Victims ask pope for independent inquiry into abuse by prominent priest

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, speaks as former religious sisters Gloria Branciani and Mirjam Kovac who say they have endured various kinds of abuse by world-renowned religious artist Father Marko Rupnik appear publicly for the first time holding a press conference in Rome, Italy February 21, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

ROME (Reuters) - Former nuns who said they were subjected to sexual, psychological or spiritual abuse by a famous priest urged Pope Francis on Wednesday to allow an independent investigation, saying the Catholic Church had put up "a rubber wall" blocking the truth.

Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a religious artist whose mosaics adorn about 200 churches and chapels around world, including in the Vatican, was expelled from the Jesuit order last year and is believed to be somewhere in his native Slovenia.