Below, we share the request for rectification letter sent by our brother José Antonio Dávila, General Assistant for Temporal Affairs of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, to the Ethics Tribunal of the Peruvian Press Council (PPC). This request addresses the unjustified delay in the publication of the rectification letter previously sent to La República newspaper, which failed to seek our version regarding the false claims made in the article “The Rafael López Aliaga Factor,” written by journalist Paola Ugaz and published on July 8th, 2024, in the aforementioned newspaper. You can access the request in PDF here.

La República published the rectification letter in its print edition on September 1st, 2024.

RESOLUTION N° 010-2024-TE/CPP
Sodalitium of Christian Life vs. La República

Lima, September 25th, 2024

THE ETHICS TRIBUNAL

CONSIDERS:

On August 8th, 2024, the Technical Secretariat of the Ethics Tribunal of the Peruvian Press Council received a request for rectification from José Antonio Dávila Guerrero, representing the Sodalitium of Christian Life, against La República newspaper regarding the article written by Paola Ugaz titled “The Rafael López Aliaga Factor.” The request claimed that La República had made inaccurate and harmful statements about the organization. It also stated that the refusal or unjustified delay in publishing the previously submitted rectification letter constituted a breach of journalistic ethics.

On the Tribunal’s Jurisdiction

Article 16 of the Ethics Tribunal Regulations states that the Tribunal will conclude a case if, before issuing its resolution, it confirms that the media outlet has satisfactorily published the requested rectification. In this case, La República published the rectification letter in its print edition on September 1, 2024. The content of the letter is as follows (Annex 1):

Mr. Director,

I address you once again in my capacity as General Assistant for Temporal Affairs of the Sodalitium of Christian Life to express our strong rejection of the information published in the article titled ‘The Rafael López Aliaga Factor,’ written by journalist Paola Ugaz on July 8, 2024.

(i) The Sodalitium is an institution of the Catholic Church, duly recognized by the Holy See as a Lay Apostolic Society of Pontifical Right.

(ii) The Sodalitium has developed initiatives and institutions, which are legally autonomous and governed by their statutes and the current legal framework (…). None of these institutions has committed crimes such as money laundering, tax fraud, illegal exploitation of the Church-State agreement in Peru, or any other wrongdoing.

(iii) It is false that the Sodalitium is directed by Father Jaime Baertl.

(iv) Regarding the Sodalitium’s economic decisions, both in and outside Peru, the operational responsibility lies with its General Assistant for Temporal Affairs, Mr. José Antonio Dávila Guerrero.

(v) The Civil Association San Juan Bautista (an association related to the Sodalitium and owner of the Parque del Recuerdo cemeteries) is tasked with promoting cemeteries and generating resources to support the works of the Catholic Church (…). During the time the cemeteries were constituted as Missions, in compliance with Peruvian and canonical laws, the Sodalitium assumed their administration to provide the cemeteries with a sacred character in accordance with the Catholic faith.

The Concordat recognizes not only dioceses, parishes, and missions but all entities with canonical status. Any Church entity can own Catholic cemeteries.

In this case, the report was requested by the Institute of Ecclesiastical Law, presided over by Dr. Carlos Valderrama, at the request of the then Bishop of Lurín, Monsignor José Ramón Gurruchaga. There was no economic remuneration to Cardinal Martínez Sistach. It is false that the Sodalitium or any of its members sought to ‘exploit the Concordat’ to evade taxes from the Peruvian State, as the Concordat provides no benefits beyond those granted to any nonprofit association in Peru managing a cemetery.

(vi) It is false that the Sodalitium seeks to ‘hide money to avoid compensating its victims,’ as stated in the article. The Sodalitium does not hide any money. All financial information has been audited for decades and has been meticulously reported to Cardinal Joseph Tobin since 2016 and to the Scicluna-Bertomeu Special Mission when requested.

It is false that the Sodalitium has no intention of repairing its victims. Since 2016, the Sodalitium has been developing a reparation program for individuals who have been victims of abuse by any of its members or former members through its Listening and Assistance Office (…). This information has been submitted several times to the Holy See, including in 2023 to the Scicluna-Bertomeu Mission, and is accessible through the Sodalitium’s website.”

José Antonio Dávila
Sodalitium Christianae Vitae

For the reasons outlined above,

IT IS RESOLVED:

To declare the request for rectification filed by the Sodalitium of Christian Life against La República newspaper as CONCLUDED, given that the respective rectification has been carried out, thereby resolving the matter of the case.

Approved with the affirmative votes of Erick Iriarte, Claudia Izaguirre, Luz María Helguero, and María Luisa Wiegold, with the recusal of José Ugaz due to his representation of the journalist author of the article in question.

ERICK IRIARTE
President

CLAUDIA IZAGUIRRE
Vice President

LUZ MARÍA HELGUERO
Member

MARÍA LUISA WIEGOLD
Speaker