The Vatican Commission for the Protection of Minors calls for the removal of Rupnik works from the Curia departments

The prefect of the Vatican Office for the Protection of Minors, American Cardinal Sean O’Malley, has asked all those responsible for the various departments of the Roman Curia to remove the works of art of the famous Slovenian priest and artist Marko Rupnik, accused of abusing dozens of adult women.

Cardinal O’Malley’s statement comes after the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, recently sparked controversy for arguing that the department he heads would continue to use artwork by former Slovenian Jesuit Rupnik on its website. On June 21, in his opening address to the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, Ruffini was questioned precisely why his office continued to use Rupnik’s artwork on its website, despite him being prosecuted in the Vatican. In response, Ruffini said the investigation into Rupnik was not yet concluded, stating, “Who am I to judge Rupnik’s story?”

In a statement from the organization he heads, the Archbishop of Boston also said that he has written to the heads of all Vatican departments asking that “pastoral prudence prevent the display of works of art in a way that might imply an exoneration or a subtle defense” of the alleged abusers “or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse.”

“We must avoid sending the message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological anguish suffered by so many people,” he assures. “Pope Francis has urged us to be sensitive and walk in solidarity with those harmed by all forms of abuse.” .

He has therefore urged the prefects of the Vatican dicasteries to take his request into account when “choosing the images that will accompany the publication of messages, articles and reflections through the various communication channels.”

The legal case against Rupnik – a world-famous artist whose mosaics adorn major sanctuaries around the world – remains open at the Vatican where he is accused of having committed serious abuses against women.

Rupnik has not been reduced to the secular state. After a preliminary investigation entrusted to the Society of Jesus, the then Congregation – today the Dicastery – for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) determined that the facts in question should be considered statute-barred and closed the case in October 2022.

In September of last year, the Pope decided to lift the statute of limitations on his case and ordered the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to open proceedings.

Rupnik, 69, is accused of sexually abusing and manipulating at least 30 different women, most of whom were nuns who belonged to the Loyola Community he helped found in his native Slovenia in the 1980s. After refusing to cooperate with an internal Jesuit investigation, Rupnik was expelled from the order for disobedience in June 2023.