Messainlatino

MessainLatino and AdVaticanum sources indicate that Father Marko Rupnik has been acquitted in the canonical criminal proceedings relating to allegations involving violence. The Holy See has not publicly confirmed the reported ruling or released the sentence MessainLatino has reported that Father Marko Ivan Rupnik has been acquitted in his canonical criminal trial. According to the pulication, after corroborating “persistent and highly authoritative sources”, it concluded that the verdict was in favour of Father Rupnik. While the reported outcome has not been confirmed publicly by the Holy See, AdVaticanum has corroborated MessainLatino’s reporting through its own sources, which have also confirmed the ruling. AdVaticanum has spoken to Vatican sources who would like the Holy See to publish the sentence publicly. Many, however, believe the Vatican will be reluctant to do so. From this publication’s understanding, the trial centred on whether the alleged abuse involved violence. The judges ruled in favour of Father Rupnik, citing insufficient certainty. This publication has also learned that a further case is likely being prepared. The sentence itself has not been released publicly, and no official statement has been issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The absence of any formal Vatican announcement has renewed questions about transparency in the handling of high-profile canonical cases. As this publication understands, the reported acquittal concerns only the specific canonical criminal proceedings relating to allegations involving violence. It does not necessarily bring every aspect of the wider Rupnik affair to a conclusion. The formal judicial process has always been conducted under canon law rather than through the secular courts. Unlike civil criminal proceedings, canonical trials before the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith are confidential by their nature, with evidence, witness testimony and judicial deliberations ordinarily remaining sealed unless the Holy See decides otherwise. Consequently, little official information has emerged since the case was reopened. Father Rupnik, born in Slovenia in 1954, rose to international prominence as both a theologian and an artist. His mosaics adorn churches, shrines and chapels across the Catholic world, including the Vatican, Lourdes and Fatima, while his theological reflections on sacred art earned him considerable influence in ecclesiastical circles. The allegations that later emerged fundamentally altered that reputation. Multiple women accused Father Rupnik of sexual, psychological, spiritual and abuse-of-authority offences spanning several decades, with many of the earliest complaints originating from former members of the Loyola Community. Further accusations later involved women connected with Centro Aletti and his wider ministry. Before the current proceedings, Father Rupnik had already faced another canonical process concerning the crime of absolving in confession a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity. That offence carries an automatic excommunication under canon law. In 2020, the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that excommunication after external judges unanimously confirmed the offence. The penalty was subsequently lifted in the same month after Father Rupnik admitted the facts, expressed repentance and fulfilled the conditions required by the Holy See. Restrictions on his ministry followed. Attention later shifted to the wider allegations relating to members of the Loyola Community. After further complaints reached both the Society of Jesus and the Vatican, an investigation was conducted and forwarded to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith with a recommendation that a penal process should begin. The dicastery ultimately concluded in 2022 that the alleged offences were barred by the applicable statute of limitations then in force under canon law. That decision attracted widespread criticism after details of the allegations entered the public domain. In October 2023, Pope Francis waived the canonical statute of limitations, allowing the case to proceed despite the passage of time. The move was interpreted as a sign of the seriousness with which the Holy See intended to address the allegations and followed concerns expressed by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors regarding aspects of the case’s handling. Meanwhile, Father Rupnik’s relationship with the Society of Jesus deteriorated. The Jesuits ultimately dismissed him, citing a persistent refusal to obey legitimate instructions. The order stated that he had declined opportunities to acknowledge his conduct publicly, seek forgiveness and undertake a process of rehabilitation. Father Rupnik was subsequently incardinated into the Diocese of Koper in his native Slovenia. On 13 October 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith disclosed that five judges had been appointed to hear the case, explaining that the panel consisted of women and clerics who neither belonged to the dicastery nor held office within the Roman Curia. The Holy See stated that the arrangement was intended to guarantee the tribunal’s autonomy and independence. The Vatican did not publish the identities of the judges, nor did it provide details regarding their backgrounds or expertise. The confidentiality surrounding the process has led to criticism from some representing the alleged victims, who argue that they received little information regarding the tribunal’s progress despite repeated requests for clarification. Those concerns persisted throughout the trial. Lawyer Laura Sgrò, who represents several of the women bringing allegations against Father Rupnik, repeatedly stated publicly that she had sought procedural information from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith but had received no substantive response. The Society of Jesus has itself publicly acknowledged shortcomings in its handling of the affair. Father Johan Verschueren SJ, acting on behalf of the order in Rome, apologised to those who said they had suffered because of Father Rupnik’s actions and announced efforts aimed at reparation and healing. Jesuit Superior General Father Arturo Sosa later admitted that the order had failed to recognise warning signs and described that failure as a form of institutional blindness.

