The Olomouc Aletti Center / Czech Province of the Society of Jesus.
The Czech Province of the Society of Jesus announced this week that “disturbing facts have come to light” regarding an art center founded by disgraced former Jesuit and accused serial predator Father Marko Rupnik, prompting the provincial to dismiss the center’s current director and launch a canonical investigation into the center’s publishing house.
The measures taken against the Czech Republic-based Olomouc Aletti Center are “in response to doctrinally questionable texts originating from this environment, to reports of sectarian manifestations and spiritual manipulation,” the Czech Province Jesuits announced June 10. An English translation of their statement was provided online at CatholicCon. There is also an Aletti Center based in Rome.
“As Czech Jesuits, we sincerely apologize to all those to whom members of our order have caused spiritual harm in connection with the false mysticism of the SJVS and the Aletti Center.” they said.
They requested that people pray, have patience, and share any testimonies that would provide more insight to the issue.
The investigation against the center’s publishing house, Refugium, aims to remove problematic published texts, including ones “that raise many questions and are doctrinally questionable,” which have content based on supposed private revelations from Kateřina Klosová, according to the announcement.
The announcement also said that the recently learned “disturbing facts” relate to both the center and “in particular” to the community of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SJVS), which has close ties to the center.
“Although the SJVS community gives the impression that it comes from the environment of Czech Jesuits and their collaborators, the Czech Province of the Society of Jesus categorically distances itself from this community and the texts that were created on the basis of the alleged revelations to Kateřina Klosová and does not wish to be associated with them in any way,” the Jesuits stated.
The SJVS’ effort to pray for priests is good but “cannot be associated with ideas that are at least doctrinally controversial,” the statement continued, adding that the “[SJVS] community manifests itself in a sectarian manner and causes division and discord in local churches. Therefore, it can hardly be perceived as the work of the Holy Spirit.”
According to the statement, the publishing house has also distributed books that have included content belittling alleged victims of Fr. Rupnik.
“We also consider the defense of former Jesuit Marek Ivan Rupnik, accused of inappropriate behavior towards thirty people, to be completely unacceptable,” they stated. “We do not agree with the trivialization of his misconduct and we reject the belittling of those who came forward as Rupnik’s victims, as has repeatedly happened in the incriminated books of the Refugium publishing house.
“We also reject the problematic and one-sided statements about private and public figures, many very dubious statements of a spiritual and theological nature and doctrinally controversial formulations that can be found on the pages of the aforementioned publications.”
Father Pavel Bačo, SJ, who became provincial of the Czech Jesuits May 26, has dismissed the Aletti Center’s director and the superior of the Olomouc community and has appointed temporary successors, according to the statement. He also began the canonical investigation into the publishing house. The statement noted that these actions were done in cooperation with the Rome-based Jesuit headquarters and are only initial steps in resolving the issue.
