Vatican group advances on new spiritual abuse crime in canon law, but retroactive use on Rupnik impossible; legal, enforcement challenges loom.
Newsroom (30/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) A Vatican working group tasked with studying the feasibility of a new canonical crime of spiritual abuse is progressing “fruitfully,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), informed Pope Leo XIV in a recent audience. The cardinal also requested papal confirmation of Archbishop Filippo Iannone as the group’s chair, following Iannone’s reassignment last month from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts (DLT) to another curial role.
The pontiff’s apparent willingness to maintain continuity in leadership — coupled with his own background as a canonist — signals openness to codifying spiritual abuse as a distinct delict, sources familiar with the process told The Pillar. Yet significant legal, procedural, and practical challenges remain.
Spiritual abuse, though not new to ecclesiastical history, has gained urgency in recent years, particularly in cases involving sexual misconduct facilitated by spiritual authority. Existing canon law treats such abuse as an aggravating factor in crimes like solicitation during confession (Canon 1387) or the absolution of an accomplice in sexual sin (Canon 1378 §2). But advocates argue these provisions fail to address standalone spiritual manipulation.
Cardinal Fernández has long prioritized the issue. Since assuming leadership of the DDF in 2023, he has cited the case of former Jesuit Marko Rupnik — accused of decades-long sexual and spiritual abuse of women religious under the guise of artistic collaboration — as emblematic of the problem. “We see many cases, some worse but less known,” Fernández said earlier this year.
The working group was established by Pope Francis in November 2024, with Iannone, then DLT prefect, appointed chair due to his expertise in legislative interpretation. Close collaboration between Fernández and Iannone has continued despite the latter’s transfer.
Speculation has swirled that a new delict could enable retroactive prosecution of Rupnik, whose canonical trial — formally opened two years ago — only saw judges confirmed last month. Some outlets, citing unnamed sources, claimed reform would allow victims “long-demanded” accountability via a tailored crime.
Canonists reject this as legally untenable. Penal laws cannot be applied retroactively (nulla poena sine lege praevia), and canon law explicitly mandates use of the statute most favorable to the accused when norms change (Canon 9 §2). Even a papal directive overriding this principle would likely collapse the Rupnik proceedings, requiring new charges and a restarted process.
Still, the Rupnik case — alongside others like that of Fr. David Nicgorski, accused of grooming Pauline sisters during spiritual direction, and laicized Argentine priest Ariel Príncipi, convicted of abusing minors via “healing prayers” — has exposed prosecutorial gaps. Victims and experts say spiritual coercion often blurs into sexual abuse, yet lacks standalone juridical weight.
Defining spiritual abuse for prosecution poses the core challenge. Canon law demands strict interpretation of penal norms (Canon 18). Yet spiritual abuse typically unfolds in private, through escalating patterns of psychological control — difficult to objectify legally. “You’re codifying conscience manipulation,” one Vatican canonist told The Pillar on background. “That’s not like proving theft.”
Even if codified, implementation would strain an already overloaded DDF disciplinary section. Local bishops would receive complaints, conduct preliminary investigations, and forward viable cases — but a novel, narrowly interpreted delict would likely prompt mass referrals to Rome for clarification, exacerbating backlogs.
One proposed workaround: papal promulgation of the delict alongside a detailed vademecum from the DDF or DLT, directing interpretive queries to the latter. Iannone’s successor at the DLT would then manage application — a workload shift with uncertain reception.
For now, the working group presses on. Its final recommendations remain undisclosed, but the trajectory suggests Pope Leo may soon confront a historic decision: whether to enshrine spiritual abuse as a standalone crime — and how to enforce it without paralyzing the Church’s penal system.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
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