Vatican: Rupnik acquittal rumors ‘absolutely unfounded’
“The deliberation of the case is still ongoing.”
The Vatican said Wednesday that the canonical trial of Fr. Marko Rupnik is still in process, after rumors emerged this week that the disgraced former Jesuit had been acquitted.
Two online publications reported on Monday that Rupnik had been acquitted by a panel of judges appointed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, over charges connected allegations of sexually abusing religious sisters.
But the Holy See press office responded July 22, sending journalists a statement saying that “reports of any deliberation by the judges following the case of Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik are absolutely unfounded.”
The press office said that “the deliberation of the case is still ongoing, and the panel is examining documentation from the dioceses involved, the Jesuits, interested parties, and the press.”
It added: “During the trial, as with any judicial proceeding, no information regarding ongoing activity can be shared in any way, out of respect for the trial itself and to avoid harming anyone involved in the matter, as has occurred in recent days. Should the panel deem it necessary to obtain further information, it will be responsible for making independent arrangements to obtain it.”
The statement also noted that the statute of limitations had been lifted to allow Rupnik’s trial to proceed.
“This canonical criminal proceeding is judicial in nature and, as previously communicated, is in derogation of the statute of limitations for any crimes and may provide guidance regarding guilt or innocence according to canon law,” it said.
“Canon law can judge and impose penalties regarding matters relating to the internal life of the Church, while Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik remains subject to the legislation of the countries in which any crimes were committed, and the statute of limitations for such crimes is established by the legislation of each country, regardless of ecclesiastical authority.”
The Holy See press office statement came after traditionalist Italian blog Messa in Latino said that Rupnik had been acquitted on July 20. Online publication Ad Vaticanum claimed to have corroborated the reports.
Soon after, Laura Sgro — an attorney representing five women who say they were abused by Rupnik — wrote a letter to the Vatican saying that her clients had received no updates and no information regarding the status of the trial against their alleged abuser, and had not even been informed that it was actually underway.
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Rupnik is accused of abusing multiple religious sisters over a period of years, intermixing spiritual manipulation with the creation of his mosaics of biblical scenes. He is also accused of coercing consecrated women into spiritualized sexual practices as he created his art.
The Slovenian priest was briefly excommunicated in 2020 for attempting to absolve an accomplice in a sin against the sixth commandment, which effectively means having illicit sexual relations with a partner, and then hearing their confession about it.
The Jesuit order has said that in October 2022, Vatican officials decided not to pursue canonical charges against Rupnik over the allegations from women religious dating to the 1990s, because the relevant statute of limitations had run out and there was a decision not to waive it. But amid a fierce wave of protests, Pope Francis in October 2023 waived the canonical statute of limitations, allowing the trial to proceed at the DDF, which had tried Rupnik initially for his absolution of an accomplice.
Some months earlier, in June 2023, the Society of Jesus had announced its decision to expel Rupnik due to “his stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”
The Jesuit order said that in February 2023 it had received a dossier containing “numerous complaints of all kinds” against Rupnik, relating to alleged incidents of abuse over more than 30 years.
Rupnik’s superiors determined “the degree of credibility of what was reported or testified to be very high.”
After being expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023, Rupnik was incardinated in the Slovenian Diocese of Koper.
In an October 2023 statement, the Koper diocese said that its Bishop Jurij Bizjak had welcomed Rupnik — who was born in the diocese — partly because he had “not received any documents of Fr. Rupnik having been found guilty of the alleged abuses before either an ecclesiastical tribunal or civil court.”
The diocese added that “as long as Fr. Rupnik has not been found guilty in a public trial in court, he enjoys all the rights and duties of diocesan priests.”
Fr. Johan Verschueren, S.J., Rupnik’s former superior in Rome, told journalists that he had contacted Bishop Bizjak after hearing that the Koper diocese was willing to accept the priest.
Verschueren said: “I immediately wrote an exhaustive letter to the bishop about the situation and the many complaints or cases we were dealing with, and I asked him whether he would maintain his offer after having been informed by it.”
When Pope Francis waived the canonical statute of limitations in October 2023, the press office said that the pope had been informed in September 2023 of “serious problems” in the Vatican’s handling of the case by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a Vatican body dedicated to the safeguarding of minors and vulnerable adults.
The press office noted that the pope had “consequently” asked the DDF to review the case, but it did not specify when he had made the decision.
Pope Francis did not at the time cite the specific canonical crimes Rupnik would be tried for, though canonists generally believe he is facing charges related to canon 1395 of the Code of Canon Law.
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Rupnik was well known in the Church as the director of the Aletti Center, an institute founded in the 1990s at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome as a center of art, theology, and culture.
His mosaics decorate some of the most popular Catholic pilgrimage destinations, including Lourdes and the crypt chapel in San Giovanni Rotondo, which contains Padre Pio’s tomb.
In 2020, Rupnik preached a Lenten meditation for priests working in the Vatican. He had a private audience with Pope Francis in January 2022, and received an honorary doctorate from a Catholic university in Brazil in November 2022 that was later revoked.
Despite facing a rising number of allegations of spiritual and sexual abuse, Rupnik continued to maintain a public profile, concelebrating Mass at a basilica in Rome in March in 2023. He also remained an official adviser to several Vatican departments.
In 2024, the priest’s artwork and its public display in churches were defended by a ranking Vatican official, the communications prefect, who seemed to suggest that journalists pressing for accountability in the case had failed to adopt a Christian attitude toward the priest and his artwork.
Does anyone know why the text of some articles like this one is justified instead of left-aligned? I find it much harder to read that way and don't see any helpful settings on Substack apart from font size
The patient approach wins yet again. I wish more in the media would focus on obtaining the "best coverage" than the "fastest coverage." The news will eventually get out in time.