Pope orders Vatican to reopen case of priest ousted from Jesuits after claims of adult abuse

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to reopen the case of a famous priest-artist accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women, and removed the statute of limitations on their claims, the Vatican said Friday.

The announcement came just a day after the case of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik again made headlines when a diocese in his native Slovenia confirmed it had welcomed him in, after he was expelled by his Jesuit order this summer.

A Vatican statement said Pope Francis’ abuse prevention commission had flagged “serious problems” in the way the case was handled initially.

Consequently, Francis asked the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, “to review the case and decided to lift the statute of limitations to allow a process to take place.”