Truck circulates in Mexico City with message against indoctrinating schoolchildren

Lima, Peru, Mar 9, 2020 / 06:10 pm (CNA).- A Peruvian cardinal has said that the Vatican has been asked to dissolve the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peruvian religious community whose founder sexually and psychologically abused members, and committed other abuses of power.

“I personally think, when a religious organization has committed a crime, and it must be said that way, from the point of view of sexual abuse and the financial matters, that there are problems and it must be dissolved; and that is the point where we are on this road, and I know that the Holy See is on that road,” Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno said March 10 during an interview with Peru’s Radio Santa Rosa.

“There are good people within the Sodalitium, so we cannot put them all in the same bag. The underlying problem is that the founder is, not only seriously questioned, but I repeat, with much regret, he is a perverted person and such a person cannot transmit and encourage the sanctity of life that Pope Francis himself in an apostolic exhortation manifested.”

The cardinal said that other bishops in Peru, including the president of the country’s episcopal conference are in agreement with him about the Sodalitium. He said that dicasteries of the Holy See, while not disagreeing with their conclusion, have not yet found a definitive way to move forward on suppression of the religious congregation.

“My personal position is that this religious community should be dissolved, and those within it can be helped, so that they can live authentic lives, and I believe that many people share this view. This is a proposal that many of us are talking about, and it is not that Pope Francis or the dicasteries of the Holy See disagree, but we are on a path,” he added.

The cardinal, a member of the Society of Jesus, was appointed to lead the Peruvian Archdiocese of Huancayo in 2004. He was made a cardinal in 2018.

The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae declined to comment on the cardinal’s remarks.

The group is a society of apostolic life founded in 1971 in Peru, and granted pontifical recognition in 1997. Alejandro Bermudez, executive director of CNA, is a member of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

The Sodalitium’s founder, Luis Fernando Figari, stepped down as superior general in 2010, after allegations surfaced that he had committed serial acts of abuse while leading the community. Other former leaders of the community have since faced related abuse allegations, and several remain subject to law enforcement investigations.

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.”

Figari was subsequently forbidden from the group’s community life, from any contact with the religious community, and from him from returning to Peru. Figari was also forbidden to make any public statements.

In January 2018, Pope Francis appointed Colombian Bishop Noel Antonio Londoño Buitrago C.Ss.R. as papal commissioner for the society, tasking him with overseeing an ongoing process of reform that began after allegations against Figari came to light. Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark was tasked in 2016 with assisting the community’s reform process and its internal investigations of alleged misconduct.
 
In 2019, the community elected Colombian José David Correa González as its new superior general.

Prosecutors in Peru are believed to be deliberating about the possibility of criminal charges in connection to acts of abuse which took place with the Sodalitium.

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, contributed to this report.

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Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 9, 2020 / 11:53 am (CNA).- A Mexico City march organized for International Women’s Day turned violent Sunday, when some demonstrators vandalized public structures and monuments, Church buildings, and businesses amid the march.

Considerable violence took place outside the city’s cathedral, where some feminist demonstrators, many of whom wore masks, threw paint and flammable liquids at the church. A group of Catholics had gathered outside the cathedral to safeguard it during the demonstration, and a contingent of female police officers was assigned to the site. Both fell under attack.

Violentas feministas atacan a los que defienden la Catedral de México y a las pocas agentes policiales que la defienden #8M #MujeresPorLaPaz #TodaVidaVale #UnDiaPorTodas #MujerEsVida pic.twitter.com/FNxl8lvylN

— David Ramos (@YoDash) March 8, 2020

Some media reports mentioned counter-protesters making Nazi salutes outside the cathedral. Three such persons were observed by journalists from ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, all of whom apparently left the site once the melee began. Those counter-protesters did not appear to be affiliated with the cathedral parishioners outside the church. 

Demonstrators also threw Molotov cocktails at Mexico’s National Palace, the country’s official presidential residence, leaving some at the demonstration with burns and other injuries, smashed car windshields, and burnt the doors of some buildings.

Así dejaron las violentas feministas un vehículo de los bomberos @Bomberos_CDMX, a pocos metros de la Catedral de México y sin que las autoridades hagan algo #8M #DiaDeLaMujer #DiaInternacionaldelasMujeres pic.twitter.com/zKHLspLo4y

— David Ramos (@YoDash) March 8, 2020

Official government numbers said 80,000 people participated in the march. Demonstrators said the march was intended to address the problem of femicide in the country, although protestors also mentioned support for abortion rights among reasons for the demonstrations, and many wore the green bandanas that symbolize “abortion rights” support in Mexico.

#Viral| ?? En la cobertura de la marcha feminista, la fotógrafa de El Universal, Berenice Fregoso, resultó lesionada por una bomba molotov.

Fue traslada al hospital con quemaduras de segundo grado.

Más información. ⬇https://t.co/Oxp1Qj1BhY pic.twitter.com/7ZBNdhNyfx

— EL UNIVERSAL Qro (@universalqro) March 9, 2020

Some pro-life groups distributed signs and posted banners describing abortion as femicide, though demonstrators could be seen tearing them down and setting them on fire.

Churches and public buildings were also vandalized in other Mexican city by feminist groups and demonstrators. By Monday, March 9th, serious damage was reported to Catholic churches in Xalapa, Campeche and Hermosillo.

In Hermosillo, Catholics attending Mass were attacked by a group of masked marchers, The Massgoers barricaded themselves inside the church by pushing pews against the main door, in order to prevent the group from damaging the interior of the cathedral.

After the violence unfolded, an Archdiocese of Mexico spokesman told ACI Prensa that “I think it is important to say that the crisis of values ​​and violence against women is an issue that should unite us to work together in search of the gift of peace. Acting divided and in confrontation will only thwart efforts to stop violence.”

The Mexican bishops’ conference had expressed support for March 9 demonstrations across the country, which had mostly been organized by groups calling for expanded legal protection for abortion in Mexico. The conference has not yet issued a statement on Sunday’s violence.

A version of this story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 28, 2021 / 04:54 am (CNA).- Plans by the astonishing architect Antonio Gaudi are the basis for a new chapel in Chile dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels. The project could resume this year, some 95 years after his death.If built, … […]