Pope Francis has instructed the Vatican to explore whether the Catholic Church should formally recognize “spiritual abuse” as a new crime, targeting cases where priests exploit alleged mystical experiences to harm others.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), in a statement announcing the initiative, did not reference specific incidents but acknowledged that the Church has faced several cases in recent years.
Head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department Cardinal Victor Fernandez met with Pope Francis on Friday to discuss the matter, after which the Pope directed Fernandez to collaborate with another Vatican office to assess the issue further.
The statement cited updated Vatican norms approved in May regarding alleged supernatural phenomena emphasized that “the use of purported supernatural experiences or recognized mystical elements as a means of or a pretext for exerting control over people or carrying out abuses is to be considered of particular moral gravity.”
According to Reuters, one prominent case involves Reverend Marko Rupnik, an internationally renowned Catholic artist and former leader of a spiritual community in Rome, who had been accused by about 25 individuals, primarily former nuns of various forms of abuse.
In February, one former nun alleged that Rupnik coerced her into sexual acts with him and another nun, claiming it was a form of devotion to the Holy Trinity.
Rupnik has not publicly addressed the allegations. However, the Rome-based center he formerly led issued a letter in July asserting that Rupnik “had always firmly denied” the accusations.
In June 2023, the Catholic Jesuit order expelled Rupnik from its ranks. The Vatican, which reopened an investigation into his actions in October 2022, reported that he was last known to be ministering in his native Slovenia.
