Jesuits offer reparations to abuse victims

A top official of the Catholic religious order on Wednesday said he had sent a letter offering reparations to 20 women who say a famous ex-Jesuit artist abused them sexually, psychologically, and spiritually. The Slovenian artist, Marko Rupnik, is internationally known for his religious mosaics, including some at the Vatican.

The Rev. Johan Versuchen, Rupnik’s former superior, said he wrote to the alleged victims on Tuesday, telling them his order would help each with their individual needs. The offer could include counseling, financial compensation, or help finding work, the Associated Press reported. Versuchen also said he apologized and lamented in the letter that the Catholic Church has been slow to investigate and respond to the women’s claims.

The Jesuits expelled Rupnik in 2023 after he refused to cooperate with the order’s internal investigations into abuse claims, Catholic News Agency reported. But the Diocese of Koper in Rupnik’s native Slovenia accepted him for priestly ministry just a few months later. Rupnik continues to serve as a priest there.

What do the women say happened? The 20 women brought claims that Rupnik spiritually, psychologically, and sexually abused them at various times between 1985 and 2018. Some of them were under his mentorship at a center for the arts he founded in Rome, according to the Catholic News Agency.

Has Rupnik responded to the allegations? Rupnik has not made a public statement about the claims. In 2024, the director of the art center he founded said Rupnik denied the claims. She also urged church authorities not to remove Rupnik’s artwork until the case had been fully decided, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

How long has the investigation into Rupnik taken? The allegations first became public in 2022, though several of his superiors were aware of reports and placed restrictions on his ministry activities years before. Rupnik had previously been temporarily excommunicated for absolving a sexual partner, the Catholic News Agency reported.

The Vatican initially said it couldn’t investigate the abuse claims because the statute of limitations had expired. But in late 2023, Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations to allow the church’s doctrine department to begin a disciplinary case against Rupnik.

A cardinal heading up the investigation told reporters last week that he struggled to find the right external judges to hear the case, according to the Associated Press. Rupnik was a close friend of the Pope and a favorite of many connected with the Vatican.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report about a sex abuse investigation in the Church of England.