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3h ago

Vatican Names Five-Judge Tribunal to Try Former Jesuit Artist Marko Rupnik

The five-member panel, drawn from non-Curia women and clerics, is intended to ensure independence after years of scrutiny over delays.

FILE - A mosaic by ex-Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik is seen on the main facade of the Church of Our Lady of the Canadian Martyrs, June 28, 2024, in Rome. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
FILE - Pope Francis walks with Jesuits' superior general Arturo Sosa Abascal, left, after presiding a mass on March 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, file)
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Overview

  • The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith appointed the judges on Oct. 9, with the Vatican announcing the move on Oct. 13 as the case enters a formal canonical trial phase.
  • The tribunal’s composition excludes Roman Curia officials and includes women, a step the Vatican says is meant to better guarantee the court’s autonomy.
  • The Vatican has not specified the canonical charges, and Rupnik has not been charged criminally, with any penalties limited to ecclesiastical sanctions under church law.
  • Rupnik faces accusations from more than 20 women of sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse over decades; he was briefly excommunicated in 2020 and expelled from the Jesuits in June 2023.
  • Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations in 2023 to allow the case to proceed, while canonical procedure grants alleged victims only limited roles as witnesses.