Toronto film festival: a new film follows women who claim to have been abused by a former Jesuit priest
A
complicated stain on Pope Francis’s legacy is further explored in Nuns vs the Vatican, a sensitive and unsettling documentary following women whose sexual abuse allegations were long ignored by the Catholic church, and the broader system that protects and enables predators within.
Nuns, which is directed by Emmy winner in Lorena Luciano and executive produced by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay and premiered at the Toronto film festival on Saturday, largely centres around Gloria Branciani and Mirjam Kovac, who are among dozens allegedly victimized by Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit priest currently awaiting canonical trial for sexual, spiritual and physical abuse.
Rupnik was excommunicated in 2020 for absolving the sins of a novice with whom he had sex. But that excommunication was lifted within the same month after Rupnik repented. One expert voice in the documentary points out that the excommunication could only have been lifted with authorization from Pope Francis.
