Madrid Archdiocese suppresses Daughters of Merciful Love after a year-long intervention, citing governance concerns and failed renewal efforts.
Newsroom (28/07/2026 Gaudium Press) The Archdiocese of Madrid has formally suppressed the Public Association of the Faithful Daughters of Merciful Love (HAM), bringing to a close what Archbishop of Madrid Cardinal José Cobo described as a prolonged and difficult process of ecclesial discernment.
The decision was enacted under canon 320 §2 of the Code of Canon Law, which grants bishops and Episcopal Conferences the authority to suppress associations of the faithful that they have established. The measure comes exactly one year after the Archdiocese launched an intervention into the organization amid allegations concerning its leadership and internal functioning.
Founded in 1983 by Father Antonio Mansilla Casas, the Daughters of Merciful Love grew from their origins in Madrid into a religious movement with communities in the Spanish dioceses of Toledo and Seville, as well as missions in Mexico, Poland and the United States. The association received ecclesiastical approval in 2007 from Cardinal Antonio María Rouco, Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid.
The suppression marks a significant reversal from developments just a year earlier. In 2024, Cardinal Cobo had approved the association’s definitive statutes, apparently consolidating its canonical standing within the Archdiocese. However, concerns that emerged shortly afterward prompted a deeper ecclesiastical review.
In February 2025, Cardinal Cobo ordered a canonical investigation and appointed canonical visitors to examine the life and governance of the association. Their findings led to the appointment in July 2025 of Sister Pilar Arroyo Carrasco, HCSA, as extraordinary commissioner.
Her mandate was extensive. The commissioner was tasked with reviewing and redirecting key elements of the association, including its governance structure, training programs, community life, spiritual accompaniment, statutes, regulations and economic administration.
According to the Archdiocese, the intervention was initiated after several complaints involving what it described as particularly serious matters affecting the association’s superior, María Milagrosa Pérez Caballero, who was subsequently removed from office.
The complaints also triggered the involvement of both the Tribunal of the Rota in Spain and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. During the course of the process, the Archdiocese stated that additional complaints concerning the functioning of the association were received and evaluated.
The decree suppressing the Daughters of Merciful Love implements a recommendation issued in May 2025 by the Tribunal of the Roman Rota in Spain. Despite that recommendation, Cardinal Cobo delayed any final decision in order to provide what the Archdiocese described as a reasonable period for renewal and reform.
The aim was to determine whether the issues identified during the canonical visitation could be adequately addressed and whether the association could continue to operate under the standards required by Church authorities.
After a year under extraordinary administration, Church officials concluded that such a renewal was not feasible. The Archdiocese stated that, having verified the impossibility of the association’s continuation under the necessary conditions, the decree of suppression was ultimately issued.
While dissolving the organization as a canonical entity, the Archdiocese emphasized that former members remain fully within the Catholic Church. Church authorities pledged ongoing pastoral accompaniment for those who wish to receive guidance and support as they continue their faith journey through ordinary ecclesial structures.
The decision closes a chapter for a movement that, over more than four decades, expanded beyond Madrid and established an international presence. At the same time, related ecclesial realities remain under observation. The Diocese of Getafe has for years accompanied a group of priests incardinated in its territory who shared a spirituality close to that of HAM, although they never possessed the canonical status of an association.
The suppression of the Daughters of Merciful Love represents the culmination of a process involving canonical investigation, external oversight, tribunal recommendations and an unsuccessful attempt at institutional reform, ending the association’s formal existence within the Church’s canonical framework.
- Raju Hasmukh with files form ACi Prensa
