German bishops demand spiritual abuse be criminalized in canon law

Catholic bishops Heiner Wilmer of Münster and Dominicus Meier of Osnabrück are calling for changes to canon law to classify spiritual abuse as a punishable offense. The demand follows a study by the University of Münster examining spiritual abuse within two religious communities: the Christusgemeinschaft in the Diocese of Osnabrück and the Totus Tuus Neuevangelisierung in the Diocese of Münster.

The study defines spiritual abuse as instances where an authority figure interferes massively with an individual's personal and spiritual freedom to gain control over them. Researchers noted that leaders in these communities demanded “self-abandonment, self-surrender, and submission” from members, leading to psychological distress for victims.

Bishop Meier noted that because spiritual abuse is not currently a defined offense under canon law, it is difficult to effectively sanction those accused. Bishop Wilmer stated he intends to advocate in Rome to advance a process initiated by the Vatican two years ago to address these legal gaps.