(ZENIT News / Rome, 27.10.2023).- The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an official organism of the Holy See, issued a press release in face of the announced reopening of the case of the priest Marko Ivan Rupnik, accused of sexual and conscience abuses against adults of both sexes. On Friday, October 27, the Holy See Press Office announced that the Holy Father was lifting the prescription and ordering the reopening of the case. Both things were possible thanks to the pressure exerted, precisely, — as the press release itself points out — by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
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We would like to acknowledge and applaud the courage and testimony of all those that have suffered abuses in the Church and have remained empty handed when they were seeking justice.
The decision of the Holy Father to permit a canonical trial to be carried out in the Rupnik case is crucial, not only for the victims but for the whole Church. As Commission, we continue to be concerned about the disciplinary processes of the Church and their insufficiencies. We will continue to be attentive to guarantee an appropriate administration of justice.
There is no place in the ministry for those that violate so profoundly those that are in their care. We urge all those that exercise any form of leadership to guarantee that our Church is a place of welcome, understanding and attention for all, with preference for those that are marginalized in our Church.
As the Synod comes to its end, we repeat the important role that a safeguarding culture must play in any theology of ministry, leadership or adoration. The nucleus of the mandate of the Church is to give security to all, to protect the vulnerable from anything that menaces them and to lead them to the fulness of life known through God’s own promises.
To build a culture of safeguarding takes the Gospel to the life of people, gives consolation to those suffering and shows a broken world God’s promise that all will be saved.
