ROME (LifeSiteNews) — Superiors of the Jesuit order have expelled the disgraced sexual abuser Father Marko Ivan Rupnik from the order, citing his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”
News of Rupnik’s dismissal from the Jesuits came via a decree signed on June 9, and released to the media and Rupnik on June 14.
Rupnik’s superior, Father Johan Verschueren S.J., stated in the decree that Rupnik had been offered “one last chance as a Jesuit to deal with his past and to give a clear signal to the numerous injured people who testified against him, in order to enter a path of truth.”
Faced with Marko Rupnik’s repeated refusal to obey this mandate, unfortunately there is only one solution left: dismissal from the Society of Jesus.
As extensively reported by LifeSiteNews, Rupnik has been accused of psychologically and sexually abusing 20 of the 40 religious sisters in the Loyola Community in Slovenia, of which he was a co-founder. The revelations and allegations became public in late 2022.
After the Jesuit Order issued an open call for any more victims to come forward in December 2022, a further 15 people accused the priest of having abused them, with male victims also coming forward. Rupnik was accused of abusing victims at his Rome-based Aletti Center.
The Jesuit Referral Team for Complaint Cases has compiled a 150-page dossier of reported instances of abuse which Rupnik is said to have committed. These date from 1985 to 2018, and in March Verschueren stated the credibility of the allegations against Rupnik was “very high.”
The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) has described assisted suicide as sometimes being the “greatest common good concretely possible” contrary to the Catholic Church’s strenuous condemnation of the practice.
This betrayal of the Catholic faith by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia is not for the first time, with the PAV repeatedly causing scandal under his watch by:
- recently appointing a notorious pro-abortion atheist to the organization
- claiming contraception and artificial insemination are sometimes acceptable
- insisting that priests could accompany people through assisted-suicide, and
- that Italy’s pro-abortion law is a “pillar” of the country’s social life.
SIGN: Pope Francis must remove Abp. Paglia from the Pontifical Academy for Life
“Personally, I would not practice suicide assistance,” Archbishop Paglia told an Italian journalism conference last week, “but I understand that legal mediation may be the greatest common good concretely possible under the conditions we find ourselves in.”
Accepting an anti-life Italian court ruling that specified when assisted-suicide is permitted, the archbishop claimed “it is not to be ruled out that in our society a legal mediation is feasible that would allow assistance to suicide under the conditions specified by Constitutional Court Sentence 242/2019…”
From the outset of his presentation in Perugia, Paglia also undermined the authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, stating: “First of all, I would like to clarify that the Catholic Church is not that it has a ready-made, prepackaged package of truths, as if it were a dispenser of truth pills.”
SIGN: Abp. Paglia must be removed from the Pontifical Academy for Life
The PAV issued a statement on Monday trying to clarify the archbishop’s remarks, insisting that Paglia “reiterates his ‘no’ towards euthanasia and assisted suicide, in full adherence to the Magisterium”.
However, far from denouncing Paglia’s words, the PAV unsurprisingly supported its president. Referencing the Italian court ruling which partially decriminalized euthanasia by outlining exceptions to its illegality, the PAV stated it was in the context of this ruling that Paglia had made his comments.
In this precise and specific context, Msgr. Paglia explained that in his opinion a ‘legal mediation’ (certainly not a moral one) in the direction indicated by the Sentence is possible, maintaining the crime and the conditions under which it is decriminalized, as the same Constitutional Court has asked Parliament to legislate.
The PAV’s fudging of the issue was met with consternation from several Catholic commentators, with liturgist Matthew Hazell, who had highlighted Paglia’s original comments, asking “How hard is it for the @PontAcadLife to just say ‘sorry’ for scandalising the faithful? Indeed, how hard is it to actually adhere to the teaching of the Church on life issues? Are you so incapable of reading the signs of the times & interpreting them in the light of the Gospel?”
The Pontifical Academy for Life has tried & failed to explain @monspaglia‘s remarks. Paglia had spoken about the “accompaniment” needed for the dying, saying “in this context, it is not to be ruled out that in our society a legal mediation is feasible …” https://t.co/C3LU601aA2
— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) April 24, 2023
Sorry guys, not good enough. Nowhere near good enough.
Archbishop Paglia’s “opinion” on the possibility of “juridical mediation” regarding euthanasia is still contrary to the Catholic faith, as has been explained already. https://t.co/qMATq0UZrL pic.twitter.com/W8s4zLvkj7— Matthew Hazell (@M_P_Hazell) April 24, 2023
Archbishop Paglia’s comments about assisted suicide being “feasible” are wrong and harmful. It’s the kind of “crack in the wall” that opponents of human life will run with to promote their agenda. The teaching of the Church is clear: Euthanasia is “morally unacceptable.” Period.
