Founder of Institutes of the Incarnate Word found guilty of abuse

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Argentine Father Carlos Miguel Buela has been found guilty “of acts constituting an offence against the sixth commandment, committed with violence against several people.”

Ecclesiastical tribunals have definitively established the guilt of the late Argentine priest—who died in Genoa in 2023—and founder of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM), for multiple offences in violation of canon 1395 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law, which concerns offences against sexual morality.

Moral certainty

Both the Special Penal Tribunal of First Instance and the Appeals Tribunal reached “moral certainty” regarding the priest’s responsibility.

The decision was announced on Tuesday in a statement signed by Sister Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Bishop José Antonio Satué Huerto of Teruel y Albarracín, and Sister Clara Echarte.

The latter two are the pontifical delegates appointed in January 2025 to accompany the two institutes—Bishop Satué for the male branch and Sister Echarte for the female branch—of the religious congregation founded in Argentina in the 1980s by Father Buela.

Founded in the Diocese of San Rafael in Argentina, the two institutes of diocesan right have their headquarters in the Diocese of Velletri-Segni in Italy. Over the years, they have spread to more than 25 countries across five continents.

Decision communicated to superiors

The confirmation of the criminal responsibility of the priest, well known in Latin America, who had been accused of sexual abuse by around twenty seminarians as early as the 2000s, marks the conclusion of proceedings at two levels within the Church’s judicial system.

The two pontifical delegates officially communicated the decision to the provincial superiors of both institutes during a meeting in Rome on 14 September, also attended by officials from the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life.

Justice, transparency and renewal

The ruling serves as an act of justice for the victims, as well as an act of transparency and an impetus for reform and renewal.

The statement explains that “this clarification is intended to help re-establish the truth, as an act of justice towards those who have suffered harm as a result of the conduct of the priest Carlos Miguel Buela, as well as to ensure that members of both Institutes are duly informed and to support the process of re-examining the charism and reviewing, renewing and purifying the spirituality, formation and apostolate proper to each Institute, distinguishing between the gift of the Spirit bestowed for the building up of the Church and the Founder’s limitations or personal conduct.”

Since their foundation, the Holy See has followed the affairs of the two institutes with particular attention.

In particular, Cardinal Santos Abril y Castellò undertook the delicate task of serving as pontifical commissioner of the male Institute of the Incarnate Word, following serious internal problems relating to its governance and accusations of abuse of power and sexual abuse against its founder.

After encountering considerable difficulties, which he also described in a 2023 letter to IVE members, the Spanish Cardinal concluded his service in 2025 with the appointment of the two pontifical delegates.

Over the past year and a half, they have accompanied the two religious institutes in matters of formation, religious discipline, apostolate, and governance.