Father Rupnik's alleged victim receives standing ovation at documentary premiere

(OSV News) -- A new documentary on the abuses allegedly committed by Father Marko Rupnik and survivors' pursuit of justice received high praise at the Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF, including for Gloria Branciani, an alleged victim who received a four-minute standing ovation.

The film "Nuns vs. The Vatican," which premiered Sept. 6 at the film festival, had two sold-out screenings, followed by a Q&A session attended by the majority of those who watched the film, according to Emmy-winning director Lorena Luciano and her husband, Filippo Piscopo, the film's producer and cinematographer.

"It was very emotional when (Branciani) sat down for the Q&A and she said, 'This applause is very meaningful to me because it's breaking the silence,'" Piscopo told OSV NewsSept. 20.

"People were very emotional," Luciano added. "We were standing with Gloria, and there were some people who went to her, hugged her. You could tell that they were survivors themselves. They kept sobbing, and it was such a scene, such a moment to see Gloria standing still and composed and hugging them, telling them, 'I understand.'"

Speaking with OSV News Sept. 24, Branciani described the applause as an emotional moment in which she felt that she wasn't there "for me or for my story, but I was there for every person present."

"This gave me such great strength" and "such joy," she said. "I really felt a joy, a presence, and also a power to embrace all that affection, a symbol of so many years of silence, of suppression, of suffering as well. But it was truly a sign of rebirth; a concrete sign of rebirth."

"Nuns vs. The Vatican" chronicled the journey Branciani, as well as survivors Mirjam Kovac and Klara (no last name given), embarked on to seek justice for the alleged sexual and psychological abuses they say they suffered at the hands of Father Rupnik. All three were former members of the Sisters of the Loyola Community, a religious congregation co-founded by the Slovenian priest and artist.

Father Rupnik, a former Jesuit, was briefly excommunicated by the church in 2020 for absolving an Italian novice with whom he had sex. The excommunication was lifted after he allegedly repented.

However, in 2023, he was expelled from the Jesuits for refusing to obey restrictions imposed upon him related to the sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse of some two dozen women and at least one man over the course of 30 years.

After the Diocese of Koper, Slovenia, confirmed in October 2023 that Father Rupnik was incardinated and had been there since August, the Vatican announced that the late Pope Francis had lifted the statute of limitations, allowing the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to proceed with its investigation and eventual case. In July the Vatican officially named the judges who will oversee the canonical trial, which is ongoing.

Branciani told OSV News she appreciated how the film captured the process of her speaking out and sharing her story as a way "to break out of this silence that had kept me, let's say, trapped for 30 years."

An important aspect of the film, she added, was her meeting other survivors, as well as their lawyer, Laura Sgró. With them, "a support group was created where it was possible to feel protected."

Next to the alleged victims, the film gives stage to abuse experts, psychologists and journalists working on the case of Father Rupnik, telling a story of not only an allegedly abusive artist, but also institutional cover up.

Luciano told OSV News that she and her film partner-husband were inspired to make the film about clerical sexual abuse of adult women as early as following the 2018 release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. After reading the entire report, "we were shocked not only by the magnitude of the abuse, but also to discover that a lot of women were part of the conversation that usually is never brought up," she noted.

Piscopo said that while in Rome following the 2019 Vatican summit on abuse, he had the impression about the limited presence of women-survivors, "as if the abuse was only confined to the abuse of minors or altar boys, and women were not even in the picture."

The 2022 public revelation of Father Rupnik's brief excommunication and continued work prompted outrage over the lack of accountability and protection afforded to the Slovenian priest despite the credibility of the accusations, which the Jesuit order confirmed, offering to work with them to find a path of reparation "geared toward healing the wounds" caused by the former Jesuit priest.

Piscopo told OSV News that since the case -- according to alleged victims -- was going without "transparency" and "due process," it came to the point "where evil is festering without any control, without any boundary."

"This is something that festered for three decades without anyone taking action or without anyone listening to these former nuns who denounced on multiple occasions," he said.

"I truly think that someone like Rupnik -- listening to his preaching and lectures -- doesn't believe that he was doing evil," Luciano added. "You're dealing with a very narcissistic type of personality where he truly believes that … he's doing the right thing."

Branciani told OSV News that justice and truth are "an inseparable pair" and expressed her hope that the documentary will lead to an "awakening of conscience."

She also expressed her hope that her former sisters in the now-defunct congregation "who have lived a story very similar to mine with Rupnik" can find "the strength to embark on a journey of healing, even if not of public testimony."

Branciani noted that the church is slowly recognizing the truth and that while there are "small signals," such as the removal of Father Rupnik's artwork from the Vatican Newswebsite, there is still much to be done.

"I think it will still take time for the church to take, or at least to assume, a clear and firm position," she said.

When asked what she would like to tell Pope Leo XIV if given the opportunity, Branciani told OSV News that she would ask him "to listen to us, to hear what our experience has been, and to accept our testimony."

"From there, he will be able to make any decision. Because this is the point: if I'm lying, then I'm lying. But if I'm telling the truth, the truth is this, and then let's act accordingly."

Luciano and Piscopo told OSV News that the documentary is currently in the film festival circuit and hoped that, upon finding a distributor, it will be released next year.

Branciani said she was grateful Luciano and Piscopo helped to present the story of the experiences she and her fellow survivors endured in a thoughtful and meaningful way.

"They rendered the story, even the ugliest, most difficult parts, in a symbolic way, and they really lead the viewer to embark on a journey of rebirth," she said. "It's not a film that dwells on the ugliness; it's a film about emerging from ugliness, and so this is beautiful for me," she said.