Vatican: Pope Francis has lifted the statute of limitations on Rupnik case | CPT PPP Coverage

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The Vatican statement comes after the Catholic Diocese of Koper, Slovenia confirmed on Oct. 25 that Rupnik had been incardinated in the diocese since August, news that sparked outrage and disappointment from many Catholics and abuse victims over the handling of the clerical sex abuse allegations. 

Rupnik was dismissed by the Jesuits in June for failing to obey the directions of his superiors after having been accused of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse spanning more than three decades. 

Pope Francis had a private meeting in September with a close collaborator of Rupnik, Maria Campatelli, after Campatelli published a letter defending Rupnik against “a media campaign based on defamatory and unproven accusations.” Shortly after, the Diocese of Rome released a statement praising the art and theology center founded by the former Jesuit artist as “a healthy community.”

Former religious sisters who have accused Rupnik of abusing them responded with “bewilderment,” writing in an open letter that both the pope’s meeting and the Diocese of Rome’s statement ridiculed their pain and showed little care for those seeking justice.

The Vatican statement was released during the last week of the nearly month-long Synod on Synodality assembly launched by Pope Francis. In a Synod press conference on Oct. 25, Cardinal Robert Prevost said that safeguarding had not been “a central topic at the Synod.”

Rupnik’s art decorates more than 200 churches and shrines around the world, including at Lourdes, Fatima, and the Vatican. Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes has said that he is considering removing his art from the Marian shrine.