friend of the family. Bollar had an important role in Luis Fernando’s discernment towards a consecrated life. Since the end of the sixties until he passed away in 1975, he was confessor and spiritual director of Luis Fernando.
The Founder studied in the Immaculate Heart of Mary until he was 10 years of age and then in Holy Mary High School. He finished school in 1963, when he was sixteen years old.
As it was customary, he received the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Communion, and Confirmation when he was seven years of age. Presiding over the Liturgy was Cardinal Juan Landazuri, O.F.M., Archbishop of Lima, who would have an important role in the approval of the Sodalitium, as well as in the other religious societies Luis Fernando established.
Since 1972 Cardinal Landazuri maintained a close contact with the young founder, who had begun this path when he was 24 years old.
After finishing High School, he studied Humanities and Law in the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He also studied Law in the National University of St. Mark, in Lima. Afterwards he studied Theology in the Pontifical and Civil School of Theology of Lima, where he also taught in 1975.
He has published many articles and books[7][8][9][10][11]. Actually, he is considered one of the main Catholic thinkers in the Americas. He has strongly backed the ideal of reconciliation, as well as the organization of congresses on several occasions on the issue of reconciliation. He is fully convinced that the lay members of the Church, flowing from their rebirth in Lord Jesus, must answer the gift of Baptism and, according to their condition, actively assume their specific role in the mission of the Church and strive in their lives towards sanctity.
After participating in politics and searching answers in philosophy, he began to walk through the path of the faith. He reached the conclusion that change in society and in its structures would only be achieved by the changing of the concrete human being. During the seventies and onwards, he has been a strong critic of the marxist liberation theology. His constant effort to promote the Church’s Social Doctrine, and an anthropology that finds its expression in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution Gaudium et spes 22, is well known. He is an advocate of the solidarity with the poor and the sick, under the inspiration of the Gospel. He defends human dignity and rights, as well as the rights of the unborn. For all this he can very well be called a Christian humanist.
Even while for some time in his youth he experienced coldness and detachment from the faith he continued to be a spiritual seeker. He always had the inner conviction that our material nature was totally insufficient to explain the human being. Questions about who we are and regarding the real nature of the human being have accompanied him since his initial university studies and onwards.
What can be called his conversion process, begun in 1968, finds a culminating point in the foundation of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, in 1971. He likes to call that moment a "baptism of a search". The Sodalitium matured in Christian life and through several canonical approvals, until it was definitely approved by Pope John Paul II in 1997 as a Society of Apostolic Life for consecrated laymen and priests. It is ruled by Constitutions, approved by the Holy See, as all other religious societies of Pontifical right.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II named D. Luis Fernando Figari as Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
In 2004, in the last days of November, he had his last audience with H.H. John Paul II, in the Apostolic Palace.
In 2005, after the Holy Father’s passing, he was present in St. Peter’s Basilica to pray before the Pope’s body, and in the funeral Mass held in St. Peter’s Square. He was really enthusiastic about the Pontificate of Pope John Paul, and had even written a book in 1979, at the beginning of the pontificate, called “John Paul II: Voice of Hope”.
He was also present in St. Peter’s Square, with members of the community of the Sodalitium in Rome, at the moment when Pope Benedict XVI appeared to the world as the Successor of Peter. He joyfully assisted to the inaugural Mass of the Pontificate of H.H. Benedict XVI. He has written public letters to the Sodalit spiritual family on this historical and religious event, as well as on Pope Benedict’s inaugural Mass.
On the eve of Pentecost 2006, on June 3, he was present in the Meeting of Pope Benedict XVI with members of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, which gathered more than 250 thousand members from Movements all over the world. On that occasion Luis Fernando delivered the closing words of the encounter, addressing Pope Benedict XVI on behalf of the Movements and expressing their gratitude to the Holy Father.
The Meaning behind the Name
Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is in Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church, and means fellowship and communion of disciples with the Lord.
