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Vatican City, Jun 4, 2018 / 02:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Luis Fernando Figari, a layman accused of physical, sexual and psychological abuse, has launched a second appeal against a 2017 Vatican decision prohibiting him from living with the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, the society of apostolic life he founded.

A May 25 letter from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life said that the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, which functions as the Holy See’s supreme court, rejected Figari’s initial appeal Jan. 31.

The congregation also denied charges that it has been protecting Figari, who currently lives in Rome, from criminal investigation in Peru.

“Figari has never been hidden, sheltered, or protected in any way by the Apostolic See, and it considers unfounded the claim that Mr. Figari is prevented from defending himself or responding to accusations formulated against him in Peru,” the congregation wrote in its letter, which was made public June 1.

The congregation stated that its prohibition on Figari returning to Peru “is not in fact absolute”, and written permission for his return may be given by the pontifical commissioner of the Sodalitium.

Regarding Figari’s second appeal, the congregation wrote, “We are awaiting the final decision which, we hope, will be delivered as soon as possible and, above all, will confirm what was previously handed down.”

The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is a society of apostolic life which was founded in 1971 in Peru, and granted pontifical recognition in 1997. CNA’s executive director, Alejandro Bermúdez, is a member of the community.

The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life decreed in January 2017 that Figari may not have contact with members of the Sodalitium. It directed the community’s superior, Alessandro Moroni Llabres, to order that Figari be “prohibited from contacting, in any way, persons belonging to the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, and no way have any direct personal contact with them.”

The congregation also directed Moroni at that time to order that Figari not return to Peru, except for very serious reasons and with written permission; that he be placed in a residence where there are no Sodalits; that a member of the Sodalits be entrusted with the task of referring to Figari, for any eventuality and request; and that Figari be prohibited from granting any statement to the media or from participating in any public demonstrations or meetings of the Sodalitium.

The congregation said an apostolic visitation had resulted “in the conviction that Mr. Figari … had adopted a style of government excessively or improperly authoritarian” and that he had “committed acts contrary to the sixth commandment”, at least one with a minor. The congregation wrote that they consider it credible that Figari committed the crime of abuse of office, as outlined in canon 1389.

In January Bishop Noel Antonio Londoño Buitrago, C.Ss.R., of Jericó was appointed pontifical commissioner of the Sodalitium. Londoño will oversee the leadership of order as they continue to reform their governing policies and formation procedures, while Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, who has been papal delegate to the Sodalitium since May 2016, will focus on reforming the community’s economic matters.

Figari stepped down as superior general of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in 2010, after allegations of abuse surfaced in Peru.

The community was investigated after the publication of a book in 2015 by journalists Paola Ugaz and Pedro Salinas, chronicling years of alleged sexual, physical and psychological abuse by members of the SCV. In addition to Peru, the community operates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, and Italy.

In February 2017, a team of independent investigators commissioned by the Sodalitium reported that “Figari sexually assaulted at least one child, manipulated, sexually abused, or harmed several other young people; and physically or psychologically abused dozens of others.”

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Vatican City, Nov 17, 2018 / 05:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the face of the difficulties of the modern-age, artists and theologians need the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – the source of joy and hope, Pope Francis said Saturday, during the awarding of the 2018 Ratzinger Prize.

“Against the backdrop and in the context of the great problems of our time, theology and art must therefore continue to be animated and elevated by the power of the Spirit, which is the source of strength, joy and hope,” he said Nov. 17.

“I thank the theologians and the architects who help us to lift our heads and turn our thoughts to God,” he added. “Let [their work] always be addressed to this end.”

Pope Francis spoke with members of the Joseph-Ratzinger-Benedict XVI foundation, which is headed by Fr. Federico Lombardi. During the audience in the Clementine hall, the pope bestowed the 8th annual Ratzinger Prize on Swiss architect Mario Botta and Bavarian theologian Marianne Schlosser.

The Ratzinger Prize was started in 2011 to recognize scholars whose work demonstrates a meaningful contribution to theology in the spirit of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Bavarian theologian who became Pope Benedict XVI.

It is not the first time a woman has been awarded the prize, he noted, but stressed the importance of greater recognition of the contribution of women to the sciences, to theological research and to the teaching of theology, which were “for so long considered almost exclusive territories of the clergy.”

This contribution should be encouraged, and “find a wider space, in keeping with the growing presence of women in the various fields of responsibility for the life of the Church,” he said, pointing to the example set by St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Therese of Lisiuex and St. Hildegard of Bingen, who are all considered Doctors of the Church.

Francis also praised the contribution of the other prize winner, architect Mario Botta. He noted the importance of sacred buildings throughout the history of the Church, as places which show “a concrete call to God” and express “the faith of the believing community.”

“The commitment of the architect, creator of sacred space in the city of men, is therefore of highest value, and must be recognized and encouraged by the Church, especially when we risk the oblivion of the spiritual dimension and the dehumanization of urban spaces,” he stated.

Pope Francis also encouraged members of the foundation to continue to study the writings of Benedict XVI, both those from his time as pope and before, “but also to face the new themes on which faith is called to dialogue,” like care of creation and defense of human dignity.

For admirers of Benedict’s spiritual legacy, there is a “mission to cultivate it and to continue to make it bear fruit,” he said. “His is a spirit that views the problems of our time with awareness and courage, and knows how to draw, from attention to Scripture in the living tradition of the Church, the wisdom necessary for a constructive dialogue with today’s culture.”

Schlosser, 59, has been a professor of the theology of spirituality at the University of Vienna since 2004. Pope Francis appointed her a member of the International Theological Commission in 2014.

She has translated a large part of the body of work of St. Bonaventure into German and was the researcher for the second volume of the total works of Joseph Ratzinger, which was on “the Idea of Revelation and the Theology of the History of Bonaventure.” Her expertise is in Patristics and the theology and spirituality of the late Middle Ages.

Botta, 75, is an internationally-acclaimed architect, who has designed many different buildings, including homes, schools, libraries, museums, and banks. He has also designed several significant religious buildings, among them the Church of St. John the Baptist in Mogno, the Cathedral of Evry near Paris, and the Co-cathedral of Santo Volto in Turin.

He is also the designer of one of the chapels on display in the Holy See’s pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale.

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Pope Francis gives the Angelus address on Dec. 19, 2021 / Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2021 / 06:00 am (CNA).
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