A Washington, D.C., council of the Knights of Columbus called for chapel mosaics created by disgraced artist Fr. Marko Rupnik to be removed from the area’s St. John Paul II Shrine, which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus fraternal organization.
Cardinal O’Boyle’s Council 11302 passed a resolution on April 9 calling on the leadership of the Knights to remove Rupnik’s work from the Redemptor Hominis Church of the Shrine and Chapel of the Luminous Mysteries.
The resolution noted that Rupnik was accused of sexually abusing religious sisters in the context of the creation of his artwork.
“Council O’Boyle calls upon the executive leadership of the Washington, DC State Council of the Knights of Columbus (State Council) and the executive leadership of the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus (Supreme Council) to renovate the sanctuary so that mosaics as at Redemptor Church Hominis, as well as in the Chapel of the Luminous Mysteries, created by Fr. Rupnik are removed and replaced with liturgical art suitable for the celebration of the sacraments,” said the resolution obtained by The pillar.
The council is calling on the national leadership of the Knights to immediately announce a plan to remove the artwork and cover the images until the full renovation begins.
“Council O’Boyle calls on the executive leadership of the Washington, DC State Council and the executive leadership of the Supreme Council to immediately issue a public apology to the survivors of Fr. Rupnik’s abuse of the Order’s continued inaction regarding the matter of the mosaics in the sanctuary,” the resolution added.
Rupnik is a famous Slovenian priest, artist and former member of the Jesuit order Society of Jesus.
The priest is at the center of a multi-faceted sexual abuse and cover-up scandal. Rupnik is accused of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse of consecrated women in a Slovenian religious community. He was also briefly excommunicated in 2020 for attempting to absolve a woman after having sex with her, a capital offense in the Church’s canon law.
The initial hearing of the charges against Rupnik reached an impasse when the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) refused to lift the statute of limitations on the charges.
Amid widespread criticism, in October 2023 Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations on the claims against Rupnik, reopening the case against the priest and allowing him to face a canonical trial.
The DDF is currently investigating the allegations. Five new complaints of violence were filed with the dicastery earlier this month.
The allegations against Rupnik have led to calls to remove his artwork, which is prominently displayed in holy places around the world, including the Basilica of the Sanctuary in Lourdes, France.
In December 2022, the Knights of Columbus said they were “reexamining the place” of Rupnik’s work in the organization’s chapels. The Knights have already removed Rupnik’s art from their evangelistic pamphlets and other published materials.
O’Boyle’s Council Resolution cites The Holy Councilthe call that works of art that are “contrary to faith, morals, and Christian piety” should be removed from holy places.
“[T]the mosaics created by Fr. Rupnik in the sanctuary “St. John Paul II” are contrary to faith, morals and Christian piety, therefore they lack artistic value due to the fact that Fr. Rupnik is reported to have committed sexual assault through the creation of his artwork,” the resolution states.
Rupnik’s mosaics are also featured in the Holy Family Chapel, at the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Knights of Columbus did not respond The pillarRequest for comment on O’Boyle Council resolution.