The name was chosen by Luis Fernando Figari and some of his classmates at the Facultad de Teología Pontificia y Civil in Lima. Figari was then a student studying theology, and at the time was the only lay student in his class. One day he shared with his class his idea to start a new community of Christian life that would maintain the characteristics of the consecrated lay life. Many students expressed their support and excitement and began to help Figari formalize the name of this new community. A Jesuit priest, more advanced in Latin, helped perfect the name, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which reflected the ideas of Figari.
The name loosely means a fraternal sharing and communion of the disciples with the Lord Jesus.[12]
A Response to the Second Vatican Council
After the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, the ideas born out of the Council, especially the decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, about the apostolic work of the laity, began to influence Figari’s spiritual director, Fr. Constancio Bollar.
The document speaks of the role of the laity to “lead non-believers to the faith and to instruct, strengthen, and encourage the faithful to a more fervent life.” The document also boldly states that “modern conditions demand that [the] apostolate [of the laity] be broadened and intensified…” Furthermore, “the laity must take up the renewal of the temporal order as their own special obligation. Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church and motivated by Christian charity, they must act directly and in a definite way in the temporal sphere.” Finally, a special emphasis was placed on the perfect example given by the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was to become the perfect model for the laity and the type of “spiritual and apostolic life” they were to undertake.
Thus, on December 8, 1971, the young group that had once dreamed of forming a new congregation saw the first fruits of their discernment as they committed themselves to seriously live the Christian Life during a ceremonial Mass in Lima, Peru.[13]
Charism
The Sodalitium have been called into existence as a community of faith by the Holy Spirit. It was born looking forward into the 21st century, with have an intense ardor for the endeavor of the New Evangelization, as it has been called by Pope John Paul II. They are convinced that human forces alone cannot accomplish this overwhelming task, but, conscious of this reality, we trust that the illumination and the force to carry out this mission will be given by God.
It is their understanding that the Second Vatican Council (or Vatican II) has a great significance for the Church and the world in this new century. They believe that in a de-Christianized society, under the siege of the "culture of death”, secularism and functional agnosticism, the lights that irradiate from Vatican II can help dissipate the darkness that threatens mankind. The world is in urgent need, to the followers of this organization, of Christian solutions.
Community Life
Life in community is essential to the style and mission of Sodalitium. The love of Lord Jesus has gathered us so, like Him, we will be able, in the Holy Spirit, to respond to the Plan of Love of the Father.
By living in community we strive to make our whole lives full of the spirit of brotherly communion, loving God and our fellow brothers "as ourselves" (Cfr. Mt 22:39).
In community we find an excellent way to live the Christian life and give testimony that the Gospel is the only horizon of a fulfilled life, the answer for the human being's longing for answers, infinity and peace.
We live our community life with a unity of ideals, life, prayer, heart and service, obtained by charity and expressed in profound and authentic friendship, and in the willingness that the community itself may always be a humble existential sign of the Church's unity.
Thus, we try to be for one another a continuous stimulus of fervor, humility, prayer, reverence, joy, study, work, apostolate, and solidarity, participating and witnessing the Church's Mystery.
Our communities are part of the organic communion of the whole Church, and its members are bound by a common calling from God to personal consecration to walk a path approved by the Church, sharing the experience of the Spirit.[14]
A sodalit´s spiritual life
The means that the Sodalitium uses to achieve its spiritual goals are those that respond to the Gospels' spirit and fidelity to the Church. Among them are[15]:
- Fidelity to the promises of Baptism and Confirmation, in which the commitment to the full availability to apostolate finds its foundation;
- The filial love of the Mother, which is lived as a process that leads to the recovery of the full likeness to the Lord Jesus;
- Consecration to Mary, which establishes a covenant with Her, in which the vocation of apostolic cooperation in her mission of Spiritual Mother is specially expressed;
- Community life, which helps Sodalits live the Christian life to the measure of Christ and to fulfill our apostolic mission;
- The permanent formation in the faith of the Church, by reading and studying, as well as personal and common prayer;
- The active participation in the Sacred Liturgy, where we find the source and the summit of our own life and mission;
- The frequent and reverent participation in the Eucharist, sacrament of Love and center of the whole Christian life, where the Sodalit learns the real meaning and end of our apostolic works;
- Eucharistic adoration and the personal dialogue with the Lord by daily visits to Jesus in the Tabernacle.