— Bishop Thomas Tobin (@ThomasJTobin1) April 24, 2023
SIGN: Abp. Paglia’s presidency of the Pontifical Academy for Life is untenable
It’s vital that the Church and PAV push back against the culture of death, rather than trying to accommodate it and accept a world that where the vulnerable are helped to kill themselves.
Be part of pushing back against the tide and making it clear that there is no room for confusion or betrayal when it comes to the sanctity of human life and the infallibilty of Catholic teaching on the matter.
SIGN AND SHARE THE PETITION WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY
MORE INFORMATION:
Abp. Paglia defends assisted-suicide as ‘greatest common good possible’ for dying people – LifeSiteNews
In a separate offense, Rupnik was also automatically excommunicated and found guilty by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s court of absolving in confession a woman with whom he had sexual relations. He subsequently had the penalty revoked – with much speculation over whether Pope Francis personally intervened to swiftly lift the excommunication.
According to the Jesuits the excommunication was lifted by a “CDF decree later that month.” This was reportedly due to Rupnik repenting of his actions, although traditional Catholic blog Messa in Latino consistently argues that the excommunication was lifted by Francis “within hours.”
READ: Jesuits confirm disgraced priest was excommunicated, focus now turns to Pope’s alleged involvement
Rupnik will now have 30 days to appeal the decision, after which it becomes final. However, he will still remain a priest, with the decree only removing him from being a Jesuit. Regarding this, Verschueren wrote: “If and only when Fr. Marko Rupnik’s resignation from the Society becomes final, it will be possible to explore the issues further. Not before.”
The striking news of Rupnik’s dismissal comes in the wake of recent reports that he has continued to ignore restrictions placed on his movements and his ministry. Italian news outlet Domani reported June 9 that the priest had recently been on trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia – trips which directly defied the directive given to Rupnik to remain in the Lazio region in which Rome is situated.
Indeed, since 2019 – even prior to the details of his case becoming known in late 2022 – Rupnik has been subject to restrictions on his public ministry and movement. They include having to “avoid private, in-depth spiritual contacts with persons” and being “forbidden to confess women, and to give spiritual direction to women.”
Verschueren added in March that the restrictions also include a “ban on public communication, ban on leaving the Lazio Region.”
READ: Former nun details years of ‘satanic’ sex abuse by Jesuit priest Fr. Rupnik
Yet, despite the immense publicity focused on him since December 2022, Rupnik persisted in his public actions, celebrating a Mass in the Basilica of Santa Praessede on March 5. Verschueren stated in February that Rupnik had rejected previous opportunities to assist the inquiries being made into his actions.
A new investigation was launched into Rupnik’s activities in the spring, prior to which fresh restrictions were placed on him, including a ban on any public artistic actions, “especially towards religious facilities (such as churches, institutions, oratories and chapels, exercise or spirituality houses).”
Then in late April, Domani also revealed Rupnik’s 90 percent ownership of an art company which he founded in 2007, which he held in violation of his Jesuit vows, and which was turning over millions of euros.
READ: Fr. Rupnik continues breaking vows with secret ownership of art company making millions
Verschueren denied any knowledge of Rupnik’s ownership of the company, named Rossoroblu, stating “this is completely new news for me and also quite shocking because it is against the vow of poverty.”
Rupnik continued to refuse to cooperate with the investigation launched during the spring, thus repeating his prior refusal to cooperate with the Jesuit’s prior investigation.
Additionally, Rupnik’s writings have been subject to scrutiny as part of the investigations into the priest. According to Verschueren, a theologian found “transgressive” issues with Rupnik’s conferences on sexuality from the 1980s and 1990s. The theologian said the text “gave an opening to legitimize certain actions that aren’t correct.”
Presuming Rupnik does not appeal the decision, he will therefore cease to be a Jesuit after the 30-day period is over. But given his history of ignoring the restrictions placed on him, such an outcome might be his preference, given that he will no longer be subject to the official Jesuit restrictions, and will thus be a free agent.
READ: Fr. Rupnik’s artwork at Lourdes shrine under review following abuse allegations
In a February 2023 statement, Verschueren stated that the allegations received about Rupnik “[tend] to exclude the criminal relevance, before the Italian judicial authority, of Father Rupnik’s behavior.” Provided no new allegations are brought which are civilly illegal, Rupnik’s fate will be no worse than expulsion from an order whose authority he was already ignoring.
Indeed, the disgraced priest continues to enjoy papal promotion, with Pope Francis highlighting one of Rupnik’s pieces of art in a recent video message. Published online June 1 by the Vatican, the video showed the Pope deliver brief thoughts to the 16th Marian Congress, then being held in Apericda.
In the two minutes and 20 seconds video, Francis devoted just under one minute to show the camera Rupnik’s image of the Mother with the Christ Child, which resides in the Pope’s rooms in the Casa Santa Marta hotel.
Not only this, but as noted by many online, the Vatican News channels continue to use Rupnik’s artwork for various feasts and occasions throughout the liturgical year, including the recent and upcoming feasts of Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and the Sacred Heart.