Valentina di Giorgio
(ZENIT News / Rome, 20.12.2022).- Father Johan Verschueren, S.J., Delegate of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus for the International Houses in Rome, made known a notification published on the Jesuits’ official Website to invite anyone who has suffered abuse by Father Rupnik to contact them.
The Delegate explained that the “last week has seen a focus on two investigations carried out concerning the ministry of Fr Marko Rupnik. One concerned a matter relating to the Sacrament of Reconciliation; another related to abuse against several women of the Loyola Community. Given that the information shared has provoked many questions , they share a timeline of the events in the hope of providing some clarity.
Father Verschueren says that his “main concern in all of this is for those who have suffered and I invite anyone who wishes to make a new complaint or who wants to discuss complaints already made to contact us. I assure you that you will be listened to with understanding and with empathy. Already a few months ago, we established a team of people, women and men, from various disciplines and with a variety of expertise in dealing with these situations. They are available, and indeed have been, to listen, support and to help. The e-mail of this service is: teamreferente.dir@gmail.com and people can write in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and German.”
He reiterates that a few days earlier, specifically on Wednesday, December 14, the Father General of the Jesuits said:
“The case of Fr. Marko Rupnik, which became public last week, is a good example of how much we still have to learn, especially about people’s suffering. This case, like others, causes us shock and sorrow; it forces us to understand and empathize with the suffering of all those involved in one form or another. It confronts us with the challenge of respecting this pain at the same time as we scrupulously initiate the procedures demanded by civil or canonical laws. We seek to communicate this in a way that does not conceal the facts, while we also, enlightened by the Gospel and other human experiences, try to open paths toward healing the wounds produced.”
The notification ends by assuring “that the Society of Jesus, as asked by General Congregation 36, wants to create a culture of safeguarding and that we are committed to the highest standards in our ministry. We try to exclude that anybody runs the risk of being harmed in any of our ministries.”
