QUITO, Ecuador—Pope Francis on Saturday sided with a group of Peruvian villagers who have complained that companies linked to a powerful South American church group have tried to evict them from their land using lawsuits and obscure land titling schemes.
Pope Francis kisses a baby as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
The Sodalitium is a lay group that runs schools and spiritual retirement centers in several South American countries, but is also involved in real estate, agriculture and construction companies. Peruvian prosecutors have also launched investigations into the Sodalitium’s finances and have accused the group of hiding money in offshore bank accounts.
The villagers accused the Sodalitium of trying to take over 1900 hectares of land farmed by their community for centuries, through forged documents that claim the land has been purchased by a group of local companies.A Peruvian court is still reviewing the land dispute.
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