There are, to be sure, unique elements of Rupnik’s case. But most striking in the case are the similarities it bears to other high-profile cases — the common elements it has with the cases of Zanchetta, Inzoli, Belo, Santier, Buela, and others.
The Holy See has aimed in recent years to paint a picture depicting serious and ongoing reform of clerical abuse processes — Pope Francis has urged transparency, equality under law, and a commitment to seeing justice done.
But the pieces lining up on the wall, Rupnik the most recent, could seem to create a different mosaic — one in which “transparent justice” seems obscured by politics, personal relationships, or plain administrative failures, despite the promulgation of new policies and the promise of new approaches..
As that mosaic becomes clear, it could well be seen as a legacy of the Francis pontificate: that despite rhetoric to the contrary, very little has yet changed on a central plank of the pope’s reforming agenda — one important to Catholics around the world.
Will that be the picture Francis leaves on the wall? Or will the pontiff manage to change the narrative? If he aims to, addressing the scandal of Fr. Rupnik might prove a useful start.
Go here to read the rest. As far as the Pope is concerned his friends can do no wrong, and he will abandon them only under intense public pressure.
