Father Marko Rupnik. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Rome
ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 9, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Five new complaints of alleged abuse committed by Father Marko Rupnik have been presented to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, where an investigation into the case is being carried out after Pope Francis decided to lift the statute of limitations.
The new cases mark the latest development in the case of Rupnik, a Jesuit accused of having committed serious sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse against at least 20 women over a period of decades.
As reported by the Italian news agency Ansa, the testimonies of five alleged victims were presented at the Vatican dicastery by Italian lawyer Laura Sgrò on April 3.
The complainants include two women who shared their testimony at a press conference in February, while the other three are heretofore unknown cases.
On Feb. 21, Mirjam Kovac (who said she suffered spiritual and psychological abuse but not sexual) and Gloria Branciani recounted during a press conference in Rome what they experienced in the Loyola Community, an institution co-founded by Rupnik in Slovenia in the early 1990s.
During the unusual press conference, the former women religious shared their testimony and were accompanied by Sgró, known for also being the lawyer of Pietro Orlandi, brother of Emanuela, the young woman who disappeared from the Vatican in the 1980s, as well as by her participation in the Vatileaks case.
What is known about the investigation into the case?
No update on the investigation into Rupnik had come to light since Pope Francis lifted the statute of limitations on the case last October.
As reported by the Holy See, the pontiff asked the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to review the complaints to begin a new process.
However, the unexpected public appearance of two alleged victims marked a turn of events.
Hours after the end of the extensive and heavily attended press conference held in Rome, the Holy See’s press office issued a statement through a brief email addressed to journalists accredited to the Vatican.
The email noted that “the case is currently being examined by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” and that “in recent months, following the order received from the pope at the end of October, the dicastery has contacted the institutions involved in various capacities in the matter to receive all the information available about the case.”
The Vatican communications department added that it is now a matter of “studying the documentation acquired to determine what procedures will be possible and useful to apply” after having expanded the scope of the search “to realities not previously contacted” and after having received their responses.
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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At the end of the Mass of consecration on Nov. 1, 2023, María Ruiz Rodríguez shows the ring symbolizing her membership in the Ordo Virginum. That’s the only outward sign of her consecration. / Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Nov 12, 2023 / 07:00 am (CNA).
On the 25th day of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Church in Jerusalem welcomed a new consecrated member into its fold. María Ruiz Rodríguez made her consecration in the Ordo Virginum on Nov. 1, permanently rooting herself in the local ecclesiastical community.
“A thought crossed my mind, a temptation: ‘What purpose does this step serve in the midst of current events? Doesn’t the Church have more urgent matters to attend to than to stop and celebrate the consecration of a humble woman like me?’” Ruiz shared with CNA a few days later. But she said she was immediately aware of something else.
“I told myself: I cannot delay this commitment… In fact, uniting my life with the Church in a time of suffering is even more meaningful,” she said.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the consecration of María Ruiz Rodríguez in the Ordo Virginum on Nov. 1, 2023, in the Church of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. With this consecration, Ruiz permanently rooted herself in the local Church. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Ruiz, now 42, is originally from Spain and arrived in Jerusalem in 2018 for a period of discernment. At that time, she was a member of the “Monastic Family of Bethlehem, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Bruno,” an institute of consecrated life established in France in 1950.
It was Ruiz’s first time in the Holy Land, even though the desire to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land had long been a dream in her heart.
Iconographer María Ruiz Rodríguez with the new Roman Missal in Arabic. The book is open on the page where she depicted the Crucifixion of Jesus. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“For two years, I set aside my savings to make a pilgrimage in 2000, the year of the Great Jubilee. However, in that very year, I entered the convent, so I gave up. I felt that Jesus was saying to me: ‘I am your Holy Land.’ In a way, I had already arrived in Jerusalem,” Ruiz said.
It was in the Holy Land that Ruiz first came into contact with some consecrated women of the Ordo Virginum.
“I was looking for my place and I felt called,” she said.
