(The Catholic World Report. Christopher R. Altieri).
The Vatican’s chief comms officer on Friday defended his department’s use of an accused serial rapist’s art. “We’re not talking about abuse of minors,” said Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, on Friday, 21st June 2024, in response to questions from journalists gathered in the Heritage Ballroom of the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead and Conference Center. Ruffini was there to deliver the keynote address on the last day of the annual Catholic Media Conference and had opened the floor to queries, two of which came from Colleen Dulle of America Magazine and Paulina Guzik of OSVNews. The Vatican has continued to use digital reproductions of pieces by a disgraced former celebrity Slovenian artist-priest, Fr. Marko Rupnik, even after he began to face allegations he spiritually, psychologically, and sexually abused dozens of victims, most of whom were women religious. The Vatican originally declined to prosecute Rupnik, and Pope Francis only reversed course after facing close scrutiny and sustained criticism.