VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has formally suppressed Miles Christi, an Argentine religious order active in the United States, including in the Diocese of San Diego.
In a message to diocesan clergy, issued prior to his installation as archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy wrote that the decree establishes a one-year process when the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will declare the effective suppression.
“The Miles Christi priests serving in our Diocese of San Diego continue to have faculties for their priestly ministry,” said Cardinal McElroy, who thanked the four Miles Christi priests in residence in San Diego for “their dedicated ministry among our youth, families and parishes.”
“They are in my prayers in a special way during this time,” he said.
Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano of San Diego made it clear that there is no suggestion that any of the Miles Christi priests in San Diego have done anything wrong.
“These men have done outstanding work with the students (at Cathedral Catholic and Mater Dei Catholic high schools and John Paul the Great Catholic University) and have agreed to continue their work through to the end of the school year,” said Bishop Bejarano. “We are grateful they have agreed to finish out the school year.”
The suppression means that Miles Christi “will cease to exist and that the members of the order will seek to incardinate with a diocese or another religious order,” Bishop Bejarano said.
“In the meantime,” he said, “we will assist them as they each look into their hearts and discern how best to carry out their vocation and continue their service the Lord.”
The Vatican’s decision to suppress Miles Christi follows years of scrutiny into the order. In February 2020, Pope Francis expelled from the priesthood Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, who founded Miles Christi in 1994, after he was found guilty of sexual abuse of adults and attempting to grant forgiveness to his victim in the confessional.
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life ordered the suppression on Feb. 19, with Pope Francis approving the decision on Feb. 6, according to a letter signed by Auxiliary Bishop Mauricio Landra of Mercedes-Luján, the papal delegate tasked with overseeing the suppression. The letter was made public March 6 by AICA, the news agency of the Argentine bishops’ conference.
The Southern Cross contributed to this article.