The Ordo Virginum, Ruiz continued, “is the oldest form of consecration in the Church”. Abandoned over the centuries in favor of the religious life, it was rediscovered with the Second Vatican Council as a form of life that, “in a radically transformed historical context” possesses “a surprising force of attraction” and is “capable of responding not only to the desires of many women to dedicate themselves totally to the Lord and to their neighbors, but also to the concurrent rediscovery by the particular Church of its own identity in communion with the one Body of Christ” (cf. Instruction “Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago” on the “Ordo Virginum”).
Iconographer María Ruiz Rodríguez at work in her studio. The image depicts Jesus walking on water and taking St. Peter’s sinking hand (Mt 14:22-33). Credit: Marinella Bandini
Consecrated women in the Ordo Virginum choose to live a life of virginity “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” in a lay form of life. They do not wear religious habits, do not live in communities, have no common statutes or rules, or even superiors. Instead, they maintain a personal reference to the local bishop — in this case, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa — who acts as guarantor of their journey of discernment and presides over their consecration.
The sole commitment these consecrated women make is the “resolution of chastity,” which they express during the Rite of Consecration. The only symbol they wear is a ring, emphasizing the spousal character of this vocation, which reflects the mystery of the Church as “Bride of Christ.” Engraved in Ruiz’s ring is an inscription in Hebrew meaning “O my life,” referring to Christ, and the date of her consecration.
Iconographer María Ruiz Rodríguez on her terrace looking at the horizon. In the background are the walls of Jerusalem and the outline of the Basilica of the Dormition, November 2023. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Women who consecrate themselves in the Ordo Virginum support themselves through their jobs. Ruiz is an iconographer and has been working for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem for about four years. She was drawn into a project aimed at renewing liturgical books — the Missal and the Evangeliary — with her artwork.
“I first approached iconographic art when I was a nun. It was first of all a spiritual journey, a path of prayer. More than an artistic expression, an icon is a profession of faith. Before beginning the work, I invoke the Holy Spirit and ask for forgiveness for my own sins and for those who will venerate these images. I was interested in this dimension of relationship,” Ruiz shared. She spent a year researching the style and colors.
“The patriarch asked me to create something that would speak to local Christians, who are Latin by tradition but Eastern by culture. A style that was uniquely mine yet rich in the entire iconographic tradition of the Church of Jerusalem. The art of Armenian manuscripts certainly had a significant influence on me.”
Iconographer María Ruiz Rodríguez at work in her studio. Currently, Ruíz is in the process of creating the images for the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The patriarch takes a personal interest in overseeing Ruiz’s work. “We read the Gospel together and choose which scenes to represent, taking into account the particularity of each evangelist. He particularly enjoys highlighting passages that are less frequently represented in the artistic tradition. This is a project close to his heart,” she told CNA.
Currently, Ruíz is in the process of creating images for the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
“The process is very laborious and involves multiple stages for each page: the pencil lettering, the crafting of the icons, then the ink lettering and finally the gilding.” The plan is for a volume of about 200 pages with 250 images.
“Making this work in Jerusalem has a special value: I can visit the places where that Gospel was lived” but also “immerse myself in Jewish culture,” she said. “This has opened my eyes to the richness that Judaism brings to Christianity. There is a perfect continuity and at the same time an unprecedented newness in the person of Christ.”
The Church of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem full of people on Nov. 1, 2023, for the Mass of consecration of María Ruiz Rodríguez in the Ordo Virginum. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Ruiz learned the local languages — Arabic and Hebrew. The Mass of her consecration brought together within one place all the diverse “souls” of the Jerusalem Church: priests, friars, religious, and laity, Arab Christians and Hebrew-speaking Christians, each hearing the word of God in their own language. There were migrants, foreigners, Jews, and Christians of various denominations.
