Peruvian layman responds to Crux coverage of SCV

[Editor’s Note: On Sept. 20, Crux published an article by Elise Ann Allen on recent developments surrounding the Sodalitium of Christian Life, a movement based in Peru. In response, one of the individuals quoted in the piece, Peruvian layman Sebastián Blanco Eguiliz, sent a detailed set of objections. In the interests of fairness, Crux is publishing his response in full, in our translation from the original Spanish.]

By means of this document I request, as protected by the American Convention on Human Rights and the Political Constitution of Peru, that your media, Crux Now, rectify the false and biased information presented in the article written by Elise Ann Allen and published in the media that you edit on September 20, 2024, entitled, “Scandal-plagued Peruvian group pushes back against Vatican inquiry.”

First of all, I want to state that, at the request of Ms. Allen, I sent her a document on September 19 via email, a document that you will find attached to this letter. In that document I gave her the necessary and supported information to clarify what Pedro Salinas expressed in his YouTube program entitled, “Rata por Liebre” on September 11, 2024. This information sent in a timely manner to Ms. Allen, has not been used correctly or rigorously, but is presented, at the end of the article as a “response” to accusations that have no basis, as I will demonstrate in the following paragraphs. In the end, the journalist ends up involving me in a story in which I have no connection. As I expressed in writing to Ms. Allen, I only echoed a news item published in different media, both Peruvian and international. Therefore, the way Ms. Allen presents everything she associates my name with is either false or distorted and she does not use my defenses in a timely manner after each accusation.

I proceed to enumerate:

1. I quote: “After the April ouster of an SCV archbishop from his post in Piura, Peru, individuals with ties to the group began accusing American Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, of coverup of sexual abuse while he was still bishop of Chiclayo, the Peruvian diocese he led before coming to Rome last year. At least two allies of the SCV have been vocally promoting the accusations: Peruvian canonist Father Ricardo Coronado, who received part of his philosophical formation alongside SCV members in the 1980s, and Sebastian Blanco, a former SCV member, and the brother of Figari’s longtime personal secretary, Ignacio Blanco.”

In the lines quoted Ms. Allen labels me as an ally of the SCV and promoter of the accusations against Cardinal Prevost. I would like to clarify and reiterate that I am not promoting any kind of accusation of accusing anyone, and I do not have any kind of alliance with the Sodalicio Vida Cristiana. What I broadcast in my audiovisual space is my own decision and motivation, I determine the editorial line of this space.

2. I quote: “Another person with ties to the SCV who has promoted the allegations against Prevost is former SCV member Sebastian Blanco, who published a Sept. 10 video on YouTube titled, “a cat for a hare,” a Spanish phrase used to indicate a scam or a deliberate deception, outlining the allegations and accusing Prevost of coverup, while also condemning the prohibition on Coronado’s ability to practice ecclesial law.”

About this paragraph, I have to say that:

1. Allen once again accuses me of promoting accusations against Prevost. This statement is false, as I explained to you in the document that I sent you before the publication of your article. I repeat: I am echoing a report broadcast on the Peruvian program Cuarto Poder and I am asking a series of questions about it. I am not making any statement, any accusation.
2. It is false that the video from September 10 in which I echo a report broadcast on the program Cuarto Poder is called “Cats for Hare.” My space on YouTube has that name, but not the episode to which Ms. Allen refers. The episode dedicated to echoing said news is called: “Zero tolerance. Breaking the Silence.”
3. Allen repeats that I accused Cardinal Prevost of coverup, to which I reiterate the falsity of that statement. As I said in the letter sent to the journalist, and in the lines above, I make it explicit that I am not accusing Cardinal Prevost, but rather I am raising questions and echoing a news item that has had national and international repercussions.
4. It is also false that I condemn the prohibition of the victims’ lawyer from practicing ecclesiastical law. I am only mentioning the statement of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference on the subject. In the episode mentioned, the central point is the request for justice for the victims of sexual abuse by two priests of the diocese of Chiclayo, as is evident to anyone who sees it.

3. I quote: “Blanco, the brother of Figari’s longtime secretary, Ignacio Blanco, is also one of two individuals close to the SCV who have accused victims of the SCV of harassment.”

This information is totally false. I never accused any victim of the Sodalicio Vida Cristiana of harassing me. If she has proof of this, let Ms. Allen show it. And if she is relying on what Pedro Salinas said, journalistic rigor demands that she see this evidence before repeating unsupported statements. On the other hand, the mention of my brother is clearly aimed at revealing any kind of link between me and the founder of the Sodalicio. It is a biased relationship.

