Jesuits plan to compensate Rupnik's victims

The Society of Jesus on 26 March announced its intention to offer compensation to the alleged victims of Father Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuit and once renowned mosaic artist for the Catholic Church who faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse against female religious. In what has been described as a long-awaited gesture of accountability and healing, Father Johan Verschueren, delegate of the Jesuit Superior General, has for the first time formally reached out to the victims in writing, <a href="https://catholicvote.org/jesuits-plan-to-offer-compensation-to-victims-of-fr-marko-rupnik/?mkt_tok=NDI3LUxFUS0wNjYAAAGZdfewVd7ajcO3SQ96lvIP43M2ZwSimos59d0Z6-bvQxwGC4owqD45KudlCK4Alx9Wj_Tv_B9Ledr4soJvCHzRrmmSiC5pUfqLLX0QLkLC0Y8"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a><em> </em>the<em> CatholicVote</em> website, whose boss was recently <a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/trump-rewards-catholicvote-boss-with-top-job-at-the-holy-see/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">given a top job at the Holy See by President Donald Trump</mark></a>. The pro-Republican website notes that the letter expressed the Jesuits’ desire to initiate “a path of reparation and healing". It adds that Laura Sgrò, an attorney representing five of the victims, described the letter as a significant step. She noted that it acknowledged not only the trauma inflicted by the abuse itself, but also the pain caused by years of silence and inaction. The letter seemed to address the inaction and length of time that has been taken, by saying: “To the violence suffered then, has been added the suffering for the lack of listening and justice for many years.” The letter also expressed hope for “a process of healing and inner reconciliation", while emphasising that this can only occur if it is “accompanied by a path of truth and recognition” on the part of the Church, <em>CatholicVote</em> notes. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, continues to seek judges for Rupnik’s upcoming canonical trial, following the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. Rupnik, 70, is accused of sexually and psychologically abusing at least 20 women for nearly 30 years at a religious community in Slovenia. Rupnik was briefly excommunicated in 2020 for absolving someone of allegedly having sexual relations with him, but was reinstated after having reportedly formally repented. The Jesuits – one of the Roman Catholic Church's primary orders, founded in 1534 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola before they received their official charter from Pope Paul III in 1540, and to which Pope Francis belongs – finally expelled Rupnik in June 2023. <em>Photo: Father Marko Rupnik being questioned by Italian journalist Roberta Rei at the airport in Rome, Italy, 10 March 2025 (screenshot from video of encounter).</em>