Key facts
- Attorney Laura Sgro criticized the Vatican's secretive legal system in the Marko Ivan Rupnik abuse case.
- Sgro demanded information on the status of the Vatican investigation and trial.
- Victims in canonical abuse cases have no right to know trial details or participate in proceedings.
- Rupnik, a former Jesuit priest and artist, faces allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse from over two dozen women.
- The Vatican stated the case is ongoing but has not confirmed or denied reports of Rupnik's absolution in a canonical trial.
Attorney Laura Sgro has issued a strong criticism of the Vatican's legal system on behalf of five women alleging sexual and spiritual abuse by former Jesuit priest Marko Ivan Rupnik. Sgro's letter to Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican's doctrine office, highlights the lack of transparency and victim rights within canonical trials.
Sgro demanded to know the status of the Vatican's investigation into Rupnik, particularly after an Italian blog reported his absolution in a canonical trial. The Vatican has not confirmed or denied these reports, stating only that the case is ongoing. The scandal is sensitive for the Holy See due to suggestions that Rupnik, a renowned religious artist, may have been protected by church hierarchy for over three decades.
Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuits in 2023 after more than two dozen women came forward with abuse allegations spanning 30 years. He had previously been excommunicated in 2020 for using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity, though the Vatican later declined to prosecute other claims due to age and the alleged victims being adults.
Under pressure, Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations in 2023, allowing for a canonical trial. However, Sgro argues that victims are treated as mere third-party witnesses in such proceedings, with no access to case files or the right to know the trial's status, beyond being informed of the final outcome due to a 2019 reform. International bodies have previously condemned the church's opaque procedures, noting that canon law is not designed to meet the needs of abuse survivors.