The Vatican expelled 10 members from Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a group founded in Peru, after investigators reported cases of physical abuse and cultlike control.

Pope Francis expelled 10 people—a bishop, priests and laypeople—from the Sodalitium, a Catholic movement centered in Peru, on Wednesday after the Vatican uncovered "sadistic" abuses within the movement.

The Archdiocese of Denver, in a statement, said it was “shocked and saddened by the news of expulsions,” which it attributed to “decades-old allegations in South America.”