A former nun breaks her silence to expose the Church’s most celebrated priest and a system built to protect power at any cost.
SYNOPSIS
Nuns Vs The Vatican is a gripping exposé of faith, betrayal, and resilience. When Gloria, a former nun, shatters 30 years of silence, she names her abuser—celebrated Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik—and challenges the Vatican’s silence. Her letter to the Vatican, Descent into Hell, exposes a decade of abuse, yet the Church stays silent. Reconnecting with fellow survivor Mirjam, they take their story to investigative journalist Federica Tourn, igniting a movement. As media and survivor networks amplify their fight, they challenge the Vatican’s secrecy, forcing a long-buried crisis into the public eye.
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director Lorena Luciano
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Lorena Luciano is a fellow of the Sundance Institute, the MacArthur Foundation, and IDA. Born and raised in Italy, she studied Law in Milan before moving to New York to pursue filmmaking, a bold leap that shaped her ethical approach and commitment to fair, balanced storytelling. Her HBO film It Will Be Chaos won the Emmy for Best Current Affairs Documentary. An alum of the Jacob Burns Film Center, she continues to craft socially engaged films with her husband and collaborator, Filippo Piscopo. Her latest, Nuns vs. the Vatican, premiered at TIFF 2025 and won DOC NYC's Subject Matter Award and Hamptons DocFest Human Rights Award.
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