The community center of the Regina Pacis parish church in Reggio Emilia, Italy. With the approval of Pope Francis, the Vatican has ordered the dissolution of an Italy-based community, which had its headquarters in Verona and communities in Medjugorje and Brazil.
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life determined the Regina Pacis Community was to be “suppressed”, citing problems with a lack of “maturity” in its charism and institutional structure, which would have been necessary for “a healthy development in the future”, according to the decree, quoted by Bishop Giuseppe Zenti of Verona.
Visitations and oversight of the community showed there had been “institutional weaknesses, especially in governance” as well as difficulties in relations between members, the bishop said in a written communique sent August 17 to members of the diocese.
Verona’s daily newspaper, L’Arena, published news of the suppression and passages from the bishop’s note August 24. The Vatican decree, dated July 24, said the community’s foundational charism lacked authenticity and “trustworthiness,” and there was a “lack of substance” in the community’s texts, especially concerning ecclesiology and formation, according to the bishop’s note.
The Regina Pacis Community was founded in 1986 by a married couple, Alessandro and Luisa Nottegar, to be a community based on prayer, evangelisation and service to the poor. It was made up of families, laypeople, nuns, priests and friars.