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The Vatican on Wednesday denied rumors a verdict had been reached in the Church trial of Father Marko Rupnik, a notorious former Jesuit and a celebrity artist-priest, days after rumors of the disgraced cleric’s acquittal began circulating in Rome. “Reports concerning any deliberation by the judges handling the case of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik are entirely unfounded,” reads a statement from the press office of the Holy See shared with journalists on Wednesday. The statement comes just one day after a lawyer representing five of Rupnik’s accusers released a withering critique of the Church’s efforts to provide justice in the case, complaining of procedural irregularities and impenetrable opacity. Rupnik’s victims have been waiting for years – some of them for several decades – to see justice done on their alleged abuser, who has received extremely lenient treatment from Vatican authorities and very nearly escaped justice entirely. Attorney Laura Sgrò told Crux Now she drafted and released her Tuesday letter at her clients’ request. RELATED: Rupnik victims ‘disheartened and distressed’ but determined, says lawyer Sgrò says neither she nor her clients have ever been officially informed the trial is underway, nor have they been given to understand how far the proceedings have progressed. “The evaluation of the case is still in course,” says the Wednesday statement from the Holy See press office. “[T]he college [of judges] is examining documentation that has come from the dioceses involved, from the Jesuits, from the interested parties, and by way of the press,” the statement says. The press office statement also discusses the secrecy of the proceedings, which are being conducted under the Church’s own legal system – canon law – and have been the subject of both intense scrutiny and fierce criticism for their slow pace and near-total opacity. “During the proceedings,” the statement says, “no information regarding the ongoing work may be shared in any way.” The secrecy is “out of respect for the process itself and to avoid causing further pain to those involved in the matter, as has occurred in recent days,” it says, an oblique reference to the recent rumors of Rupnik’s acquittal. The statement says the secrecy is the same “as with any judicial process,” but criminal trials in Vatican City – technically a separate “civil” jurisdiction – have been public affairs for many years. The high-profile public trial of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu on charges of corruption and embezzlement is one. Becciu first went on trial in 2021 and was convicted, but he maintains his innocence and has seen his case make significant headway during the ongoing appeal. The Vatican published the specific charges against Becciu, witnesses gave public testimony, and a pool of accredited journalists covered the proceedings. The 2021-2024 trial of Father Gabriele Martinelli and Father Enrico Radice in Vatican City criminal court, on charges – respectively – of abuse and related crimes, was also a public affair widely covered by journalists. Martinelli was convicted on a lesser charge and Radice was acquitted. Penal lawyers practicing in the Church’s justice system, criminal justice experts, and reform advocates have all noted that there is no reason in principle why trials at Church law should not also be meaningfully public. Trials at Church law are often glacially slow and are notoriously secretive – by design – but attorneys representing parties involved usually have at least some access to the proceedings. Sgrò says her clients have not been called to testify, nor have they been given the names of the judges in the case. She says she has not even received notice of a ruling on her clients’ motion to be admitted as injured parties in the process. These are “some basic, fundamental questions regarding a criminal proceeding,” Sgrò writes, “involving victims who first reported their abuse over thirty years ago.” “Should the college determine that there is need for further information,” the Wednesday statement from the Vatican says, “it will be the college’s own responsibility to move on its own power to obtain what is needed.” Follow Chris Altieri on X: @craltieri

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