Revelations that the Vatican let a famous priest off the hook twice for abusing his authority over adult women has exposed two main weaknesses in the Holy See's abuse policies: sexual and spiritual misconduct against adult women is rarely if ever punished, and secrecy still reigns supreme, especially when powerful priests are involved.
The Jesuit order, to which Pope Francis belongs, was forced to admit Wednesday that its initial statements about the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, an internationally recognised religious artist, were less than complete. The order had said Rupnik was accused in 2021 of unspecified problems “in the way he exercised his ministry” but that the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith determined the allegations were too old to prosecute.
But under questioning by journalists, the Jesuit superior general, the Rev. Arturo Sosa, acknowledged the Congregation had prosecuted Rupnik for a separate, prior case from 2019 that ended with his conviction and temporary excommunication for one of the gravest crimes in the church's in-house canon law: that he used the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he previously had sexual relations.
The case dates from 2015, when Rupnik was in Rome, and also included an accusation of false mysticism that wasn't prosecuted, according to a person familiar with the case who was not authorised to speak about it.
Rupnik quickly admitted to the confession-related crime and formally repented, and the Congregation immediately lifted his excommunication from the church, Sosa said in response to a question from The Associated Press.
While the Jesuits barred Rupnik from hearing confessions or giving spiritual direction, the restrictions on his ministry did not prevent him from celebrating Mass or preaching. He continued writing and making his art without the public, the consecrated women in his community or even his own Jesuit confreres knowing the truth.
Rupnik is unknown to most Catholics but is a giant within the Jesuit order and the Catholic hierarchy because he is one of the church's most sought-after artists. His mosaics depicting biblical scenes decorate the basilica in Lourdes, France, the Vatican's own Redemptoris Mater chapel and the John Paul II institute in Washington, and are due to grace the new basilica in Aparecida, Brazil. He designed the Vatican logo for the 2022 World Meeting of Families, and was featured in a Vatican News television interview to describe the religious inspiration behind it.