Pope Francis Dithers Again on Clerical Sex Abuse

Oct 30, 2023 | 1 comment

Marco Rupnik, Artist

Apparently repeating his about face on the failure of the Chilean bishops to protect children in 2018, Pope Francis has had second thoughts on the case of the famed religious mozaic artist Marco Rupnik, a former Jesuit dismissed by his order in 2022.

On Friday 27th October it was announced by the Vatican that the statute of limitations on investigation of the former priest had been lifted – to permit a new examination of his case.  This followed protest from Rupnik’s alleged female Czech victims, after it had been announced in the same month that he had been incardinated by a Slovenian diocese, enabling him to minister as a priest yet again.

Already incensed by a reported meeting between the pope and a Rupnik supporter in Rome in September, the artist’s Czech victims – whom the pope has reportedly not yet met – won media support for greater transparency on the issue.  This has resulted in his case being reopened by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), formerly known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). This body now has overall responsibility for dealing with issues of clerical sexual abuse, as well as the issue of doctrinal orthodoxy.

Robert Mickens

The editor of La Croix International, Robert Mickens, has been especially trenchant in his criticism of these events, falling as they do at the same time as the conclusion of the October 2023 Synod on Synodality.

“The members of the Synod assembly could not even acknowledge in their “Letter to the People of God” that hundreds, certainly tens of thousands and perhaps even millions of people – minors and vulnerable adults – have been sexually abused by Catholic priests over the past 70 or so years alone. The best they could muster in their anodyne text was to mention “victims of abuse committed by members of the ecclesial body”. Seriously? This was not a tough one.”

For this full commentary article in La Croix, assessing the October synod, click here.

For Commenting Guidelines Click Here.

1 Comment

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ACI’s Campaign for Lumen Gentium 37

The Promise of Synodality

What we have experienced of synodality so far gives ACI real hope that a longstanding structural injustice in the church may at last be acknowledged and overcome.

As all Irish bishops well know, the 'co-responsibility' they urge lay people to share - as numbers and energies of clergy decline - has been sabotaged time and again by canonical rules that deny representational authority and continuity to parish pastoral councils.  ACI's 2019 call for the immediate honouring of Lumen Gentium Article 37 becomes more urgent by the day and is supported by the following documents - also presented to the ICBC in October 2019.

The Common Priesthood of the People of God and the Renewal of the Church
It was Catholic parents and victims of clerical abuse who taught Catholic Bishops to prioritise the safeguarding of children in the church

Jesus as Model for the Common Priesthood of the People of God
It was for challenging religious hypocrisy and injustice that Jesus was accused and crucified. He is therefore a model for the common priesthood of the laity and for the challenging of injustice - in society and within the church.

A Suggested Strategy for the Recovery of the Irish and Western Catholic Church
Recovery of the church depends upon acknowledgment of the indispensable role of the common priesthood of the lay people of God and the explicit abandonment by bishops and clergy of paternalism and clericalism - the expectation of deference from lay people rather than honesty and integrity.

For the full story of ACI's campaign for the honouring of Article 37 of Lumen Gentium, click here.

Prayer

"Come Holy Spirit, Renew Your wonders in this our day, as by a new Pentecost. Grant to Your Church that, being of one mind and steadfast in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and following the lead of blessed Peter, it may advance the reign of our Divine Saviour, the reign of truth and justice, the reign of love and peace. Amen."

Saint Pope John XXIII, 1962 - In preparation for Vatican Council II, 1962-65.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This