What a way to spend a Sunday morning.

Abuse in the church is unfortunately something that is not surprising to hear about anymore, but Nuns vs. The Vatican exposes yet another kind that has managed to go under the radar for decades: abuse against nuns in the Catholic church.

Lorena Luciano’s documentary follows former nun, Gloria, as she works with a group of supporters to finally turn her allegations against Father Marko Rupnik into a legal case – years after she first accused him of spiritual and sexual abuse. Nuns vs. The Vatican uncovers cover ups, sheds light on lies, and highlights the many women, some of whom are survivors themselves, who have been working for years behind the scenes to bring justice to this phenomenon.

I find it odd the way sides are chosen when an allegations of this nature comes forward in the church. There is always talk of grace and forgiveness from leaders which inevitably allows the abuser to carry on as is, but what fascinates me is that the people who say these things never seem to think about the abused. Especially because often, the abused are part of their congregation. What do the victims receive from you as their shepherd? What does extending the love of God to them look like? In so many cases, this is not even a thought, which lets me know: it’s not really about grace, it’s about preservation of self over the well-being of actual members of the community.

Nuns vs. The Vatican zooms in on this mentality, showing how Father Marko Rupnik gained favour with other Fathers and even with the Vatican through his art. Art that the documentary also exposes was created at least in part during the abuse he carried out. This presents some new thoughts for me, which I will maybe explore another time. I will say this though, there was talk in the documentary – and there is a sentiment – of ‘enemies’ using scandals like this against the church, but I think it’s time we faced the truth that the ‘enemies’, it seems, are inside the house.

Nuns vs. The Vatican is playing at TIFF ’25. For more information, click here.