Fr. Marko Ruspik allegedly committed sexual misconduct with a "very high" degree of reliability. As a result, the Society of Jesus opened a new internal procedure on the issue.
New Internal Procedure of the Society of Jesus
A report from the Catholic News Agency states that the accusations against Fr. Marko Ruspik are from 1985 to 2018. It includes allegations of abuse of spirit, mind, and sexuality, as well as abuse of conscience.
Fr. Rupnik, who is 68 years old, was made aware of the allegations against him. However, he has declined to meet with the order to address them. According to the order, the internal investigation is just starting, yet, the potential outcomes could include additional restrictions on Rupnik's ministry, including his expulsion from religious life.
The National Catholic Register report states that the Slovenian priest's vocation will continue to be subjected to limitations while the internal investigation is being conducted. The Society of Jesus also said that Father Rupnik is prohibited from engaging in any public creative activity, particularly those that take place in religious settings.
In December 2022, the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) invited any suspected victims of Fr. Rupnik to contact their investigation team. Thus, Jesuit Father Johan Verscheuren, superior of Fr. Rupnik, disclosed to the Associated Press and La Repubblica that 15 witnesses, including 14 women and one male, came forward to share their testimonies.
At the beginning of December last year, Italian websites published articles containing allegations that Fr. Rupnik had abused devoted women in the Loyola Community. It led to the public disclosure of the first complaint against Father Rupnik. Since then, allegations of sexual misconduct by Fr. Rupnik against young women under his spiritual supervision have continued to be published. In addition, the actual names of the women were protected by using aliases in the articles.
Misconduct Allegations Against Fr. Marko Ruspik
According to Nasdaq, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Jesuit Roman Catholic religious order announced allegations of psychological, sexual, and spiritual abuse against Fr. Marko Ruspik were highly credible. The accusations had tightened those restrictions against him. Approximately 30 years ago, Fr. Rupnik served as the spiritual director of a community of sisters in his home country in, Slovenia. After moving to Rome to pursue a career as an artist, around 25 former nuns and other women accused Fr. Rupnik abused them.
As stated, it has been reported by several women to the Italian media that the charismatic Fr. Rupnik used his position as their spiritual director to force them into having sex with him. These women have provided their testimonies. Moreover, one former nun described how her abuser exerted what she termed "psychological control" over the former nun in order to manipulate her into engaging in sexual acts. She also explained how he used "cruel psychological, emotional, and spiritual aggression" to destroy her, mainly after she refused to participate in three-way sex.
Following the initial publication of the allegations against him, the headquarters of the Jesuit order acknowledged that he had been subjected to partial sanctions, including a prohibition against hearing confessions and conducting spiritual retreats in 2019.
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