(OSV News) -- Cardinals and bishops in Peru fell to their knees at a Mass of reparation, asking forgiveness to poor farmers for the suffering they endured at the hands of the now-suppressed lay movement Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.
The Mass, held May 23 at the Church of St. John the Baptist in Catacaos in the northwestern province of Piura, was "a symbolic compensation" for the farmers, who belong to the Tallán indigenous community, who accused companies associated with the Sodalitium of "dispossession, criminalization and harassment," the Peruvian bishops' conference said.
Among the celebrants at the Mass were Cardinal Carlos Castillo of Lima and Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno, archbishop emeritus of Huancayo, and Spanish Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu, the pontifical commissioner charged with overseeing Sodalitium's dissolution.
Also present at the liturgy were Archbishops Luciano Maza of Piura and Alfredo Vizcarra of Trujillo.
"More than 15 years have passed since the terrible experience you lived through and we must not forget, but we need to know how to remember in order to correct, above all, correct people who think they are gods," Cardinal Castillo said.
Sodalitium was founded in 1971 by Luis Fernando Figari, who, along with German Doig, the movement's vicar general, and other high-ranking former members, had abused 19 minors and 10 adults, according to a 2017 internal investigation.
While allegations of abuse within the movement first surfaced in 2000, they gained renewed attention in 2015 following the publication of "Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados" ("Half Monks, Half Soldiers").
The book, written by journalists Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz, detailed the alleged psychological and sexual abuse, as well as corporal punishment and extreme exercises, that young members of Sodalitium were forced to endure.
The Vatican launched an investigation in July 2023, led by Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Msgr. Bertomeu. During their investigation, the prelates met with victims and leaders of Sodalitium, as well as with members of the peasant community of Catacaos near Piura.
Representatives of the peasant community told the Vatican investigators about the harassment and abuse suffered at the hands of Sodalitium-associated organizations, such as the St. John the Baptist Civil Association, and accused them of slander and threatening the farmers in order to drive them off their land. The association denies wrongdoing and, in a May 26 press release about the Mass of reparation, said that it has taken legal action against Msgr. Bertomeu for defamation.
The Peruvian bishops' conference said in a May 22 press release about the Mass that among the "criminal acts" against the Tallán people committed by Sodalitium included "land dispossession, violence and criminalization" and "the use of irregular means to seize communal lands."
The bishops also noted the killing of indigenous leader Guadalupe Zapata Sosa, who was shot and killed in 2011, as well as "the persecution, threats and false accusations against those who dared to defend their land." At least one other man was also killed amid the land-related disputes, which centered on Sodalitium-linked companies' efforts to evict farmers from land after property transfers that the farmers did not recognize. "Dozens of farmers" were legally prosecuted for their resistance to the property transfers, according to the Associated Press.
In a 2024 video message, Pope Francis expressed his support for the farmers facing a court battle with the Sodalitium-linked companies threatening to evict them from their ancestral land.
"To the members of the peasant communities of Piura. I know what you are going through. Defend the land, don't let them steal it. Thank you for what you do," the pope said.
After several high-profile expulsions of Sodalitium members, including Figari, Pope Francis formally dissolved Sodalitium and its branch communities in February 2025, about two months before his death.
At the Mass, Cardinal Castillo urged the farmers to "not lose hope" and the act of asking for forgiveness was the beginning of "a process of repair and regeneration of human life, starting with this first seed we have sown today."
"Let us think together about how we will unite all people to guide, from the grassroots level of society, the peaceful process of regeneration in pursuit of justice," he said.
Msgr. Bertomeu also addressed those present, acknowledging that the Church was "late" in acting to protect the farmers. "We could have arrived 20 years ago; we're truly sorry, please forgive us," he said. "We ask for forgiveness because we haven't always been on the right side. And please help us restore our Church."
The Peruvian bishops' conference noted that the Mass of Reparation was a sign of the "supportive and prophetic tone that the Church wants to give to the upcoming visit to Peru of Pope Leo XIV."
Although the Vatican has not yet confirmed, Bishop Carlos Garcia Camader of Lurín, president of the Peruvian bishops' conference, said that Pope Leo would likely visit Peru either in November or in the first week of December, the Reuters news agency reported.
