The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has reached out to known victims of Slovenian priest Fr Marko Rupnik, asking to meet with them. Source: OSV News.
It comes after the former Jesuit priest, who was dismissed by the order for sexual abuse, was incardinated in a diocese in his native Slovenia, according to multiple media reports.
The purpose of the invitation, written by a member of the 19-member papal body, was to examine and study how the victims were treated by the Church, specifically the Jesuits and the Vatican, Il Sismografo, an Italian blog that closely follows the Vatican, reported October 25.
Catholic News Service confirmed the invitation on October 26.
The mission of the papal body includes evaluating the Church’s response to victims and abuse allegations and ensuring that “robust policies and practices for the prevention and management of all forms of abuse are in place,” according to the commission’s strategic plan 2022-2027.
According to details provided by Il Sismografo and confirmed by CNS, the outreach to Fr Rupnik’s victims is not a legal review of their cases but is about reviewing current policies and practices and what the victims experienced by reporting the abuse to church officials.
“We do not have the power to change the current ruling or intervene in the decisions made” by the Vatican tribunal and others, said an excerpt from the commission’s letter to the survivors.
Fr Rupnik, who has been accused of sexually, spiritually or psychologically abusing more than 20 women and at least one man over a 40-year period, was recently accepted into the Koper Diocese in Slovenia, where he was ordained a priest in 1985.
The news of his incardination was first reported on Wednesday in Italian and German media reports, and confirmed to media in a statement from diocesan vicar general Msgr Slavko Rebec.
FULL STORY
Papal commission reaches out to Father Rupnik’s known victims (By Carol Glatz, CNS via OSV News)
Father Marko Rupnik, disgraced former Jesuit, incardinated in Slovenian diocese (By Gina Christian, OSV News)
