Vatican delegates ask Incarnate Word institutes to change their approach to abuse victims
Papal delegates have asked members of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará to change their approach to victims and renew their spirituality, after Church tribunals found their founder, Carlos Miguel Buela, guilty of abuse
The papal delegates have asked members of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM) to adopt a renewed approach to abuse victims as they continue reviewing their charism. The request follows the conclusions of a first-instance Special Penal Tribunal and an Appeal Tribunal. Both reached "moral certainty" that Carlos Miguel Buela, the founder of both institutes, committed an offense against the sixth commandment under canon 1395 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law, through acts of violence against several people. The findings were made public in Rome on September 29 in an official statement.
The statement was signed by Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, together with the appointed papal delegates, Bishop José Antonio Satué Huerto of Málaga, Spain, and Sister Clara Echarte. The purpose is to restore the truth and do justice to those harmed by Buela's conduct. The statement is also intended to inform members of both institutes and to advance the review of their spirituality, formation and apostolate, separating the gift of the Spirit from the founder's personal conduct.
Accusations and the judicial process
Buela died in Genoa, Italy, in 2023. Since the 2000s, about 20 seminarians had accused him of sexual abuse. He was suspended in 2010 after some 20 complaints had been filed against him. The Special Penal Tribunal was established by decree on May 14, 2020, opening the process that has now concluded.
The decision was communicated to the provincial superiors of the IVE and the SSVM at a meeting in Rome on September 14, which dicastery officials also attended. In a letter dated September 23 and addressed to all members of the institutes, Satué and Echarte stress the "urgent need to change the way we look at victims."
New governing team and international presence
Satué has reorganized the governance of the IVE, forming a team of eight people, only two of whom, Mengelle and Urquiza, belong to the institute. Both institutes are of diocesan right and were founded in the Diocese of San Rafael, Argentina, though they are based in the Diocese of Velletri-Segni, Italy. They are present in more than 25 countries on five continents.
Before the current delegates were appointed, Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló served as pontifical commissary of the IVE, a role he left in 2025.
