The lay group, which was greatly favored by St. The allegations against Cipriani add to the upheaval in the Peruvian church following confirmation this week that Pope Francis had decided to dissolve the powerful and influential Peruvian-based movement Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.
After years of attempts at reform, Francis decided to suppress the group after a Vatican investigation uncovered sexual abuse by its founder, financial mismanagement by its leaders and spiritual abuse by its top members. The Episcopal Conference of Peru on Saturday said in a statement that it's awaiting the documentation that would allow the dissolution of the Sodalitium group to be finalized.
It also expressed solidarity with the victims of Sodalitium. Cipriani was archbishop when the first victims presented formal accusations against Sodalitium in to the church. He said they discussed the dissolution of the movement and the need to keep victims front and center as the Vatican dismantles the group and tends to its members. He attributed the church's slow response to the Sodalitium scandal, and the attacks that victims endured for speaking out, to the protection Sodalitium enjoyed at the highest echelons of the church in Rome and Lima.
The cardinal turned 75, the normal retirement age for bishops, on Dec. He said that he next learned on Dec. According to the letter, Cipriani met with Francis on Feb. Opus Dei for its part confirmed that it was aware of the complaint in and acknowledged that it should have treated the alleged victim better.
In a statement, the vicar of Opus in Peru, the Rev. It was an apparent reference to a letter that the alleged victim arranged to have delivered to Francis, detailing his allegations, by the Chilean abuse survivor Juan Carlos Cruz. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Home Top News from AP Opus Dei cardinal acknowledges Vatican sanctioned him after abuse allegation but denies wrongdoing The once-powerful archbishop of Peruvian capital Lima and the first-ever cardinal of Opus Dei has acknowledged that the Vatican had imposed sanctions on him in following an allegation of sexual abuse.