The culminating moment of María Ruiz Rodríguez’s consecration in the Ordo Virginum. The celebration took place on Nov. 1, 2023, in the Church of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
“I believe my being a foreigner is a blessing for this Church,” Ruiz said. “Why were there such different people in the church that day? Because I am neither Arab nor Jewish, and this allows me to bring both of these peoples into my heart together. In the praise of God we were one people, transcending the divisions that usually separate us. The Church in Jerusalem also needs this, to remember its universal vocation.”
Group photo at the end of the Mass of consecration of María Ruiz Rodríguez in the Ordo Virginum. With her (in the middle, with red shirt) there are other members of the Ordo Virginum, and the bishops of the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem (from left to right: Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, bishop emeritus; Monsignor William Shomali, general vicar and patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine; Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; Monsignor Rafic Nahra, patriarcal vicar for Israel). Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
With her consecration, Ruiz embarks on her new journey as a “living stone” of the Jerusalem Church: “I am certain that I am finally in the right place. It is not an act of heroism. I am simply where God wants me to be.”
Oregon resident Jessica Bates filed a federal lawsuit after state officials denied her adoption application because of her opposition to gender ideology. / Alliance Defending Freedom
Washington D.C., Apr 6, 2023 / 12:36 pm (CNA).
An Oregon woma… […]
Cardinal Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Hong (second from left), attends the funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Jan. 5, 2023, in St. Peter’s Square. / Alan Koppschall/EWTN
Vatican City, Jan 5, 2023 / 02:25 am (CNA).
Cardinal Joseph Zen attended the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Thursday morning after Hong Kong authorities temporarily released his passport for five days to allow him to travel to Rome.
The 90-year-old cardinal from Hong Kong arrived in St. Peter’s Square dressed in red and walking with a cane to concelebrate the funeral Mass on Jan. 5.
The former bishop of Hong Kong, who was arrested last year under the city’s national security law, was allowed by a local court to travel to Italy to be present for the funeral of the late pope who made him a cardinal.
A magistrate ruled on Jan. 3 that the Chinese cardinal would be allowed to leave Hong Kong for five days with his previously confiscated passport temporarily returned to him.
Following the death of Benedict XVI on Dec. 31, Zen reflected on the legacy of the late pope emeritus.
The cardinal wrote on his blog that Benedict XVI was a “great defender of the truth” who took “extraordinary” actions to support the Church in China, despite many setbacks.
“As a member of the Chinese Church, I am immensely grateful to Pope Benedict for things he has done that he did not do for other Churches,” Zen wrote.
The Hong Kong cardinal recalled in particular Benedict XVI’s 2007 letter to China, which Zen called “a masterpiece of balance between the lucidity of Catholic ecclesiological doctrine and humble understanding with respect to civil authority.”
Zen also criticized “errors” in the Chinese translation of Benedict’s letter, which he said he believed contained “biased quotations against the obvious sense of the letter.”
“Another extraordinary thing he did for the Church in China is the establishment of a powerful commission to take care of the affairs of the Church in China; unfortunately under the new president of said commission it has been made to disappear quietly without even a word of respectful farewell,” the cardinal added.
Benedict XVI created Zen a cardinal in 2006 and selected the cardinal to write the meditations for the papal Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in 2008, one year before Zen’s retirement as bishop of Hong Kong.
Zen underlined that he sees Benedict XVI as a pope who was “often misunderstood and sometimes not followed” but said that it is “precisely in these cases, which seem to be failures, that I was able to admire his great fortitude and magnanimity in the face of setbacks.”
“Despite his great efforts, Pope Benedict failed to improve the situation of the Church in China. He could not accept just any compromise,” the Chinese cardinal said.
The cardinal, who was born in Shanghai, added that he is “convinced that every effort to improve the situation of the Church in China [in the future] will need to be taken in line with the 2007 letter.”
“As we remember the great pontiff, let us remember that we now have him as a powerful intercessor in heaven. With his intercession, we pray that all, the Church in Rome, the Church in China, and the Chinese authorities will be moved by God’s grace to bring about true peace for the Church and our homeland,” Zen said.
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