Peruvian layman reacts to Crux coverage

[Editor’s Note: On Oct. 26, Crux published an article by Elise Ann Allen regarding a priest who was recently expelled from the Sodalitium of Christian Life, a movement based in Peru, demanding corrections to a statement announcing his ouster from the papal embassy in the country. Another individual named in the article, Peruvian layman Sebastian Blanco, has submitted the following letter, which we are publishing in full. For the record, Crux stands by the story.]

Mr. John L. Allen Jr., Editor

Cc. Mrs. Elise Ann Allen, Reporter

Mr. Allen,

I am writing to request that your media outlet, Crux Now, proceed to correct the false and biased information presented in the article written by Elise Ann Allen and published on October 26, 2024, titled “Peru Priest Ousted from Scandal-Plagued Group Demands ‘Corrections’ from Papal Embassy.”

I would first like to note that in the email sent to me by Mrs. Allen on October 25, she stated the following:

“I learned that you have a business relationship with Father Jaime Baertl and Mr. Javier Len, brother of Carlos Len, who along with Father Baertl was expelled from the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae yesterday. I also learned that Mrs. Giuliana Caccia, who also testified last year before the Special Mission that investigated the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, is the partner of your brother Ignacio, and that all of you are part of the Origen Association. I would like to ask if, when you spoke to the Special Mission, you revealed your close family relationship with Mrs. Caccia and if you revealed your business relationship with Father Baertl.”

In response, I clearly stated the following:

“I have no business of any kind with Rev. Jaime Baertl or Rev. Javier Len. The place where we coincide is the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization whose purpose is to support priests and religious with various needs, especially in the poor areas of the Peruvian highlands; we support needy young people in their university education and in general charity. This Association has no institutional ties with the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

Regarding my formal interview with Jordi Bertomeu, the content of it is confidential, as he himself assured me at the time. I, as you know, do respect that confidentiality.”

Despite the details I provided in my email response, Mrs. Allen, in the article, makes several false claims:

1. “The suspicions that both Caccia and Blanco’s complaints and Baertl and Len’s letter are part of a coordinated effort to discredit the Vatican’s investigation have been reinforced by the commercial and personal ties between the different parties.” This is false. As I clearly stated in my email, I have no commercial ties with Rev. Jaime Baertl. Mrs. Allen has committed a double fault here – she did not consider the information I provided in my email, and she has disseminated false information.

2. Mrs. Allen quotes my email as stating, “I have no kind of relationship with Father Jaime Baertl or Father Javier Len,” and then says I added that the only place “we coincide” is as members of the board of directors of the San Lucas association. This is false. I never stated that I have “no kind of relationship” with the mentioned priests. What I clearly denied was having any BUSINESS or commercial ties with them, which is what Mrs. Allen had claimed in her article.

Mrs. Allen has once again lied and distorted my responses in order to build a biased narrative that is completely detached from reality. This appears to be her modus operandi, and it is not the first time I have had to send a letter requesting a correction.

Considering this, and under the laws that protect my right to honor and good name, I demand the immediate and full publication of this rectification, as well as the correction of the lies in the aforementioned article. This should be published as an independent article, and with a link in Mrs. Allen’s original note.

I also inform you that I already have sufficient evidence to file a lawsuit for defamation. If you continue to proceed in the same way, I will have no choice but to resort to the legal channels available to me.

Sebastián Blanco Eguiluz