Vatican to consider classifying 'spiritual abuse' as new Catholic crime

Source: Reuters

Vatican to consider classifying 'spiritual abuse' as new Catholic crime

Joshua McElwee
Tue, November 26, 2024 at 8:59 AM EST·1 min read

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has asked the Vatican to study whether the Catholic Church should classify "spiritual abuse" as a new crime in order to address cases where priests use purported mystical experiences as a pretext for harming others.

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 lead doctrinal official, met with Francis to discuss the proposal for a new crime of spiritual abuse on Nov. 22, according to the statement. The pope directed Fernandez to work with another Vatican office to consider the issue, it said.

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One high-profile case involving accusations of abuse concerns Rev. Marko Rupnik, an internationally known Catholic artist and former leader of a spiritual community in Rome. He has been accused by about 25 people, mostly former nuns, of various types of abuse.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/news/vatican-consider-classifying-spiritual-abuse-135916123.html