Vatican tribunals confirm 'moral certainty' of abuse by late IVE founder Carlos Miguel Buela
Vatican tribunals have definitively established that the late Argentine priest Carlos Miguel Buela, founder of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM), committed sexual abuse with violence. Both the first-instance and appeals tribunals reached 'moral certainty' of his guilt under Canon 1395 § 2, though no formal sentence was issued because Buela died in 2023. The ruling aims to support the reform of the institutes, which have over 3,000 members in 45 countries, and to address the suffering of victims who were previously marginalized by the organizations.