Pope Francis Seeks to Declarify Spiritual Abuse as a Crime
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has asked the Vatican to study the possibility of classifying “spiritual abuse” as a new crime within the Catholic Church. This move comes after a string of cases where priests have used purported mystical experiences as a pretext to harm others.
According to a statement from the Vatican’s doctrinal office, Cardinal Victor Fernandez met with the Pope on November 22 to discuss the proposal. The Pope directed Fernandez to work with another Vatican office to consider the issue.
The release also cited new Vatican norms on evaluating alleged supernatural events, stating that it is “morally grave” to use purported spiritual experiences to exert control over others.
One notable case involves Rev. Marko Rupnik, a former leader of a spiritual community in Rome, who has been accused by about 25 people, mostly former nuns, of various forms of abuse. One former nun alleged that Rupnik forced her into having sex with another nun, justifying it as devotion to the Holy Trinity.
Rupnik has not publicly addressed the allegations, but the center he led in Rome released a statement in July saying that he “had always firmly denied” the accusations. The Catholic Jesuit order expelled Rupnik from their ranks in June, and the Vatican reopened an investigation into his conduct last October.
Rupnik was last known to be ministering in his native Slovenia.