Posts Tagged ‘Spiritual abuse’

Vatican announces steps to stop spiritual abuse

Monday, February 12th, 2024
Spiritual abuse

The Vatican has announced steps to combat the misuse of Catholic spirituality for potential spiritual abuse. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has expressed a heightened vigilance over the potential for mystical or spiritual elements to be exploited for abusive ends. Speaking to OSV News, Cardinal Read more

Beatitudes Community – probe into troubled past

Monday, November 13th, 2023
Community of the Beatitudes

The Beatitudes Community’s murky past is under the spotlight. A series of scandals has been casting a shady light on some members. The Community, which has links to New Zealand, is a 50-year-old French Catholic group. It was inspired by the Catholic Charismatic movement Located in Leithfield, North Canterbury, the Beatitudes Community is in the Read more

What is spiritual abuse? How do we heal from it?

Thursday, August 31st, 2023
spiritual abuse

Rachael Clinton Chen believes that we are seeing “an apocalyptic unveiling” of abuse committed by faith leaders. And it’s not hard to see why: In the past decade, a slew of once-revered Christian leaders have been exposed for sexual violence or sexual misconduct: Ravi Zacharias, Bill Hybels, Jean Vanier, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, and too Read more

French bishop’s confessional abuse and inadequate Church sexual teaching

Monday, October 31st, 2022
Bishop Michel Santier

Asking young men to take their clothes off in the context of confession… This extremely serious act – which the Catholic Church of France euphemistically translated as “voyeurism” – is exactly what Bishop Michel Santier did when he was the director of a School of Faith and leader of a new community. One is initially Read more

French bishop covers up his sexual abuse in Confessional

Thursday, October 27th, 2022
spiritual abuse

The Vatican has been informed of a French bishop’s alleged spiritual abuse for sexual purposes. Bishop Michel Santier (pictured), was quietly disciplined by the Vatican and, in 2021, he reported to his diocese he resigned for “health reasons”. However, the weekly Famille Chrétienne revealed Santier was also removed for “using his influence over two young Read more

Spiritual abuse occurs more frequently than thought

Monday, August 9th, 2021
spiritual abuse

The Vatican is investigating more than a dozen founders of congregations of consecrated or religious life, with spiritual abuse a frequent issue. Spanish Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, spoke about his office’s work overseeing religious congregations in an interview July 30 with Read more

Church must tackle spiritual abuse

Monday, September 28th, 2020
spiritual abuse

Little is being done to target the spiritual abuse that allows the clerical sex scandals to happen says theologian Dr Rocio Figueroa. Figueroa is a lecturer in Systematic Theology at the Catholic Institute of Aotearoa New Zealand in Auckland. To understand the underlying causes of abuse the Church needs to rethink its ts power structure Read more