By CatholicVote | Created at 2025-03-26 21:53:42 | Updated at 2025-04-05 03:53:26
1 week ago
CV NEWS FEED // In a long-awaited gesture of accountability and healing, the Society of Jesus on March 26 announced its intention to offer compensation to victims of former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, who faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse.
For the first time, Father Johan Verschueren, delegate of the Jesuit Superior General, has formally reached out to the victims in writing, according to ANSA. The letter expressed the Jesuits’ desire to initiate “a path of reparation and healing.”
Laura Sgrò, an attorney representing five of the victims, described the letter as a significant step. She noted that it acknowledged not only the trauma inflicted by the abuse itself but also the pain caused by years of silence and inaction.
“To the violence suffered then,” the letter stated, “has been added the suffering for the lack of listening and justice for many years.”
The Jesuit letter affirmed hope for “a process of healing and inner reconciliation,” while emphasizing that this can only occur if it is “accompanied by a path of truth and recognition” on the part of the Church.
Meanwhile, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, continues to seek judges for Rupnik’s upcoming canonical trial. As CatholicVote previously reported, the preliminary investigation has concluded.
>> Disgraced former Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik allowed to occupy convent near Rome <<
