A priest and world-renowned mosaic artist accused of sexual and psychological abuse has joined a Slovenian diocese after being expelled in June from the Catholic Jesuit order, officials said Thursday.

Slovenian Marko Rupnik was sanctioned by The Catholic order of Jesuits - to which Pope Francis belongs - twice over claims of abuse against members of a community of adult religious women in Slovenia in the early 1990s.

He is the artist who created the mosaics adorning the entrance to the Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary in Gozo.

Dating from the mid-1980s to 2018, they include complaints of spiritual and psychological abuse as well as sexual harassment, including from within the Slovenian community and an artistic centre in Rome.

Rupnik, 68, "was accepted into the diocese of Koper in August", said the diocese in the Adriatic port city in a statement on Thursday.

The decision was made at his request and because he has not been convicted of any offences, the diocese added.

"As long as he hasn't been sanctioned by a court of law, he'll benefit from the same rights and duties as all other priests," it said.

The Catholic order of Jesuits announce his expulsion in June, "due to his obstinate refusal to observe the vow of obedience."

"From the moment he is no longer a Jesuit, he becomes a diocesan priest said a source told AFP in Rome, saying they did not know whether the Vatican was "aware".

"Since he is subject to a conviction, the bishop can decide to accept him," the source added.

The Jesuits - one of the main Roman Catholic orders, founded in 1540 - also revealed last year that Rupnik had been briefly excommunicated in 2020 for absolving someone for having sexual relations with him.

He was reinstated after he acknowledged his wrongdoing and formally repented, the order said.