A combination photo shows Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik at the Vatican March 6, 2020, and an artist with Centro Aletti in Italy, working on a mosaic at Sacred Heart University's Chapel of the Holy Spirit in Fairfield, Conn., Sept. 30, 2009. (OSV News photo/Tracy Deer-Mirek, courtesy Sacred Heart, CNS) 
The Rupnik case continues to shake the Vatican and the Jesuit order to this day. The priest and artist is alleged to have sexually and spiritually abused numerous women. The trial against him is progressing slowly.
The head of the worldwide Jesuit order is hoping for a swift conclusion to the Vatican proceedings against the priest and mosaic artist Marko Rupnik. The Slovenian, who was expelled from the Jesuits in 2023, is accused by numerous women of having seduced them and exploited them sexually and spiritually. This case has caused a great deal of pain: for the priest’s victims, for the people and also for the Jesuits, said Jesuit General Arturo Sosa on Thursday in Rome.
The proceedings against Rupnik are taking a long time and the Jesuits hope that they will come to a conclusion as quickly as possible. Sosa emphasised that he was aware that such a process would not be easy. The head of the Vatican’s religious authority responsible for such a trial, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, had recently stated that his authority was about to start a criminal trial. However, it would be difficult to find suitable judges. Criminal proceedings under canon law against Rupnik are also difficult because the offences of which he is accused did not involve minors.
Praise for decision in Lourdes
Rupnik created numerous mosaics on and in church buildings. The continued existence of the works of art had also triggered protests from victims. The French pilgrimage site of Lourdes covered up mosaics at the basilica there at the end of April. Sosa praised this step. It was a long joint process in which both the victims and the local community were involved. He would also recommend this method in other cases, said the Jesuit leader. However, other cases are different and there is no fixed rule for dealing with them.
The Jesuit order itself is in contact with the victims and tries to find individual ways of healing. Reports from other potential victims are welcome, said Sosa. “We really want everyone who has something to say about this case to find a way to come forward.”