Rupnik case: alleged victims demand more than dim lights in Lourdes

Women accusing Slovenian priest and mosaicist Father Marko Rupnik of sexual assault have welcomed 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 further action.

Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes-Lourdes announced that the mosaics of the famous Notre-Dame de Lourdes sanctuary, created by Father Rupnik, would “no longer be highlighted”, pending a definitive solution. Until now, they were highlighted by “light shows during the Marian procession that brought together pilgrims every evening”, explained the bishop.

In a letter, the Italian lawyer for the five accusers, Laura Sgro, hailed “a first step that we welcome positively.” “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 said.

“No need to destroy them”

These alleged victims (an Italian, a French, a Slovenian and two women who wish 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 reparation and consolation.”

In an interview published on July 3 in The cross, Bishop Micas clarified that “it is not necessary to destroy these mosaics to remove them. The mosaics are not stuck to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary… We can therefore dismantle them and, if we wish, display them elsewhere,” he maintained.

In a letter addressed last week to the dioceses exhibiting mosaics by Father Rupnik – more than 200 works visible in Lourdes, Fatima (Portugal), Damascus, Washington and even the Vatican – the plaintiffs demanded their pure and simple withdrawal.

Excluded from the Jesuit Order

Father Rupnik, 69, a world-renowned theologian and mosaicist, is accused of committing psychological and sexual violence against at least 20 women over a period of 30 years, including within the community he led in Ljubljana, which has now been dissolved.

The Vatican invoked the statute of limitations to close the case in 2022 without a canonical investigation, with Father Rupnik facing only the restrictions imposed by the Society of Jesus on his ministry. But in 2023, Pope Francis lifted that statute of limitations to allow an investigation. The Society of Jesus, to which the pope also belongs, expelled Father Rupnik in June 2023.