(VATICAN CITY)
La Croix International [Montrouge Cedex, France]
June 28, 2024
By Héloïse de Neuville
Cardinal Sean O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, issued a statement calling for “pastoral prudence” regarding the dissemination by Vatican offices of artwork by Father Marko Rupnik, who is the subject of numerous complaints from women accusing sexual abuse, abuse of power, and spiritual manipulation.
“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering.” These are the words of Cardinal Sean O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, regarding the frequent use of Father Marko Rupnik’s artwork by the Vatican, particularly its Dicastery for Communications, to illustrate online Catholic content.
Artworks regularly promoted by the Vatican
Lately, Vatican News, the official Vatican website, under the supervision of the Dicastery for Communications, has regularly used the priest’s mosaics in articles related to major Catholic feasts and saints. The works of the Slovenian artist, expelled from the Society of Jesus in June 2023, were also frequently posted on social media by Vatican News. This occurred despite requests from several women claiming to be victims of the priest who publicly expressed their trauma each time they saw the Vatican promoting these mosaics.
The 68-year-old Slovenian priest, renowned internationally for his art — he and his workshop created the facade of the Basilica of Lourdes (France), the pope’s private chapel in the Vatican, and the Basilica of Fatima (Portugal) — is the subject of numerous complaints from women, including nuns, accusing him of sexual abuse, abuse of power, and spiritual manipulation, often within the context of confession.
In 2023, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors brought “serious problems” to the pope’s attention regarding the handling of Father Rupnik’s case, whose light sanctions did not correspond to the severity of the testimonies known to the Vatican. After months of inaction, the Vatican announced last October that Pope Francis “asked the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to review the case and decided to lift the statute of limitations to allow a process to take place.”
“Pope Francis has urged us to be sensitive”
In this context, Cardinal O’Malley sent a letter to the dicasteries of the Roman Curia on June 26, expressing “hope” that during the investigation period potentially leading to a trial of the Slovenian priest, “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of alleged perpetrators of sexual violence.
“Pope Francis has urged us to be sensitive to and walk in solidarity with those harmed by all forms of abuse. I ask you to bear this in mind when choosing images to accompany the publication of messages, articles, and reflections through the various communication channels available to us,” Cardinal O’Malley said. The appeal may be interpreted as a reprimand, or at least a point of tension, with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, whose prefect considered that destroying the artist’s works was not a “Christian response.”
More broadly, the future of Father Marko Rupnik’s art worldwide is now at the center of all debates. The Italian capital has no fewer than 43 chapels or churches adorned with the work of the mosaicist and his Aletti Center, a workshop under the protection of the Diocese of Rome. This includes three others directly on Vatican territory. This amounts to one-fifth of Rupnik’s 231 works worldwide. In France, the Lourdes sanctuary is expected to soon decide on the fate of Marko Rupnik’s mosaics adorning the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Just before the commission released its statement, AP reported that several women claiming to be victims of Father Rupnik asked for his mosaics to be removed from places of worship, saying that they were “inappropriate.”