Peru’s Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession
Church leaders apologized for land dispossession and abuse claims as Vatican investigators said the dissolved Sodalitium faced sexual, financial and spiritual misconduct findings.
- On Saturday, the Catholic Church held a Mass of Reparation in Catacaos, Peru, addressing the suffering of Indigenous Tallán communities caused by the dissolved Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.
- Pope Francis suppressed the Peru-based Sodalitium in 2025, citing a "lack of foundational charisma" after investigations revealed sexual, financial, and spiritual abuses within the once-influential organization.
- Apostolic commissioner Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu apologized before a packed church, stating, "We should have come 20 years ago," while referencing the "sadistic" sect-like abuses and land dispossession his team uncovered.
- Tania Pariona, secretary of Peru's National Human Rights Commission, called the ceremony a "historic gesture" in which the Church is taking the lead over the state, which has failed to protect rural communities.
- During the ceremony, Bertomeu recalled Pope Francis's 2024 message: "Fight for your lands, I am with you," as the Peruvian Episcopal Conference announced a possible papal visit later this year.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Associated Press News
Peru's Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession
The highest Catholic authorities in Peru have held a symbolic reparation ceremony for an Indigenous community affected by land dispossession.
The Roman Catholic Church has asked for the forgiveness of a rural community in Peru for the harassment and evacuations caused by a conservative Catholic group. Locals in the Piura region of Peru say that companies linked to the Catholic group Sodalitium Christianae Vitae have taken over thousands of hectares of communal land, transferring the property documents from the community. [...]
The Catholic Church held a ceremony of forgiveness in Catacaos, Piura, in which several bishops knelt before members of the original Tallán people and the peasant community of the area. The Mass was called after a request for reparation made by community members who for years denounced the loss of land and other damages attributed to companies related to the disappeared Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana. The ceremony was held on Saturday, May 23 in th…
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