In a busy news week, people may have missed the Vatican stating it has concluded the process of gathering information in the case of Father Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuit accused by several women of abusing them when they were adults, from the mid-1980’s until at least the 2010’s.
The case against Rupnik has been taking a long time, especially considering the Vatican had already decided there was a case to answer but declined to prosecute originally, citing the statute of limitations.
Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023 — for “disobedience” rather than for his alleged crimes, which had been declared beyond the statute of limitations — and was subsequently allowed to join a diocese in his native Slovenia and remain a priest in good standing. When people found out about that development there was massive outcry and Francis ordered Rupnik’s case to be reopened and re-examined.
“We are now working to establish an independent tribunal that will move on to the final phase through a criminal judicial process. In cases like this it is important to find the most suitable people, and for them to accept,” Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez told Madrid’s archdiocesan weekly, Alfa y Omega, on Thursday.
The Rupnik case is very high profile because his massive mosaics are featured in famous church buildings around the world.
He is accused of psychologically, spiritually, and sexually abusing dozens of victims — many of them women religious — using his sexual acts as in inspiration for his artwork.
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After the outrage, Pope Francis ordered a review of the Rupnik case.
However, Fernandez told Alfa y Omega his office – the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) – is dealing with “more serious” cases that are “less publicized.”
Of course, this brings up a century-old legal maxim: “Justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.”
This was made by the Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Hewart, in 1924.
This statement was made in a case where one of the people working for the court could have been seen as biased to some of his other cases – he was never actually accused of bias, but the mere appearance of bias was enough to get the case thrown out.
Which brings us to Rupnik.
The Slovenian priest has close connections with several high-ranking Vatican officials, going back to Pope John Paul II.
Rupnik decorated most of the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican in the 1990s under John Paul. The chapel is reserved for the exclusive use of the pontiff, although it is often used by the Preacher of the Papal Household for preaching to Vatican officials.
He also designed the logo for the Year of Mercy in 2016, the special Jubilee set up by Pope Francis. His artwork is still used by the Vatican Media website.
The head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, recently sparked controversy for defending his office’s continued use of this artwork by saying, “Who am I to judge the Rupnik stories?” Meanwhile, Nataša Govekar, who leads the department for Theology and Pastoral activity in the Vatican’s communications dicastery, is a member of Rupnik’s Centro Aletti.
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Rupnik and his Centro Aletti art studio in Rome have been commissioned to produce art at numerous prominent places of worship around the world, including the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, and the Sanctuary of Fátima.
American Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the President of the Pontifical Commission for Protecting Minors (PCPM), has urged the Vatican to remove its artwork by Rupnik, saying, “We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering.”
This call by the Vatican’s leading figure on battling abuse was made last June – but Rupnik and Rupnik studio art is still being used by the Vatican. In fact, a video of Pope Francis speaking to Christians in Gaza via internet shows a work of art by the accused priest hanging in the pope’s room.
In general, the situation could cause observers to raise their eyebrows when the head of the DDF implies Rupnik’s isn’t one of his “more serious” cases.
A Vatican investigation of a priest who has been prominently featured by the Vatican for decades is always going to looked at critically.
“Justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.”
The Vatican seems to be ignoring this maxim.
Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome
