Carlos Miguel Buela

Carlos Miguel Buela (4 April 1941 – 23 April 2023) was an Argentinian Catholic priest. In 1984, Buela founded the Institute of the Incarnate Word religious order, of which he was the Superior General from its founding until 1994 and again from 2001 until 2010, when he was removed as Superior General in response to allegations of abuse against seminarians. Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis confirmed the outcome, and in 2021 a Vatican tribunal found Buela guilty of committing sexual abuse against five members or former members of the order.

Early life Carlos Miguel Buela was born on 4 April 1941, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He entered Inmaculada Concepción Seminary in Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires at the age of 23, and after finishing his studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Rosario was ordained a priest on 7 October 1971 for the Diocese of San Martín. It began as a public association of the faithful, made up of priests from the archdioceses of Buenos Aires and Paraná. However, eventually only Buela remained of the founding group. In 1988, Buela founded a female branch, the Servants of the Lord and of the Virgin of Matará. In addition to professing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, members of the IVE take a fourth vow of "Marian slavery".

The association conflicted with the bishops of the region, establishing itself in other dioceses without the permission of the local ordinaries. As a result, none of the bishops of San Rafael considered the group to have met the canonical conditions to become an Institute of Consecrated Life. In 2001, Buela again became the Superior General.

Sexual abuse allegations In January 2010, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life issued a decree removing Buela as the Superior General of the Institute and requiring him to reside in a French abbey. After noticing an abnormal number of laicization requests from IVE priests, Eduardo Maria Taussig, bishop of San Rafael, had conducted an investigation, interviewing priests, former priests, and lay persons. Allegations emerged that Buela had engaged in inappropriate conduct against young members of the IVE, committing sexual abuse, abuse of power, and abuse of conscience. The Holy See reviewed the investigation and suspended Buela. Buela denied all claims and presented a 119-page defense document, alleging that the Episcopal Conference of Argentina was scheming against him to destabilize the IVE; however, the Holy See's investigation concluded that Buela's claims of a scheme were not credible, and that the allegations of abuse committed by Buela were credible. Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis recognized and confirmed the veracity of the allegations and outcome of the investigations. Later allegations emerged in 2015 of new allegations occurring after the 2010 decree, stating that Buela had ignored the 2010 decree restricting him from contact with IVE members and committed more abuse. The Institute continues to sell Buela's writings, has released commemorative videos following his death, organizes pilgrimages to his tomb, and considers him to be "unjustly persecuted by the Holy See". In January 2025, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life appointed pontifical delegates with full governing powers over the male and female branches of the IVE, citing "severe deficits" in the institutes regarding vocational discernment and formation.