Vatican denies decision made in abuse trial against artist priest Rupnik

Pope Benedict XVI, centre, celebrates a mass in front of the Basilica of the Rosary in Lourdes, southwestern France, on Sept. 15, 2008. Behind him is one of the mosaics by Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, who was declared excommunicated in 2020 for committing one of the worst crimes in church law – using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

VATICAN CITY, July 22 - The Vatican on Wednesday denied that a ruling had been made in a canonical trial against prominent Slovenian priest Marko Ivan Rupnik, who has been accused by more than 20 women, mostly former nuns, of sexual and psychological abuse.

The case has come to be seen as a test of the Vatican’s commitment to accountability for clergy abuse.

Rupnik, a religious artist whose mosaics adorn about 200 churches and chapels around the world, including in the Vatican, was expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023 after it found the accusations against him to be “very highly” credible.

Earlier this week, Catholic blog Messa in Latino reported that Rupnik had been acquitted by Vatican judges, while a lawyer for some of his alleged victims, Laura Sgro, complained about the secrecy of the internal church trial.

“The evaluation of the case is still ongoing, and the panel is examining documentation from the dioceses involved, the Jesuits, interested parties, and the press,” the Vatican press office said.

“During the trial, as with any judicial proceeding, no information regarding ongoing activity can be shared in any way, out of respect for the trial itself and to avoid harming anyone involved,” it added.

Rupnik, 71, has not commented on the allegations.

In 2024, former nun Gloria Branciani said at a press conference that Rupnik had forced her to have three-way sex with him and another nun in Slovenia and had justified it as a devotion to the Holy Trinity. Later, in Rome, he forced her to visit pornographic movie theaters with him, she said.

Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Hugh Lawson