The Bishop of Tarbes-Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées) announced in a press release on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 that mosaics in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes made by a Slovenian priest accused of sexual assault would “no longer be displayed”. A temporary solution to respond to the controversy.
“I have decided that these mosaics will no longer be highlighted as they were until now by the play of light during the Marian procession which brings together pilgrims every evening“, explained Mgr Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes Lourdes. He specifies in a press release, dated Tuesday July 2, that this is a “first step”.
Mosaics by Marko Rupnik in Lourdes, press release from Mgr Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes.https://t.co/rrothhjdrr
— Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes (@lourdes_france) July 2, 2024
At the heart of the controversy, therefore, are mosaics. They are the work of Father Marko Rupnik, a world-renowned theologian and mosaicist. But the priest is accused of psychological and sexual violence against at least twenty women for nearly 30 years.
Acts committed within the community he led in Ljubljana, Slovenia. A community that has now been dissolved.
Five women accuse this influential Slovenian priest and artist of sexual assaults allegedly committed in the early 1990s. At the end of June, they asked the Catholic Church to remove his works exhibited in places of worship, in Lourdes, but also Fatima, Damascus, Washington and even the Vatican.
Five women who say they were assaulted by Mr. Rupnik are sending letters to Catholic bishops asking them to remove his mosaics from their churches, saying their display in places of worship is inappropriate and traumatizing.https://t.co/GokPAGysAY
— Ribbons against oblivion (@ContreLoubli) July 2, 2024
Since November 2023, a commission has been working to find a solution to this thorny issue for the bishopric of Tarbes-Lourdes.
In his press release, the bishop specifies however that according to him:
It would be better to put down these mosaics
Mgr Micas, Bishop of Tarbes-Lourdes
Removing these works would, according to him, be a way of guaranteeing that the sanctuary of Lourdes can accommodate “everyone, and especially those who suffer; among them victims of abuse and sexual assault, children and adults.” But, according to him, “this option does not have broad support. It even meets with real opposition from some” and “today, the best decision to take is not yet mature“.
“I will therefore continue to work even more with victims, to discern what should be done, here in Lourdes, to honour the absolute requirement of consolation and reparation.”continues Mgr Micas.
The Jesuit Order, from which Pope Francis comes, expelled Marko Rupnik in June 2023.