- The intense living of the evangelical virtues;
- The continuous exercise of God's presence;
- The meditation of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception and her spiritual maternity;
- The daily prayer of the Rosary;
- Apostolic action - the willingness to serve and the fulfillment of tasks according to each person's condition and duty.
Spirituality
The Sodalitium, within the full communion of the Church, has its own spirituality, discipline and style. These establish the appropriate means to help its members to strengthen and consolidate their conversion, increase their self-understanding, and give themselves fully to live the Plan of God. According to the calling of each one, each Sodalit participates intensely in the evangelizing mission of the Church, and strongly desires that the dynamics of the Good News reach and transform whatever is "in contrast with the Word of God and the design of Salvation".
The central aspect of the Sodalitium's spiritual path can be summarized in part by two articles of its Constitutions:
"The Sodalits believe that in the economy of Reconciliation the initiative is from God's Love. Making an upright use of his freedom, man welcomes this initiative and communicates it. The infinite love of God leads the Son of Holy Mary, the eternal incarnated Word, to reconcile humanity with God, and to serve men as a reconciling model, announcing the Good News, by His life, deeds, and words. In the Altar of Reconciliation, He made explicit the mission of Holy Mary to be our Mother. As the Virgin cooperates with the Holy Spirit in the mystery of the Annunciation-Incarnation, she also cooperates in the forging of the newly born Church and keeps doing it today."
"Walking in the company of Mary, the Sodalits learn how to live the full horizon of the Christian life, attempting to convert their own lives and work in a liturgical sign. Motivated by the fidelity to the Divine Plan, they participate in the apostolic work of Holy Mary, following her example and cooperating with God, under her maternal guidance."
Sanctity, with all that it means, is the highest purpose of the Sodalit life.
Formation
Formation for the consecrated life and priesthood has several stages. They all constitute a guarantee for the candidate as well as for the Society that enough attention is given to all the details of such an important process in the life of a person. The Sodalitium's formation program involves several stages. While these vary from community to community in name, length of time, and format, the following outline gives a general view of formation programs.
Aspirant:
One may consider that formation begins with a preliminary stage of discernment. It is the time for searching for the answer to questions like, “What does God want of me?” A process of deepening the discernment is established. The aspirant has meetings and participates in certain activities while continuing his education or work. On a yearly basis, a person may be an aspirant for at least one to a maximum of three years.
Candidate:
A more formal relationship with the community occurs when a person becomes a candidate. It really is the proper beginning of the person’s formative experience. It is a time of stronger commitment to Christian life and of discernment as to whether or not the consecrated life is God's call for him. At this stage candidates live with the community. This period enables the person involved to observe and participate in religious life from inside the community experience. It also gives the community an opportunity to see if the candidate has the characteristics, personal integrity and consistency required to live the Charism and the life of the community. The time span of this stage is two years.
Trainee:
This next stage of formation is called in some religious societies the novitiate. This is a special one to two year period which marks the person's official entrance into the community. Trainees spend time in study and prayer, learning more about themselves, the community, spirituality and their relationship with the Lord. Special periods of learning in practice are established to help make an assessment of the trainee’s readiness and consistency. These periods are established with special attention to the trainee’s requirements and to the principle of the convenience of change in environment in the formation process.
Marian Consecration:
At the end of the main formative years, the Marian Consecration is a stage that prepares the person for temporary promises or vows.
Temporal Commitment:
The person explicitly professes obedience, celibacy, as well as communication of goods and all other norms contained in the Constitutions approved by the Holy See. The temporal profession is renewed yearly. This period can have a duration of nine years. Final vows can be made after three years of temporary promises.
