The Marian Community of Reconciliation asks forgiveness for abuses and cover up reported by a former member and renews its commitment to truth, justice and reparation.
In the last couple of days, we have been contacted by people close to our Community with questions about a public comment by one of our former members on the platform change.org, in which she expressed that she was “forced by the authorities of the Marian Community of Reconciliation to remain silent for decades” about the sexual abuse she suffered by a then member of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV).
First of all, we would like to ask for forgiveness and express our deep sorrow for her pain and that of all survivors. We know that many people have suffered abuse of authority, manipulation of conscience and other types of abuse within our communities and the various organizations associated with the SCV to which we were institutionally associated until 2022. We apologize for the pain and suffering that was caused within our communities as a result of the unhealthy institutional culture in which we lived for years, and we sympathize with the indignation produced as a result of this abuse.
Secondly, we want to clarify that the testimony about the abuse of authority and cover-up suffered in the Community by this former member was unknown to the current leadership until her publication on the aforementioned platform. After our initial inquiry, it has been asserted that in 2011 she spoke once again with the community leadership of that time, and the complaint was then presented to the Archbishop of Lima. The abuses in question took place prior to 2011 and will be duly investigated.
We have contacted this former member to receive her testimony and will process it through the proper channels according to our safe environment protocol. We are committed to honoring the outcome of this investigation and to put in place the necessary measures for reparations and sanctions.
We also wish to communicate some institutional measures taken in recent years, which we regret not having announced before; we do so now with the desire and commitment to assume our responsibility for what happened and to offer some consolation to the pain of those who have suffered:
- After many years on a path of renewal, and after having completed a canonical visitation supported by the Archbishop of Lima, in July of 2022 the MCR approved new Constitutions, and among other decisions, institutionally dissociated from the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae. Details about this process, which began in 2013, can be found in the “Our History” section of our institutional website.
- Since February of this year the MCR has an established channel for misconduct reporting, led by external experts (see page 17 of the safe environment protocol), and reachable at [email protected]. Anyone, the person affected or a third party, who needs to report a current or historical incident or concern regarding a member of the MCR, can contact this channel with the assurance that the information provided will be handled with strict confidentiality and professionalism, and that the necessary steps will be taken to investigate, act upon, and seek to offer reparation according to the process detailed in the protocol. If preferred, the report can be made directly to the local church or civil court.
We hope that this information, although belated, may be of help to those who have experienced any type of abuse or cover-up by any of the members of the Marian Community of Reconciliation. We once again sincerely apologize for the pain we have caused by not sharing it in a more timely fashion.
As members of the MCR, we aim to strive every day to be faithful to the Gospel. We are committed in a concrete and determined way to take the necessary steps for the reparation and personal healing of those who have been affected by our painful history, and we wish to continue working, supported by our shepherd, the Archbishop of Lima, towards a profound renewal of the Community.
We entrust the pain of the victims and our history to the loving hands of the Lord and, reiterating our compassion, we renew our commitment to truth, justice, and reparation, and to take the necessary measures so that these situations are not repeated.
Luciane V. Urban
Superior General
Lima, October 3, 2024.