Two former nuns have revealed disturbing details of alleged sexual and psychological abuse by respected Slovenian mosaic artist and priest, Marko Rupnik, age 69. The accusations span nearly three decades within a religious community in Slovenia.
“He took me to pornographic theatres to help me ‘grow spiritually’,” Gloria Branciani, who was a member of the community until 1994, told journalists at a press conference in Rome.
“He said that I would not grow spiritually if I did not meet his sexual needs,” she said, describing how he sexualized religious concepts.
“We had another nun have sex with us because he said it was like the Trinity,” Branciani said, referring to the central Christian doctrine of three persons within one God.
Rupnik, expelled from the Jesuit order in June, faced brief excommunication in 2020 but was reinstated after a formal repentance. The scandal involves claims of threesomes and pornographic theatre visits under the guise of “spiritual growth.”
Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of Bishop Accountability, calls for an independent investigation, highlighting Rupnik as a “powerful cleric protected at the highest levels of the Church and the Vatican.”
This revelation comes five years after Pope Francis vowed a “zero tolerance” approach to sexual abuse in the Church, raising questions about the efficacy of the Church’s measures.
In a disturbing historical context, incidents reminiscent of Rupnik’s case have plagued the Catholic Church before. These cases underscore an ongoing struggle against abuse within religious institutions.