Perpetual Commitment:
After this process of basic formation the person makes promises of obedience and celibacy perpetually in the Society, becoming a full member. A man studying for religious priesthood also has seminary training, where his time is spent studying theology, the Bible, the teachings of the church, and the skills he will need to be a priest.
Structure of the Sodalitium
The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is ruled by the Constitutions approved by the Holy See. The Constitutions establish the structure and the way the Sodalitium is governed. This structure is quite similar to other societies of consecrated life approved by the Holy See.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly is the highest authority in the Sodalitium.
- Superior General - Elected by the General Assembly.
- Vicar General - Cooperates in the functions of service in authority with the Superior General, as well as in the duties of spiritual animation of the Society.
SUPERIOR COUNCIL
There are five Assistant Generals. They are elected by the General Assembly and each one of them is responsible of one of the Departments and Organisms in which the life and apostolic service of the Sodalitium is divided.
- Regional Superior - For administrative reasons the Sodalitium is divided in Regions and Territories, which can be compared to that which most religious societies call Provinces and Regions. Responsible for exercising the service of authority in each Region is the Regional Superior, named with the consent of the Superior Council.
- Regional Council - It's analogous to the Superior Council for each Region.
- Superior of a Center - Centers are minor jurisdictions that may include one or more communities of common and apostolic life. Responsible for each Center is the local Superior.
- Member in Charge of a community - The figure of the Member in Charge is inspired in the figure of the monastic orders and other societies of religious life that have followed them; they have a Prior with responsibilities in the service of authority in a community. The Sodalit communities usually have a member in charge, who helps the local Superior in the service to the brothers and the apostolate.
Apostolic Work
The basic elements of the Sodalitium’s apostolic work include: apostolate with the youth, solidarity with the poor and persons in need, evangelization of the culture, and the promotion of families and family life.[16]
Apostolate with the Youth
Since 1977, the Sodalitium and the Christian Life Movement have sponsored an International Youth Congress called Convivio. The Congress is for Catholic Youth who travel from around the world to experience an intense weekend, to reflect upon contemporary society, share their experiences, and explore the problems and challenges of their lives.
In 2009 Convivio Congresses were held in Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, and Australia in a total of 11 cities. In total, tens of thousands of youth have attended these Congresses.[17]
Solidarity in Action
Since 1990, Solidaridad en Marcha (Solidarity in Action) has worked for the integral development of the human person and towards the eradication of the poor. Through the generous support of many organizations, Solidaridad en Marcha now has social projects in health care, education, and community development. Some of their works include urban infrastructure development, the construction of water systems, transportation systems, community kitchens, parks and playgrounds, schools, daycare centers, chapels, community centers, and medical clinics.
Solidaridad en Marcha also conducts a number of campaigns throughout the year that focus on assisting the poorest of the poor and bringing the Gospel into even the most challenging places.[18]
Evangelization of the Culture
To understand the approach of the Sodalitium and its Mission to Evangelize the Culture, one must understand how the Sodalitium views the world. Pope Benedict XVI has commented extensively about the financial, environmental, and the moral crisis facing the world of today. The Sodalitium shares this view. Luis Fernando has said that “this crisis has not arisen as a surprise,” but that it is the “consequence of a process that has been building up for some centuries.” The Sodalit views the effects of reductionism, nomalism, subjectivism, and relativism as key philosophies that have laid the foundation for this crisis. Consequently, a main component of the Sodalit Mission is the understanding of the culture, the roots of the crisis, and how to bring about the New Evangelization despite the new challenges facing the Church today. According to Figari, the Sodalit sees the youth of today “immersed in a materialistic, superficial and consumerist world. They are aggressively bombarded by the sensual and agnostic messages of mass media. They are the children of the information and technological era,” but believes that the Church is experiencing a “process of renewal” that considers the “unique characteristics of today’s world” which must “make the Gospel accessible to the men and women of today.”
