The Vatican has taken the unusual step of announcing that it had named judges to decide the fate of a famous ex-Jesuit artist accused of sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women. The case of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik tarnished the legacy of Pope Francis given suggestions that the Jesuit pope had protected his Jesuit confrere. The Vatican office that regulates clergy sex abuse cases said that the five judges includes women and priests external to the Vatican bureaucracy to guarantee autonomy and independence. The statement on Monday suggested an implicit recognition that prior to now the Vatican’s handling of the Rupnik file had been anything but autonomous or independent.