Lourdes shrine taking action on Rupnik art though not removing it yet

The Catholic Herald

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The Catholic bishop responsible for the world-famous and beloved Marian shrine in France has ordered measures to lower the visibility of mosaic artworks by Father Marko Rupnik at Lourdes, but has stopped short – for the time being – of ordering the removal of the art. The artist priest Rupnik, 69, whose famed murals adorn chapels and cathedrals around the world, including inside the Vatican, is accused of sexually abusing at least 30 adult women, many of them nuns belonging to the Loyola Community he helped found in his native Slovenia in the 1980s. The allegations span several decades, much of which he spent in Rome at the Centro Aletti art institute he also founded in the early 1990s. Rupnik’s accusers say the removal of Rupnik’s art from places of worship is necessary because the abuse they suffered was part of Rupnik’s “creative” artistic process, making the art particularly ill-suited to sacred spaces, <a href="https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/2024/07/lourdes-bishop-faces-resistance-on-removal-of-rupnik-art">reports</a> Crux. RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/former-nuns-in-rupnik-abuse-case-reveal-identities-while-calling-for-complete-transparency/">Former nuns in Rupnik abuse case reveal identities while calling for ‘complete transparency’</a> Other victims of sexual abuse say the presence of art bearing the signature of a notorious abuser – especially one who escaped justice for so long as Rupnik did – adds insult to injury and creates new trauma. On 2 July, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, France, issued a press release saying his “personal preference” is for the removal of the Rupnik mosaics currently adorning the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, but also noted there is still resistance from some quarters on taking such action and that a consensus has not been reached. Micas announced that, for now, he is suspending the illumination of the Rupnik mosaics during evening processions at the shrine, calling this a “first step” and promising both to continue working toward consensus around his preference for removing the art. “My role is to ensure that the Sanctuary welcomes everyone, and especially those who suffer, among them, victims of abuse and sexual assault, children and adults,” Micas said. “In Lourdes,” Micas added, “the tried and wounded people who need consolation and reparation must hold first place. This is the grace proper to this Sanctuary: nothing must prevent them from responding to the message of Our Lady inviting them to come on pilgrimage.” He added: “Because this has become impossible for many, my personal opinion is that it would be preferable to remove these mosaics.” RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/rupnik-artwork-must-come-down-says-top-us-cardinal-as-he-breaks-ranks-with-vatican/">Rupnik artwork must come down, says top US cardinal as he breaks ranks with Rome</a> Micas also addressed the subject in an exclusive interview with La Croix International, which also appeared on 2 July, explaining that the Rupnik pieces at the Lourdes shrine are installed so as to be removable without causing damage. “[T]hey will one day need to be removed,” he said, since they “prevent Lourdes from reaching all the people for whom the sanctuary’s message is intended”, adding, though, that he has “decided not to remove them immediately, given the passions and violence the subject incites”. “This option does not have widespread support,” Micas said, and “even meets with real opposition from some.” He surmised that “were my conviction to become a decision, [it] would not be sufficiently understood, [and] would add even more division and violence”. It has not been clarified who are the sources of opposition, nor how they could thwart the determined will of a diocesan bishop in his own see, reports Crux. Micas said he will “continue to work even more with victims, to discern what should be done…in Lourdes, to honour the absolute requirement of consolation and reparation.” “We will discern,” Micas summed up, “with the people of good will who agree to help us, the next steps.” His comments follow the recent actions on the same matter by US Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, who <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/rupnik-artwork-must-come-down-says-top-us-cardinal-as-he-breaks-ranks-with-vatican/">issued a statement </a>saying he has asked the heads of all offices in the Roman Curia to take down the artwork of a famed priest and artist accused of abusing dozens of adult women. The statement came from the Pontifical Commission for Protecting Minors (PCPM), for which O’Malley serves as President, and said in that capacity, the cardinal has written to the heads of all Vatican departments asking that “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defence” of alleged abusers “or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse". In his letter to Vatican prefects, dated June 26, O’Malley said: “We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering.” The head of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, recently <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/vatican-comms-chief-defends-rupnik-art-remaining-on-website/">sparked controversy for defending his office’s continued use</a> of Rupnik's artwork on its website. An English translation of Bishop Micas' full statement follows: Tarbes, July 2, 2024 Mosaics by Marco Rupnik - Lourdes Following the revelation of the numerous attacks for which Marco Rupnik was implicated, the question arose of the future of the mosaics that he created for the Sanctuary of Lourdes and which are attached to the entrance to the Basilica Our Lady of the Rosary. Many people who were victims of sexual violence and abuse at the hands of clerics have expressed their suffering and the violence that this exhibition now constitutes for them. Between May and October 2023, with the Rector of the Sanctuary, we formed a commission to discern the answer to this difficult question. Among the members of this commission were victims (French and foreign nationals), but also experts specializing in sacred art, jurists, people engaged in the prevention and fight against abuse, and chaplains of Lourdes. The commission has worked since November 2023 until now. At the same time, I was also able to listen to and read the opinions of many people who wanted to send me their contribution: cardinals and bishops, artists, jurists, victims, pilgrims, etc... Today, I see that opinions are very divided. Should we leave these mosaics where they are? Should they be destroyed? Should they be removed or displayed elsewhere? There is no consensus on any proposal. The positions taken are lively and passionate. My personal opinion is now clear: this situation has nothing to do with other works of art whose author and victims have died, sometimes centuries ago. Here, the victims are alive and so is the perpetrator. Furthermore, I understood over the months that it was not my responsibility to reason based on the status of a work of art, its "morality" which should be distinguished from that of its author. . My role is to ensure that the Sanctuary welcomes everyone, especially those who suffer; among them people who are victims of abuse and sexual assault, children and adults. In Lourdes, care of the sick and injured people who need consolation and reparation must take first place. This is the specific grace of this Sanctuary: nothing should prevent them from responding to Our Lady's message inviting them to come there on pilgrimage. Because this has become impossible for many, my personal opinion is that it would be better to remove these mosaics. This option does not appeal to everyone. It has encountered real opposition from some. The subject arouses passions. Today, the best decision to make is not yet ready, and my conviction become a decision, which would not be understood enough, would add even more division and violence. I will therefore continue to work even more with victims, to discern what should be done, here in Lourdes, to honour the absolute requirement of consolation and reparation. From now on, and in a concrete way, I have decided that these mosaics will no longer be highlighted as they have been until now by illumination during the Marian procession which brings together the pilgrims each evening. This is a first step. We will discern, with people of good will who agree to help us, the next steps. It is up to me as 'Guardian of the Grotto' and beyond to decide the precise question of the future of these mosaics, to move forward concretely, again and again in welcoming victims and all injured, fragile and poor people. in Lourdes. This will be my work for the coming months, with those who agree to continue to help me. I entrust this situation to the mercy of God and the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Bernadette. Mgr Jean-Marc Micas (Link to original statement in French: <a href="https://catholique65.fr/uploads/240702-Communique-Marco-Rupnik-Lourdes-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://catholique65.fr/uploads/240702-Communique-Marco-Rupnik-Lourdes-1.pdf</a>) Photo: Mosaics made by artist and priest Marko Rupnik, displayed on the Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire Basilica in the Sanctuary of Lourdes, Lourdes, France, 31 March 2023. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images.)

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