By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has asked the Vatican to study whether the Catholic Church should classify “spiritual abuse” as a new crime to address cases where priests have alleged mystical experiences to harm others. use the
A statement from the Vatican’s doctrinal office announcing the move did not name any specific cases of such abuse, but the Vatican has had to deal with several in recent years.
Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the church’s chief doctrinal officer, met with Francis on Nov. 22 to discuss the proposal for a new crime of spiritual abuse, according to the statement. It said the pope had instructed Fernandez to work with another Vatican office to consider the issue.
The release cited new Vatican rules approved in May for evaluating alleged paranormal phenomena as saying it is “morally serious” to use alleged spiritual experiences to exert control over others.
In a high-profile case involving allegations of abuse, Rev. Marco Rupnik, is an internationally known Catholic artist and former leader of a spiritual community in Rome. About 25 people, mostly former nuns, have accused her of various forms of abuse.
A former nun said in February that Rupnik forced her to have sex with him and another nun, justifying it as devotion to the Holy Trinity.
Rupnik is not known to comment publicly on the allegations. However, the center he heads in Rome issued a letter in July saying Rupnik had “always steadfastly denied” the allegations.
The Catholic Jesuit order expelled Rupnik from their ranks in June 2023, and the Vatican reopened an investigation into his behavior in October last year.
Rupnik was last known to have served in his native Slovenia.
