ROME (ITALY)
Crux
February 12, 2019
Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren Anselmi of Piura, Peru, has responded to a Feb. 5 Crux report by senior correspondent Elise Harris regarding lawsuits for charges of aggravated defamation he filed against two Peruvian journalists.
In his letter to Crux, Eguren Anselmi said he said he wanted to correct “false or inaccurate” statements on the “prestigious” Crux news site. In general, he believes Crux misrepresented the motives for his lawsuit and also omitted the point that he’s not seeking a jail sentence.
The journalists, Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz, co-authored a 2015 bombshell book “Half Monks, Half Soldiers,” which details years of sexual, psychological and physical abuse inside the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV). A controversial Catholic organization, the SCV originated in Peru and its founder, layman Luis Fernando Figari, has been accused of physical, psychological and sexual abuses.
Figari was prohibited by the Vatican in 2017 of having further contact with members of the group.
Eguren Anselmi, who is part of the SCV, filed the complaints separately but at the same time in July 2018. If the journalists are found guilty, theoretically they could be subject to a fine of $60,000 dollars and a 3-year jail sentence.
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