Former Vatican media personality Basilian Father Thomas Rosica has been accused of sexually assaulting a priest in Canada.
Rosica, a member of the Congregation of St. Basi, rose to prominence running media operations during Pope St. John Paul II’s 2002 visit to Canada for World Youth Day 2002.
He later founded Salt+Light Television in 2003 and was appointed a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communication in 2009. He was a Vatican spokesman during the 2013 Papal Conclave that elected Pope Francis and was a Vatican media advisor for the 2008 and 2018 Synods of Bishops.
The news website The Pillar reported a lawsuit filed in March in the Canadian province of Ontario said Rosica developed a mentoring relationship with a newly ordained Canadian priest in the late 1990s, while the priest was in graduate studies.
The story said Rosica also invited the young priest to assist in preparations for the 2002 World Youth Day.
The Pillar said the complaint alleges that Rosica developed a “close personal relationship” of “authority and trust” with the priest.
The suit alleges that Rosica initially “made unwanted physical contact with the Plaintiff, including long hugs and touching the Plaintiff’s body and arms” and in the summer of 2000, and over the next several months, Rosica exposed himself and repeatedly “groped and fondled” the other priest’s genitalia.
The Pillar also says the lawsuit accuses Rosica’s religious order of knowing about his abuse.
“The Basilians knew or ought to have known that Rosica had engaged in deviant behaviour and failed to investigate such. In failing to investigate and identify any past failings of Rosica, they also failed to identify any victims who may have been in need of counseling, assistance and support because of the actions of the Rosica,” the lawsuit says.
The priest has denied any “improper conduct” with the priest and said the case should not be tried in Canadian courts but addressed in the Church.
“Fr. Rosica pleads the Court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of this dispute as the Plaintiff and Fr. Rosica are ordained priests and the alleged assaults occurred while they were engaged in duties on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. Any such complaints or allegations would be governed by Canon Law. The court should defer to the ecclesiastical court and its application of Canon Law,” the statement says.
It is doubtful the Canadian court system would defer to the Catholic ecclesiastical court in a case alleging sexual abuse.
Rosica first faced controversy after being accused of plagiarism in 2019, which forced him to resign from Salt+Light Television.
