Pope Francis Rescinds Excommunication Of Two Supporters Of Sodalitum Of Christian Life

Less than three months ago, Giuliana Caccia and Sebastián Blanco faced excommunication under unusual circumstances. The two Peruvians were faced with paying 25,000 euros each to void the measure.

Giuliana and Sebastián went to the Vatican to appeal their case personally to Pope Francis. The pontiff indicated that this was clearly a serious abuse of ecclesiastical authority and annulled the excommunication with his signature.

"In this video we tell some pertinent details for our case about what our meeting with Pope Francis in Rome was like. And so that you can better understand how said meeting took place, we give a little background context that we have not been able to share until today. We appreciate to Pope Francis for having listened to us and encouraged us to move forward," Giuliana and Sebastian explained. 

In a video of less than seven minutes they provided stunning background about their plea for justice. According to a report in Religion Digital, Giuliana and Sebastian consulted Fr. Jordi Bertomeu, priest of the Spanish diocese of Tortosa and special envoy to Peru by the Holy See, in July 2023. As a collaborator Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Bertomeau sought to clarify allegations of sexual abuse against minors allegedly conducted by former members of the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (Soldalitum of Christian Life), a Catholic community founded in Peru. Archbishop Scicluna  is Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with clerical sexual abuse cases committed against minors around the world.

Giuliana and Sebastián told Bertomeu what they knew under the condition of secrecy. However, Bertomeu spread much of what was discussed, according to the report, related some of their testimony to journalists for publication. When Giuliana and Sebastián tried for over a year to contact Bertomeu to complain about his breach of the agreement for secrecy, he did not respond. The pair then went to Peruvian courts to accuse the Spanish priest for violating professional secrecy.

Another serious abuse came later: Giulana and Sebastián received a notification (a charge of violating canon law) in which the Church accused them of three canonical crimes for having brought Bertomeu before a civil judicial process. As a result, they were excommunicated by Peruvian ecclesiastical authorities which would not lift the sanction until they should pay nearly 25,000 euros each.

"The precept indicated that if we did not withdraw the criminal complaint we would first be excommunicated within 48 hours, with all the serious implications that an excommunication entails; then we would each have to pay 100,000 soles (25,400 euros, $25,789) to Cáritas Lima,” the charitable arm of Archbishop Carlos Castillo of Lima. In addition, the two could never again present themselves publicly as Catholics,” they said in the video. 

"The day after receiving said document, we published a video where we explained what happened. Our position in the said video, which continues to be maintained to this day, was that Pope Francis had been misinformed about our case and we asked him for mercy; to be heard," they explained.

A few days later, they learned Pope Francis agreed to receive them in Rome on November 23, although the Holy See asked them to keep the meeting secret. Church authorities told them the canonical criminal provision was already suspended.

"Pope Francis received us in his private library, where he usually holds his audiences," they said, adding: "The Pope warmly received us very closely, and as soon as we began to tell him about the penal precept we had received, Pope Francis told us immediately: ‘The excommunication is no longer, rest assured.’ Frankly, it was a very emotional moment.” 

"We had a clear conscience that we had not committed any crime, but rather that we had done the right thing: hearing from the Pope himself that this matter was coming to an end and that it should never have happened gave us a spiritual peace that is difficult to convey in words. After an emotional silence, we asked him how we could communicate to our family and friends what he had said to us. He told us: 'Say that you have been with the Pope, that he has blessed you and that excommunication does not apply.' "Then he asked us to review the criminal precept that had been delivered to us on September 26, which was signed in his own handwriting, on that document, his revocation."

“Among other things we informed the Pope that before the criminal process we initiated against Bertomeu, we tried to resolve the situation privately with him for a year but we never obtained the expected response. We also told him that we had filed a canonical lawsuit in the Roman Rota against the priest Jordi Bertomeu", they added. 

At the end of the meeting with the Pope, the Pontiff told them to continue "always moving forward with the truth," and also to continue working "with greater zeal for life and for families."

The two Peruvians said they meditated during this period on "how painful it is just to think about the possibility of being excommunicated and even more painful with false accusations. Excommunication is the maximum penalty that the Church can apply on a Catholic, which put us in a heartbreaking situation." They also regret that "a group of activists" accused him of despising victims of abuse.

"A group of activists with their own goals"

Giuliana and Sebastián point out that despite the Pope's intervention there are still "media activists" who continue to defame the couple. "We want to reaffirm that the criminal and canonical accusations that we have brought against the priest Jordi Bertomeu were always motivated by one reason: the right we have to restore a damaged legal right, that of having violated professional secrecy. Because he transmitted information obtained in a confidential environment to two journalists. This fact was recognized by Jordi Bertomeu himself, who was not able to repair the damage. Today it is very clear to us that these two journalists, along with a larger group of activists, distort our case to achieve their own ends and that they also maintain a very close relationship with the priest Bertomeu," they warned.

"We will continue in the pursuit of justice and truth and compensation for our good name and we repeat that it is a strictly personal process with Jordi Bertomeu and specifically about conduct by this priest that are contrary to Peruvian and canonical laws. We thank Pope Francis for having listened to us and we also want to reiterate our gratitude to all our family and friends and to all those who have supported us this time with their prayers, their closeness and in other ways," they concluded.