The New Evangelization, for the Sodalitium, “has to be a very clear proclamation of the absolute singularity of the Eternal Word, incarnated in the womb of the Virgin Mary.” They acknowledge that the “truth is the same today as it was yesterday, as the Lord Jesus is the same today and always.” For them, a key component is humanization, which can be seen in both Gaudium et spes and Ecclesia in America that speak directly about the fulfillment of the human person that the Lord Jesus brings.
Figari and the Sodalitium believe that “the theme of Evangelization of Culture, [is] a core dimension of the process of the New Evangelization.”
Another major component of the Evangelization of the Culture is the connection between faith and reason, from which the Sodalitium references the Venerable John Paul II’s Encyclical Fides et Ratio. It can be concluded that a major component of Sodalit Spirituality is the understanding and reconciliation of the rupture of Man, from the beginning of creation, with God, himself, the rest of humanity, and creation. Through this process of reconciliation, the Sodalit believes that Man can come to know himself, his mission, and come to experience an authentic happiness. Finally, Sodalit Spirituality places a strong emphasis on the role of the Blessed Mother Mary. The Sodalit views Mary as the perfect model of fidelity to the Plan of God, seeks her council and intercession to bring about the conversion of individual hearts and the transformation of the Church and the entire world..
The Sodalit spiritual family
The Sodalitium constitutes the nucleus of a spiritual family extended over four continents. Just as there are many members in an extended family, this particular Church reality has several branches which have come into being as a consequence of its development. Besides the Sodalitium, some of the different expressions of this spiritual family are:
- The Christian Life Movement (CLM), an international ecclesial lay Movement that is open to people of all ages. It was approved by the Holy See in 1994. With more than forty thousand members, it is by far the biggest branch of the Sodalit Spiritual Family.
- The Marian Community of Reconciliation, also known as the “fraternas”, a canonical association of consecrated lay women, on its way to becoming a Society of Apostolic Life.
- The Servants of the Plan of God, a canonical society of consecrated women who wear a habit. They are also in the process of becoming a Society of Apostolic Life.
Commitment to those who suffer
As mentioned above, the solidarity with the needy[19] has always been a concern for the Sodalitium[20]. There are many initiatives around the world of this apostolic work[21]. Members are always attentive to the suffering and needs[22] of others, seeking to serve the needs of many[23]. There are many testimonies[24] that today can be seen around the world.[25]
Public Image and Perception
Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) is considered by liberal movements to be a conservative organization for holding and actively promoting the official Catholic doctrine in all matters, including the opposition to many aspects of Liberation Theology within the Catholic Church in Latin America (which was particularly influential during the 70's and 80's), as well as to the legalization of same-sex marriage and abortion.
In Peru, the Vatican's appointment of two bishops from the Sodalitium, on 2002 and 2006, together with the presence of 10 bishops affliliated to Opus Dei, has been seen as a notable increment of the conservative influence in the Catholic Church in the country.[26]. On 2007, precisely when the legalization of therapeutic abortion was on the legislative agenda of the country, one of Sodalitium bishops, who was at the time President of the Peruvian Bishops Comission on Family, Childhood and Life, did direct lobbying with the Peruvian government on abortion issues. [27]. Earlier that year, there was great controversy when Bishop Kay Schmalhausen, member of SCV and Prelate of Ayaviri, removed from the prelature a priest commited to tenets of liberation theology. [28][29]
On November 13, 1975, Marka (a leftist political magazine founded on that same year, which is 'one of the best examples of the alternative press' whose 'intellectual muse were Antonio Gramsci's thoughts on the role of organic intellectuals and Lenin's writings on political organization'[30], which since that time spread the revolutionary ideas of Abimael Guzman, founder of the terrorist Peruvian group Shining Path[31], and whose sister paper 'El diario de Marka' ended up being infiltrated and fully controlled by the terrorist group when this became active in the 1980s[32]) published an article entitled 'La Derecha en la Iglesia' ('The Right in the Church'), which accused SCV founder Luis Fernando Figari of being involved in the founding of a falangist youth movement known as Dios y Patria, or 'God and Country' in the late 1960s and 1970s and of being involved with the right-wing movement known as TFP (Tradition, Family and Property), among other claims. Four days later, on November 17, 1975, Figari replied with a formal letter to the Director of Marka, on which he categorically denied the article accusations, publicly establishing his disagreement with TFP, denying SCV's connections with 'Dios y Patria' or any other political group, clarifying that he did not belong to any political group, refuting other false claims, and protesting for the 'typically misinformed and biased journalism' of the referred article. The reply was published in the next issue of Marka.[33]. Decades after, the article's refuted allegations were repeated by academic researcher Milagros Pena, who used them as the sole source for claiming SCV's 'early ties with right-wing organizations'[34] without any reference to Figari's reply. Pena's dependence on Marka's article is plainly evident, for much more than the directly quoted references, in Chapter Five of the book, entitled precisely 'The Catholic Right in Peru'.
