ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 31, 2023 / 16:30 pm
A group of alleged victims of Father Marko Rupnik said Monday that Pope Francis’ decision to lift the statute of limitations on the case and order the opening of a new process against the priest accused of sexual abuse “is an appropriate step for the truth to be recognized.”
Gloria Branciani, Mirjam Kovač, Vida Bernard, Mira Stare, and Jožica Zupančič are the authors of a news release shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, commenting that they were “very surprised” by the statement from the Holy See.
The five women, former sisters of the Loyola Community, were referring to the Oct. 27 statement by the Holy See Press Office that reported that Pope Francis had decided to lift the statute of limitations on the Rupnik case, allowing a canonical process to take place. The priest is accused of having sexually abused women for decades.
According to the Holy See, “in September the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors brought to the pope's attention that there were serious problems in the handling of the Father Marko Rupnik case and lack of outreach to victims.”