Bishop Michele Di Tolve, appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Rome by Pope Francis in 2023, is reportedly set to be transferred to the Diocese of Chioggia. This move is part of the latest Francis-era appointments being unroofed from Rome. An Auxiliary Bishop of the diocese of Rome may move to Chioggia, a seaside town south of Venice. According to an exclusive report by MessainLatino , Bishop Michele Di Tolve, an auxiliary bishop of Rome appointed by Pope Francis and currently serving as rector of the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary, is set to be transferred to the Diocese of Chioggia. According to MessainLatino , sources in the Diocese of Chioggia have indicated that this move is forthcoming, though it has not yet been formally confirmed by the Holy See. Bishop Di Tolve was born in Milan on 19 May 1963 and grew up in the parish of San Francesco d’Assisi in Grancia and Pagliera di Lainate. He completed his priestly formation at the Milanese archiepiscopal seminaries. Ordained deacon on 4 December 1988 in Cesano Maderno by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, he was ordained a priest on 10 June 1989 in Milan Cathedral by Cardinal Martini. In 2007, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi appointed him head of the Catholic Religious Education Service and the School Pastoral Service. From 2008 to 2014, he served as the Supreme Moderator’s Delegate at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in Milan. In 2014, Cardinal Angelo Scola named him rector of the archiepiscopal seminary of Milan, effective from 2015. Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of Rome and titular bishop of Orrera on 26 May 2023. On 4 July 2023, he was named rector of the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary with the task of strengthening relationships between priestly formation institutions in the territory of the Diocese of Rome and coordinating their activities. This potential transfer forms part of small but substantial changes to the Francis-era appointments that have rooted themselves within the ecclesiastical personnel of the Vicariate and the Roman Curia, where the Pope has already implemented structural changes, correcting substantial parts of Francis’s reform. Gradual but firm, these adjustments reflect a deliberate approach to diocesan governance in Rome. On 30 June, Pope Leo XIV issued the motu proprio Confirma Fratres Tuos , rolling back key parts of Pope Francis’s 2023 reform of the Diocese of Rome. The document recentres diocesan governance around the Cardinal Vicar as the principal authority in the day-to-day government of the Pope’s diocese. After announcing the consecration of four new auxiliary bishops of Rome on 25 February, Pope Leo established a commission comprising all the auxiliary bishops and the Cardinal Vicar to review the apostolic constitution In Ecclesiarum Communione . Francis’s reform had significantly reduced the power of the Cardinal Vicar and increased the powers of the vicegerent and the episcopal council. Article 10 of In Ecclesiarum Communione described the Cardinal Vicar as “an auxiliary and vicar general” who would exercise episcopal ministry with ordinary vicarious power. The revised text under Pope Leo simplifies this, eliminating the description of the Cardinal Vicar as “an auxiliary and vicar general” and instead affirming that the Cardinal Vicar has “the high and effective direction of the Vicariate”, with only brief mention of the vicegerent at the end. Pope Francis had also dismissed most of his auxiliary bishops in favour of loyalty and abolished the historic centre pastoral sector of the Diocese of Rome. Beyond the structural reforms in the Diocese of Rome, Pope Leo has been slowly unwinding elements of the Curia. Cardinal Michael Czerny, who owed his Curia position to Pope Francis and was made a cardinal by him in 2019, was replaced as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development by Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA. Sister Smerilli had been an auditor at the 2018 Synod on Youth. Pope Francis appointed her as councillor of the Vatican City State and consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops in 2019. In 2020, she coordinated the economic task force of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission. She became undersecretary of the Faith and Development Section of the dicastery in March 2021, interim secretary in August that year, and permanent secretary in April 2022. Sources close to the dicastery told AdVaticanum she is “relatively popular internally and she is scandal free”. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, CS, was appointed pro-prefect alongside her. The Dicastery for Communication has seen a particularly striking change. The dicastery under Paolo Ruffini as prefect was viewed as entrenched in the Francis way of operating. Paolo Ruffini and his associates, described as the “Palazzo Pio Gang”, were seen as deeply connected to that approach, including Ruffini’s defence of Fr Rupnik. Montserrat Alvarado’s appointment as prefect in June to replace him was therefore incredible, coming as something of an unexpected move from an outsider. Sources told AdVaticanum that she told His Holiness that “she wanted to bring back orthodoxy”. Pope Leo XIV has also replaced Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, a loyalist of Pope Francis, as head of the Vatican’s principal charitable office, appointing the Spanish Augustinian Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín as the new Almoner of His Holiness and Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Cardinal Krajewski had served in the role since 2013 and became the first prefect of the dicastery following the Roman Curia reforms of 2022. The replacement of the cardinal, who is only 62 and well below the usual age for such transitions, raised questions. Nothing has been said about whether the change followed a request from the cardinal himself. Such abrupt transitions are uncommon in the Roman Curia, particularly when they involve a relatively young cardinal whose term has not reached its natural conclusion. Viewed in their entirety, these developments illustrate a slow but steady reorientation. The potential move of Bishop Di Tolve from his prominent roles in Rome to the Diocese of Chioggia would align with this pattern, removing one of the more recent Francis-era appointments from the centre of Roman ecclesiastical life.