Knights of Columbus to cover mosaic shrines during sex abuse case

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Leaders with the Knights of Columbus Thursday announced they will be covering mosaic artwork in the Holy Family Chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven.

The group plans to cover the mosaics with fabric until the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues its decision on the pending sexual abuse cases against Father Marko Rupnik, one of the pope’s top advisors.

Rupnik’s mosaics are found in the Catholic Church’s most-visited shrines and sanctuaries across the world. His alleged victims have asked they be removed due to their inappropriateness and to avoid retraumatizing victims, some of which have said their abuse by Rupnik happened during the creation of the artworks themself.

“The Knights of Columbus has decided to cover these mosaics because our first concern must be for victims of sexual abuse, who have already suffered immensely, and who may be further injured by the ongoing display of the mosaics at the Shrine,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in a statement.

They said a permanent plastic covering may be installed over the artwork pending the decision.

Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023 after being accused by multiple women of “grave and disturbing instances of abuse when they were adults,” occurring from the mid-1980s to at least 2015, according to the Knights.

The Knights say they weren’t aware of the allegations until December of 2022.

“Today’s decision is the fruit of an extensive process including confidential consultations with individual victims of sexual abuse and those who minister to them, individual pilgrims, moral theologians and art historians, as well as bishops and other clergy. While opinions varied among those consulted, there was a strong consensus to prioritize the needs of victims, especially because the allegations are current, unresolved, and horrific,” Kelly said.

Similar artwork at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. will also be covered.

“The Knights are also committed, from their founding, to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  In the end, that is our reason for sponsoring the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, and for our patronage of sacred art at the shrine and elsewhere. The art we sponsor must therefore serve as a steppingstone — not a stumbling block — to faith in Jesus Christ and his Church,” Kelly said.