There are rumors of alleged deprivation and questionable ascetical discipline, as well as psychological manipulation used for testing the faith of young members of the SCV. These allegations were made public in 2001 by Agencia Peru, which produces the TV program La Ventana Indiscreta.[35]. An article about the Sodalitium in Caretas Magazine shows SCV members denying such rumors[36]. Apologists argue that other publications have also shown that such accusations about practices of deprivation of freedom are unfounded, and come mainly from some parents who oppose the choice of their adult children to religious life and from people who are in conflict with the particular Catholic perspective of the Sodalitium. This claim would appear in reference to the Caretas article, featuring the Guillen family's concern about their child. The Agencia Peru article, however, features ex-members that make similar claims about unorthodox disciplining measures as the Guillen family[37].
Another criticism against the Sodalitium is the story of a woman who in 2003 filed a complaint to the Peruvian Government regarding the alleged kidnapping of her 21 year-old daughter by the SCV.[38]. The complaint of the woman was dismissed by the Peruvian authorities after a due investigative process, in which they verified[39] that the daughter had not been deprived of her freedom at any time, that she lived in the same residence since she left her mother’s house two years before the demand, that she had a regular job at the Peruvian British Cultural Association, that she also attended university classes, that she was an outstanding student of Architecture, that she was not part of any religious group, that she did not even consider herself a practicing Catholic. Moreover, the investigation verified that the mother suffered from psychological problems, that she had previously filed similar demands against other five people, that all of these were unrelated to SCV, that all those demands had also proved to be false, that they were caused by the mother’s personal problems and by the fact that the daughter had left her parents residence at age 19 in 2001 with the intention of becoming independent, and that the daughter had been psychologically abused by the mother repeatedly.
In 2007, a 42-year old SCV consecrated layman, Daniel Murguía, was invoved in a grave pedophilia scandal. He was found by the National Police in a hostel in Lima with a 12 year-old boy, of whom he was taking sexually explicit pictures, and who denounced that he had also received oral sex from Murguía. [40][41][42] Although these charges were denied by the accused, Murguía was immediately expelled from the SCV. In the communique of expulsion, the SCV declared: 'We deeply lament the scandalous and reproachable situation that implicates Mr. Daniel Beltrán Murguía. We echo the Holy Father‚ His voice, and emphatically declare that there is no place in religious life to people of such conduct. Our community has a clear and strong policy before any grave misconduct or fault that attempts against human dignity'.
SVC members have also made statements in the past denying relationships to political movements or public offices. For example, Germán McKenzie, then Regional Superior of the SVC in Perú, stated in the Caretas article in March 2003 that 'no consecrated member held public office'[43]. At that time, Luis Solari de la Fuente, a SVC member, who can only belong to the movement as a consecrated layman (as he is not a priest), held office as the Prime Minister of Perú [44].
Complaint processes have been very difficult to adjudicate from outside the state apparatus as multiple SCV members have taken very high ranking positions and have strong influences within the Peruvian state. According to Congressman Javier Diez Canseco, the SCV, like other conservative movements within the church, are very close to economic and political power[45]. Likewise Diez Canseco has alleged that the SCV have a large list of complaints against them that have "always been diluted"[46]. Secrecy and mediated representation have been suggested as operative in the SCV in the interviews and observations of the organization [47][48].
