The decision of the diocese of Lourdes to remove the mosaics from the Marian city, works of Father Rupnik accused of serious sexual and spiritual abuse of nuns in his community, must be taken in the spring of 2024.
ather Marko Rupnik’s mosaics may soon disappear from the exterior facade of the Lourdes Basilica . Mgr Jean-Pierre Micas, bishop of the diocese of Lourdes and Tarbes, is actively considering it with the help of a special commission formed on his initiative a year ago, in March 2023. A decision that he describes as “very, very difficult to take” in an interview given to the CNA agency . “It occupies my mind, my prayer and my heart every day, especially when I meet victims of abuse,” the bishop said. The decision to remove or conserve the frescoes should take place “in the spring”, the Lourdes sanctuary confirms to Aleteia.
Mgr Micas and the commission formed especially for this purpose interviewed several victims of abuse as well as specialists in sacred art to inform their judgment, CNA further reports. “And we received letters, letters, a pile of letters – people very angry because the mosaics are still there and others very angry at the idea that we could remove them,” testified the bishop. A decision all the more difficult to make, according to Mgr Micas, as many other sanctuaries decorated with the works of Father Rupnik have their eyes fixed on Lourdes. But “the decision we will make is made for Lourdes, and only for Lourdes,” he says. “We must serve the message of Lourdes whatever the cost. »
Accusations of sexual and spiritual abuse
The frescoes of this Slovenian priest implicated since November 2022 in several cases of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse adorn not only the basilica of Lourdes but also many other sanctuaries: Fatima , Nanterre cathedral, Madrid, patronage of Bon- Council in Paris… Not counting several parish churches. Father Rupnik is accused of abusing 41 women between 1980 and 2000, charges which did not result in any criminal prosecution due to the statute of limitations. Under canonical investigation, he was definitively excluded from the Society of Jesus in July 2023. He was also banned from any public artistic activity.