4. I quote: “and who last year attempted to influence the Vatican’s formal inquiry into the group.”

It is totally false that I had any intention of influencing the Vatican’s formal investigation. Ms. Allen makes an unfounded interference about this premise based on the now well-known meeting I held with the Scicluna-Bertomeu Mission in July of last year, which, as I also previously stated, was to give my testimony within the framework of the investigation and under an agreement of confidentiality.

5. I quote: “Last July, Pope Francis sent Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, an official of the dicastery, to Lima to investigate the SCV. At the beginning of the process, Blanco and a woman close to the SCV named Giuliana Caccia Arana – both of whom belong to an organization for parents in Peru that is close to the SCV – presented themselves as victims.”

About this paragraph I must say:

1. It is false that I presented myself as a victim before the Vatican Mission. As I explained above, I presented myself to give my testimony as a person who had been part of the institution for several years.
2. It is false that I belong to “an organization for parents in Peru that is close to the SCV”. Ms. Allen is repeating, again without further corroboration, what Pedro Salinas faithfully said in his program, Rata por Liebre

6. I quote: “As recounted by Peruvian journalist Raul Tola in an article published a few days after Scicluna and Bertomeu concluded their work, on the first day of the inquiry, both Caccia and Blanco arrived at the Vatican nunciature in Lima, where the interviews with SCV victims and members were being held, asking to be interviewed.”

This statement by Ms. Allen is doubly false. First, because it does not correctly cite the article – which is also false – by Raul Tola. And second, because what was reported in the column was not as Raul Tola narrated it. As I explained to Ms. Allen, I requested an interview days before being received at the nunciature and was given a formal response. I was given an appointment within the formal framework of the investigation.

7. I quote: “Caccia, according to Tola, claimed she had been harassed by the journalists on the social media platform X, while Blanco reportedly spoke of the good that the SCV’s formation methods had done him.”

This statement is inaccurate. My account was not based on what Ms. Allen, or the aforementioned Raul Tola, state. My testimony was much more extensive and within the framework of confidentiality, something that has clearly not been respected.

8. I quote: “He criticized Salinas, who published a podcast Sept. 11 outlining Coronado’s ties to the SCV and Blanco and Caccia’s affiliation with the SCV, for focusing on Coronado’s connection to the group, saying, ‘what relevance can Father Coronado’s friendly relations have on the justice that the victims are asking for?’”

Ms. Allen draws a false conclusion that is convenient for the story she is trying to construct, which, as you can see in the previous paragraphs, is totally removed from reality. In my response, I am not criticizing Pedro Salinas. I am asking a specific question that has no clear answer in Salinas’s program, titled, Rata por liebre. Since Ms. Allen mentions this response, I demand that it be published in its entirety with this letter and with the complete context.

9. I quote: “We found out later that it was Caccia and Blanco, because the photographers waiting outside the nunciature were asking us for help identifying the people who came in, and Caccia and Blanco were the only ones who came on Monday,” Salinas said, noting that the formal interviews with Scicluna and Bertomeu did not start until that Tuesday.”

About this paragraph:

1. My interview was formal. As I pointed out to Ms. Allen, I was given the appointment through formal channels, and I was received in the formality of the Mission. The fact that Pedro Salinas says that this is not the case does not mean that it is true. Why is Pedro Salinas’s, Paola Ugaz’s, or Raul Tola’s account given more validity than mine, as I am the first-hand source?
2. The fact that I went on Monday, which was never intended to be hidden, does not imply that there was a need to “talk” and, much less, to spread what happened during the meeting.

Finally, I do not understand how, after requesting a confidential interview more than a year ago – on which I have not commented until Ms. Allen’s request – and then speaking on a personal program about a news item that concerns Peru and the Church, a serious media outlet can construct a story that has no basis. The fact that I was part of the Sodalicio and not an “accuser” of it, does not make me a victimizer, much less an accomplice to any plot. It only makes me think that in the face of so many distorted, false and imprecise statements, they are rather trying to involve me in a process in which I am used as a scapegoat to attack opponents, to put me in conflict with people from the Church, among others. And I cannot allow this, because it damages my honor and discredits me.

Everything that Ms. Allen has suggested as a response to what Pedro Salinas said is a story that is foreign to me, with tendentious statements and no real basis. Therefore, and with the right to protect my honor and good name, I demand the publication of this rectification immediately and completely, otherwise I will have no choice but to resort to the means that the legal regulations authorize me to use.

Sebastián Blanco Eguiliz