Rupnik Case: Jesuits Entangle Themselves in Contradictions

Jesuit superior general Arturo Sosa admitted in a press conference that famous Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik was [secretly] "excommunicated" in 2019 for "absolving" a woman in confession which whom he had fornicated (ApNews.com, December 14).

Sosa explained that Rupnik admitted what happened and then repented, implying, that a possible "excommunication" was immediately lifted.

Later, in 2021, the Vatican heard about a different case against Rupnik for allegedly abusing some adult women under his spiritual care in the 1990s.

Contradicting an earlier statement by the Jesuits, Sosa said that restrictions against Rupnik’s ministry dated from the 2019 confession-related conviction, not from the later allegations which were time-barred.

He “could imagine” that Jesuit Cardinal Ladaria, responsible to handle such charges, would have informed Francis, also a Jesuit, of the decisions taken.

Another contradiction: Only on December 9, Sosa told Jesuit AmericaMagzine.com that Rupnik's 2020 alleged removal from the Jesuit Centro Aletti was only due to "reasons internal to the organisation of the center, because he had been in the role a long time and already had committed to many artistic projects."

Presently, Rupnik is still listed as part of the equip of the centre.

Picture: Marko Rupnik © Courtesy of the Diocese of Rome, #newsPdousuobrl