Leon XIV, a pope forged by the sodalitium scandal

September 2013. At that moment in his life, Mgr Prevost was far from suspecting that he would find Peru as quickly. Back in Chicago, his hometown, the prior general (title ecclesiastics designating a superior in the Saint-Augustin order,, Editor’s note) Rediscover the vast plains dotted with agricultural fields and the hills with sparse forests of Illinois, where he grew up.

He returned to the workers’ setting of the suburbs of Dolton, an executive of his childhood, and lives not far from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, where he had studied theology before entering the order of Saint Augustine. After thirty years as a missionary in Peru, this is the discreet and respected priest Robert Francis Prevost again at his home. His new mission: to direct the studies of the priory of Saint-Augustin of Chicago.

However, a little more than a year later, he was recalled in Peru by Pope Francis, who appointed him apostolic administrator of the diocese of Chiclayo, in the northwest of the Andean country. Bishop Prevost reconnects with a country he loves so much, but also with a deeply divided church, shaken by internal tensions between opposite currents.

Rome then prefers an external look, the appointment of Mgr Prevost is perceived as a means of “restoring order”, notes daily The world. But, the task that awaits it is immense.

The biggest sex scandal of the Peruvian Church

Bishop Prevost is barely installed when the sodalitium scandal has fun. This ultra-conservative organization, founded in 1971 by the laity Luis Fernando Figari, long supported by the Vatican under Jean-Paul II, is shaken by the publication of a book.

In Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados (“Half monks, half soldiers”), journalists Paola Ugaz and Pedro Salinas compiled more than thirty testimonies of former sodalites reporting “sexual, physical and psychological abuse, and sequestration” committed between 1971 and the 2000s. According to several complaints of women, some victims were reduced to sexual by organization.

Some of them had tried to alert, in vain, in 2011, the Archbishop of Lima of the time, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani (opus dei), who also ignored the first complaints. It is ultimately a man, José Enrique Escardó, the first former sodalite to denounce the drifts, from 2000, which revived the fight of the victims with the two journalists.

Bishop Prevost, “ally” of the victims

Upon publication, the authors of the investigation find in Archbishop Prevost an “ally”, as they will explain in the program Hora 25a few hours after his election like Pope “The role of Leon XIV was decisive”, certifies Paola Ugaz. Following revelations, Pope Francis – close to Mgr Prevost – opens an in -depth investigation, of an unprecedented scale in Peru.

Designated vice-president of the Peruvian episcopal conference in 2018, Mgr Prevost follows the evolution of the dossier closely and sets up a prevention system in his diocese of Chiclayo: “He acted, and much more than the average of the Latin American bishops”, says the Mexican sociologist Rodolfo Sorianoñez in the American media Our Sunday Visitorgreeting the efforts made in Chiclayo.

At the same time, the Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP), of which Mgr Prevost is a pillar, supports the Pope’s decision to push Juan Luis Cipriani to the resignation of his cardinal post and the exile of Peru. She reiterates her support for the victims, despite the repeated requests from Juan Luis Cipriani to reassess her judgment.

In February 2023, Prevost was called again – and not anywhere: in Rome, this time. Pope Francis appoints him prefect of the dicastery for the bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He succeeded Cardinal Marc Ouellet, splashed by accusations of sexual assault. And it is really in this strategic position, within the Roman Curia, that the Augustinian will play a decisive role in the recognition of Peruvian abuses …

The report of the special mission mandated by the Vatican reached him a few months after taking office. It is overwhelming: 98 victims identified, including 37 sexual abuse, in a system tainted with financial drifts and ecclesiastical complicities. Among the main managers: the bishop of Piura, José Antonio Eguren (member of the sodalitium), and the priest Jaime Baertl.

Robert Prevost then recommends the dissolution of Sodalicio, and the revocation of José Antonio Eguren. He also works for the expulsion of other compromised clerics. On April 2, 2024, Eguren resigned. A year later, the sodalicio dissolution act is signed. All the entities founded by Figari are dissolved.

Serious and repeated accusations

But if the organization ended up recognizing its faults, it did everything to slow down its fall and harm those who exposed it … “We had no idea by starting this story, we were going to put our lives, those of our families and, more recently, our freedom in danger because of disinformation campaigns”,, entrusted the journalist Paola Ugaz to El Paisin January. One of the conclusions of the report of the special mission also highlighted a system for putting control of witnesses in the Sodalitium case. Should we see a revenge attempt in the current accusations targeting Pope Leo XIV?

New York Times, Radio France, Christian grandstand… For several days, the media of all countries and all sizes have been mixing in turn prevost with Peruvian controversy, relaying accusations of concealment of sexual abuse. Three women claim that Robert Francis Prevost would have covered an abuser priest when he was bishop of Sofar and administrator of Chiclayo. The diocese would have allowed the priest to continue to celebrate mass. The SNAP organization, a recognized American network of victims of abuse, requests explanations.

But these accusations are not new, recalls El País. The newspaper specifies that the Vatican, aware of their existence, had already conducted an in -depth investigation, concluding that Mgr PREVOST’s impeccability. Journalists behind the Sodalitium revelations denounce a defamation campaign. An attempt to weaken the cardinal, while he entered into a position of papabile.

It should nevertheless be recalled that, from his appointment to Chiclayo in 2013, several civil organizations accused him of having covered the abuses of two priests – long before he was among the favorites for the succession of Pope Francis. Neither civil justice nor ecclesiastical justice has committed prosecution against him.

As for José Enrique Escardó, the first voice to have denounced the sodalicio scandal, he was delighted on the social network X a few minutes after the appearance of the new sovereign pontiff at the Saint-Pierre balcony :: “In recent years, Pope Leo XIV has played a decisive role in the dismantling of sodalicio, and I am grateful to him. I hope he will be able to continue what François has advanced and take measures that will bring justice and healing to all the victims of violence in the Church around the world. »»