LOURDES (FRANCE)
La Croix International [Montrouge Cedex, France]
July 4, 2024
By LaCroix International with AFP
The decision by the Diocese of Lourdes to stop highlighting the works of Slovenian artist Father Marko Rupnik that adorn the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes was praised by women victims July 3. However, they are calling for additional measures.
Women accusing Slovenian priest and mosaic artist Father Marko Rupnik of sexual assault applauded the July 3 decision by the Diocese of Tarbes-Lourdes to no longer illuminate his works adorning the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes while demanding for more action.
Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes-Lourdes announced that the mosaics of the famed Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwest France, created by Father Rupnik, would “no longer be highlighted,” pending a definitive solution. Until now, the mosaics were featured in “light shows during the Marian procession that gathered pilgrims every evening,” the bishop explained.
In a letter, the Italian lawyer for the five accusers, Laura Sgro, welcomed “a first step that we positively acknowledge.” “But other steps must be added in the short term,” Sgro added. “During the day,” the mosaics “will be visible and will continue to fuel the consternation of the faithful and the feeling of pain of the victims,” she argued.
‘No need to destroy them’
These alleged victims (an Italian, a Frenchwoman, a Slovenian, and two women wishing to remain anonymous) say they are ready to meet with Bishop Micas “to move forward together on a path of discernment that can truly lead to repair and consolation.”
In an interview published July 3 in La Croix, Bishop Micas clarified that “there is no need to destroy these mosaics to remove them. The mosaics are not glued to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary… We can, therefore, take them down and, if desired, exhibit them elsewhere,” he argued.
In a letter addressed last week to dioceses displaying mosaics by Father Rupnik—more than 200 works visible in Lourdes, Fatima (Portugal), Damascus, Washington, and even the Vatican—the plaintiffs demanded their outright removal.
Excluded from the Jesuit Order
Father Rupnik, 69, a world-renowned theologian and mosaic artist, is accused of having committed psychological and sexual violence against at least 20 women over a span of 30 years, most notably within the community he led in Ljubljana, which is now dissolved.
The Vatican invoked the statute of limitations to close the case in 2022 without a canonical investigation, with Father Rupnik only facing restrictions imposed by the Society of Jesus on his ministry. But in 2023, Pope Francis lifted this statute of limitations to allow for an investigation. The Society of Jesus, to which the pope also belongs, expelled Father Rupnik in June 2023.