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The Knights of Columbus have decided to cover two sets of mosaics created by Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik until the conclusion of a Vatican investigation into accusations of abuse.
The Knights feature Fr. Rupnik’s iconography in the chapel at their headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, and in the chapel at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., which the fraternal order has owned since 2011.
Fr. Rupnik’s work is featured in Catholic shrines and churches throughout the world, and many of those sites have come under pressure in recent years as reports have emerged of alleged sexual and psychological abuse perpetrated by the Slovenian priest against female members of a religious-artistic community he founded in Rome.
The famous Marian shrine in Lourdes recently decided to stop illuminating the Rupnik mosaics there at night but to leave them in place for the time being.
Permanent covering may be in order
The Knights’ decision followed what a press release called “a careful and thorough process to review the display of mosaic artwork in worship spaces” in the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters, where they were installed in 2005, and in the Luminous Mysteries Chapel at the St. John Paul II National Shrine, where they were installed in 2015.
“As a result of this review, the Knights of Columbus will cover the mosaics in fabric, which will remain in place at least until the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issues its decision on the pending sexual abuse cases against artist Father Marko Rupnik, at which time a permanent plaster covering may be in order,” the statement said.
Rupnik, who previously incurred excommunication (subsequently lifted) and was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023, has been accused by multiple women of grave and disturbing instances of abuse when they were adults, from the mid-1980s until at least 2015. Rupnik was a religious superior of most of these women.
These cases are pending before the dicastery, which has described them as being at “a fairly advanced stage.”
While Rupnik’s cases are under formal investigation, he remains a priest in good standing of the Diocese of Koper, Slovenia; he was incardinated there after the Jesuits expelled him.
“Extensive” review
The Knights said the organization was “unaware of any sexual abuse allegations against Rupnik until they came to light in December 2022.”
“The Knights of Columbus has decided to cover these mosaics because our first concern must be for victims of sexual abuse, who have already suffered immensely, and who may be further injured by the ongoing display of the mosaics at the Shrine,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly. “This decision is rooted in a foundational purpose of the Knights of Columbus, which is to protect families, especially women and children, and those who are vulnerable and voiceless.”
Kelly said that the Knights carried out an “extensive process,” including confidential consultations with individual victims of sexual abuse and those who minister to them, individual pilgrims, moral theologians, and art historians, as well as bishops and other clergy.
While opinions varied among those consulted, there was a strong consensus to prioritize the needs of victims, especially because the allegations are “current, unresolved, and horrific.”
He added that the Knights are committed to sharing the Gospel, which is the reason for sponsoring the St. John Paul II National Shrine and for its patronage of sacred art at the shrine and elsewhere.
Stepping stone, not stumbling block
“The art we sponsor must therefore serve as a stepping stone — not a stumbling block — to faith in Jesus Christ and his Church,” Kelly said.
“The decision also reflects common elements of the mission of the St. John Paul II National Shrine and the Knights of Columbus, which include strengthening families, prioritizing persons over things, strongly and clearly proclaiming the Catholic faith, and fostering a culture that helps faith and families thrive,” Kelly said.
“We were also particularly grateful for the thoughtful decision of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, which both informed and confirmed us in our own decision-making,” Kelly said. “Shrines are places of healing, prayer and reconciliation. They should not cause victims further suffering.”
Kelly said the situation of the St. John Paul II National Shrine is unique and that the decision is tailored to its particular circumstances.
“Context and mission matter,” he concluded. “Every situation is different. In the United States, Catholics continue to suffer in a unique way from the revelations of sexual abuse and, at times, from the response of the Church. It is clear to us that, as patrons of a national shrine, our decision must respect this country’s special need for healing.”
In addition to removing the mosaics from sight, the Knights will immediately implement several pastoral measures to express the Knights’ solidarity with victims of sexual abuse. These include:
- Providing educational materials about the mosaics that will make clear that the continued display of the mosaics at the shrine during the process of consultation was not intended to ignore, deny, or diminish the allegations of abuse;
- Including in all shrine Masses a prayer of the faithful for victims of sexual abuse; and
- Specially commemorating at the shrine the feast days of saints with a special connection to victims of abuse, such as St. Josephine Bakhita.
Recently, a Vatican official stated that his dicastery would continue using imagery based in Fr. Rupnik’s work, pending the outcome of investigation of the charges against him.
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