Peru’s Catholic Church Holds a Symbolic Ceremony in Apology for Indigenous Land Dispossession

After years of allegations of land dispossession by a now-dissolved Catholic group, the highest ecclesiastical authorities in the Andean country on Saturday held a symbolic reparation ceremony for the Indigenous people whose land was taken away. 
  
The Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae was dissolved in 2025 by the late Pope Francis, after years of attempts at reform and a Vatican investigation that uncovered sexual abuses by its founder, financial mismanagement by its leaders, and spiritual abuses by its top members. 
  
The ceremony in Peru took place before the Indigenous people of Tallán, in the northern community of Catacaos. 
  
The land disputes date back at least a decade, to when Sodalitium-linked companies began legal action to evict people from thousands of hectares in Catacaos following several property transfers that are not recognized by the farmers. Dozens of farmers were prosecuted for alleged “usurpation,” and two community leaders were shot and killed during clashes stemming from the eviction efforts. 
 
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