Monogram of the Society of Jesus
By Vatican News
Jul 27 2023
The Delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome issues an open letter noting that Fr Marko Rupnik received a decree of dismissal on 14 June 2023 following his refusal to “undertake a path of truth and dealing with the evil denounced by so many people.”
The open letter posted by the Delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, Fr Johan Verschueren, S.J., states that Fr Marko Rupnik “is no longer a Jesuit religious.” The letter also notes that on 14 June 2023 he received the document signed by the Father General of the Jesuits informing of the “thirty days allowing for him to file an appeal” against the decree of dismissal from the Society of Jesus “according to the new canonical norms in this regard.”
Fr Verschueren recalls that “Fr Rupnik had submitted his request to be allowed to leave the Society as early as January 2023,” but that this “request never represented in any way a ‘right’ for him,” since the vows taken in the Society of Jesus “bound him to a lifelong commitment of obedience and there is no obligation on the part of the Religious Congregation to grant such a request.” Fr Verschueren clarifies that “the Society did not want to grant this request of his” as he wished “to hold him to his responsibilities in the face of so many accusations, inviting him to undertake a path of truth and dealing with the evil denounced by so many people who have felt hurt.” As Fr Rupnik “did not wish to accept” this invitation, the Society of Jesus decided to dismiss him.
Possible canonical process
The Delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, who was also Fr Rupnik’s Major Superior, regrets the former confrere’s “inability” to dialogue with “the many people who felt hurt, offended and humiliated by his behavior and conduct toward them,” but adds that “what has been said does not exclude the good he did, and the spiritual fruit of which he was a conduit for many and many others in the Church.”
About the possibility of moving “to a canonical process,” Fr Verschueren points out “that this is not per se the responsibility of the Society of Jesus, but of the Holy See.” He adds, “in the various circumstances of these long and complex affairs, I have always wanted as a Major Superior to be able to start a process that could guarantee the judicial ascertainment of the facts, the right to defense and the resulting sanctioning of penalties (or possible acquittal), but for various reasons, including the current limitations of regulations concerning similar situations, this has not been possible.”
Jesuits part ways with Aletti Center
Fr Verschueren states that “it is the firm desire of the Society of Jesus to distance itself also juridically from the Aletti Center – a community that unites study, sacred art and the pursuit of dialogue following the Christian traditions of East and West – by formally exiting this Public Association of the Faithful that bears the same name and in order to find the best way to rescind partnership relations with the Center” where “there is no longer a resident Jesuit community” and “also in collaboration with the Vicariate of Rome,” on which the Center depends today. “To all and to all those who in any way have felt and are feeling hurt and wounded by this once-brother of ours,” Fr Verschueren concludes, “I assure my full solidarity and openness to finding the best ways to reflect on how we can achieve inner peace and reconciliation through paths that we can explore together.” – Vatican News