References
- ^ http://www.noticiasdelsodalicio.com/content/category/12/21/70/
- ^ http://www.arzobispadodepiura.org/content/view/13/28/
- ^ http://www.prelaturaayaviri.org/index.php?
- ^ http://www.parroquiansr.org/
- ^ http://www.parroquianscruz.org/
- ^ http://www.vidacrista.org.br/nsguia/
- ^ http://www.clmresources.com/luis_fernando_figari.html
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Prayer-Luis-Fernando-Figari/dp/0879736917
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003F76X7O/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0879736917&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1B7J5N0735YRVM4RXT1V
- ^ http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6539978-con-mar-a-en-oraci-n
- ^ http://openlibrary.org/authors/OL243630A/Luis_Fernando_Figari
- ^ http://www.sodalicioperu.org/content/view/16/29/
- ^ http://www.sodalicioperu.org/content/view/16/29/
- ^ http://www.sodalitium.com/
- ^ http://sodalitium.us/spirituallife.htm
- ^ http://sodalitium.us/
- ^ http://www.convivio.org/
- ^ http://www.solidaridadenmarcha.org
- ^ http://www.mvcchile.org/
- ^ http://www.somarbrasil.org.br/
- ^ http://creo-germandoig.gtsj.net/
- ^ http://www.armonizar.org/
- ^ http://www.solidaridadenmarcha.org/web/
- ^ http://www.clmphilippines.org/
- ^ http://www.missionimvc.com/
- ^ Jimenez, Beatriz (2008). "El Opus Dei copa obispados y arzobispados a nivel nacional". La República. Retrieved 2010, May 9.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Santa presión". No. 1967. Caretas. 2007.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Ayaviri: Hostias Con Ají". Caretas. No. 1960. 2007.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Nos Escriben". Caretas. 2007. Retrieved 2010, May 9.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Waisbord, S.R. (2000). Watchdog journalism in South America: news, accountability, and democracy. NYC: Columbia University Press. p. 29.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Cf. La Izquierda Peruana, Marka n. 21, January 8, 1976.
- ^ Stern (editor), Steve J. (1998). Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980-1995. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. p. 299.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Marka, November 20, 1975. http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/8171/marka19751120.jpg
- ^ Pena, Milagros (1995). Theologies and Liberation in Peru: The Role of Ideas in Social Movements. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 153.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Los Misterios del Sodalicio". Agencia Peru (in Spanish). 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Los Once Mil Castos". Caretas (in Spanish). No. 1763. 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Los Misterios del Sodalicio". Agencia Peru (in Spanish). 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "N/A url=http://www2.congreso.gob.pe/sicr/ParCiudadana/requerim2002.nsf/4474f064ed1461ed05256b22005462df/90721031c1e334d005256d2d0070388a?OpenDocument". Congress of Peru.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing pipe in:|title=(help) - ^ Peruvian National Police report 466-2003 http://noticiasdelsodalicio.blogspot.com/2008/03/una-falsa-historia-que-qued-aclarada.html
- ^ "Capturaron a pedófilo cuando fotografiaba a menor de 11 años". Peru 21 (in Spanish). 2007. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Detienen a ingeniero de sistemas por tráfico de pornografía infantil". Diario La Republica (in Spanish). 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Capturan a pedófilo que era laico consagrado". Terra (in Spanish). 2007. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Los Once Mil Castos". Caretas (in Spanish). No. 1763. 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Elliott, Carolyn M. (2008). "Global Empowerment of Women Responses to Globalization and Politicized Religions". Routledge. p. 341.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Diez Canseco, Javier (2010). "Santos y pederastas" (in Spanish). La Republica. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Diez Canseco, Javier (2010). "Santos y pederastas" (in Spanish). La Republica. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Los Misterios del Sodalicio". Agencia Peru (in Spanish). 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Los Once Mil Castos". Caretas (in Spanish). No. 1763. 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
