The Vatican explores recognizing “spiritual abuse” as a crime, aiming to address psychological manipulation and coercion within religious contexts.
Pope Francis has directed the Vatican to investigate whether “spiritual abuse” should be recognized as a crime by the Catholic Church, aiming to prevent priests from exploiting supposed mystical experiences to harm individuals.
Cardinal Victor Fernandez, who leads the Vatican’s doctrinal department, met with Pope Francis last week to discuss the proposal. Following their meeting, he signed a communiqué aimed at addressing an ongoing dispute among canonists regarding the concept of “false mysticism.”
According to a statement, after their meeting on Friday, the Pope instructed Fernandez to work with another Vatican office for further efforts on the issue. This initiative aims to establish “spiritual abuse” as a formal crime under Church law, rather than just an aggravating factor in other offenses.
The document referenced norms updated and approved by the Vatican in May, highlighting that “using alleged supernatural experiences or recognized mystical elements as a means to control people or commit abuses should be regarded as particularly morally serious.”
Although the statement from the doctrinal office did not specify any particular instances of abuse, it is well-known that the Catholic Church has encountered numerous scandals in recent years involving priests who have engaged in abusive behavior under the pretense of false spiritual and mystical experiences.
A notable case centers around Reverend Marko Rupnik, a celebrated liturgical artist and former head of a spiritual community in Rome. He is accused of sexually, spiritually, and psychologically abusing approximately two dozen women and at least one man over 30 years.
One of the alleged victims, a former Jesuit, reported to Italian media outlet Domani last December that Rupnik had coerced her into engaging in sexual acts with him and another nun, claiming it was an expression of devotion to the Holy Trinity. According to his center in Rome, Rupnik “had always firmly denied” these accusations.
In a separate case, Father David Morrier of the Third Order Franciscans, who previously served as chaplain at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, admitted guilt to sexually abusing a university student in 2022.
The victim allegedly informed the court that Morrier had subjected her to “deliverance sessions” and “exorcisms,” during which she was “compelled to endure Father Morrier’s hands violating me because ‘this is what God revealed to him in prayer.'”
The clergyman managed to evade rape charges and was sentenced to five years’ probation as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
