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A mosaic designed by Father Marko Rupnik’s studio, at Lourdes / Pixabay|domakono
ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 31, 2023 / 15:07 pm (CNA).
Mosaic art created by Father Marko Rupnik could be removed from the Basilica of the Sanctuary of Lourdes, France, out of consideration for victims of abuse who come to the sanctuary in search of consolation, the bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes said.
“Lourdes is a place where many victims turn to the Immaculate Conception for comfort and healing. Their anguish is great before the mosaics of Father Rupnik in this very place: We cannot ignore it,” Bishop Jean-Marc Micas said in a statement released Friday.
Rupnik, a Jesuit priest and artist, founded the Aletti Center, an art school in Rome dedicated to religious art. He has been accused of sexually and psychologically abusing consecrated women from the Loyola Community in Slovenia who were associated with the Aletti Center.
As the National Catholic Register reported earlier this year, Rupnik’s art decorates more than 200 churches and shrines around the world, including at Lourdes, Fatima, and the Vatican.
The Jesuit order has received accusations against Rupnik that span from 1985 to 2018 and include claims of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse, and abuse of conscience.
According to current restrictions imposed by the Jesuit order, Rupnik is prohibited “from any public ministerial and sacramental activity,” banned from public communication, ordered not to leave Lazio, and “may not engage in any public artistic activity, especially in relation to religious structures (such as churches, institutions, oratories and chapels, exercise or spirituality houses).”
In April, the bishop of Lourdes said, a decision will be made regarding what to do about the mosaics by Rupnik that decorate the Shrine at Lourdes.
The work was commissioned in 2008 for the facade of the Basilica of the Rosary at the Sanctuary of Lourdes on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother.
The bishop of Lourdes said in his statement: “Like all works of art, they are appreciated by some, less by others, but the vast majority of pilgrims and visitors to Lourdes highlight their beauty.”
He then noted that “for several months, Father Rupnik has been in the news following various accusations of sexual abuse of adults in the framework of his ministry in various parts of the world.”
He noted that because Rupnik “has been sanctioned by his religious superiors and by the Holy See …the question of the status of his works and his future is being raised.”
“Given the specific nature of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes,” the bishop said, “the general question of the status of the works of artists involved in situations of abuse is much more delicate here.”
Millions of pilgrims travel to Lourdes every year to receive healing at the site where, in 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous.
The bishop reported that on March 27, together with the rector of the shrine, Father Michel Daubanes: “We brought this matter to the attention of the Guidance Council of the Shrine.”
“The issue was discussed with great seriousness: We know that the victims must be at the center of our reflections, and any decision will have serious consequences,” he said.
He said that a “reflection group” has been established, made up of the bishop, the rector, a victim of abuse, an expert in sacred art, and a psychotherapist, whose objective is to reach a determination in April.
During this time, they intend to “develop the necessary elements to make the best decision, carry out this reflection in the most serene way possible and not reject any decision hypothesis a priori.”
Finally, Bishop Micas said that he was entrusting this process and the decision to be made “to the intercession of Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, and to the mercy of God.”
“I also count on the prayers and support of the faithful of the diocese and of those who love the Sanctuary of Lourdes,” he concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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The Vatican said Friday that Pope Francis may be discharged from the hospital on Saturday, after responding well to treatments yesterday and sharing a pizza dinner with those assisting him.
In two brief statements in the early afternoon March 31, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also said Pope Francis is scheduled to be present at the Vatican’s Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 2.
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday afternoon with difficulty breathing. He was later diagnosed with bronchitis.
“Yesterday passed well, with a normal clinical progression,” Bruni said around 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
“In the evening Pope Francis had dinner, eating pizza together with those assisting him during his hospital stay,” the Holy See Press Office director said. “With the Holy Father were the doctors, nurses, assistants and Gendarmerie personnel.”
On the morning of March 31, the pope had breakfast, read the newspapers, and resumed work, he said, adding that “His Holiness is expected to return to his Santa Marta home tomorrow, upon the outcome of the results of the last tests this morning.”
Around 1:15 p.m., Bruni added the information about the pope’s presence for the Palm Sunday Mass.
In the afternoon on March 29, Bruni issued a brief statement to say Francis was at Gemelli Hospital “for some previously scheduled checkups.” Later that day, he said the 86-year-old pope would remain hospitalized for “some days” after being diagnosed with a respiratory infection.
Gemelli is the same hospital where Pope Francis was hospitalized in July 2021 when he underwent surgery on his colon for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the intestinal wall.
In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Pope Francis disclosed that the diverticulitis had “returned.” At the time, the pope — who traveled to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late January — insisted he was in relatively good condition.
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