Through the Church—the sacrament of God’s infinite love—her Scriptures, her Tradition, her prayers, and her liturgies, people can encounter the living Christ and experience his love, healing, and transformative grace.
But what happens when the men and women tasked with mediating God’s grace, appointed to preach God’s word and preside over the sacraments, do so with carelessness or coercion? What harm is done when the place of healing becomes a source of harm?
I have experienced spiritual abuse and the abuse of conscience in the Church. Sometimes this abuse was caused directly by leadership acting with malice; sometimes I was harmed by leaders being careless or negligent; and sometimes the damage happened indirectly via a Catholic culture that did not respect my conscience. I also worked as a lay minister in the Church for several years, and unfortunately contributed to that same religious culture that put others at risk for spiritual abuse.
This spring, I’m completing a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and intend to work professionally both to help individuals who have been harmed by the Church find healing and to work with ministry leaders to help them make their communities safer. These are also my goals for this workshop.
This workshop is for:
- Individuals trying to understand and/or heal from experiences of spiritual abuse in the Church
- Clergy and lay leaders interested in safeguarding their communities from spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience
- Therapists working with clients who have been spiritually abused
This workshop will help you:
- Recognize and prevent spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Church
- Know the symptoms of spiritual abuse, religious trauma, and moral injury
- Respond to individuals who have been spiritually abused
Details:
This is a five-part live workshop that will be held virtually on from 7:30-9:00pm (EST) on Wednesdays beginning May 15 (5/15, 5/22, 5/29, 6/5, and 6/12). The cost to participate in the workshop is $125. The group will include 5 – 12 participants which will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.
My other resources about spiritual abuse:
- Research article about spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church:
https://wherepeteris.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/The-Place-Where-You-Stand-is-Holy-Ground.pdf - Podcast episodes about spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience:
- What is Abuse of Conscience?
https://www.popefrancisgeneration.com/p/what-is-abuse-of-conscience - Dr. Marcus Mescher – Moral Injury and Clerical Sexual Abuse
https://www.popefrancisgeneration.com/p/marcus-mescher-moral-injury-and-clerical - Liz Hansen – Feeling Unsafe in the Church
https://www.popefrancisgeneration.com/p/liz-hansen-feeling-unsafe-in-the - Spiritual Abuse
https://www.popefrancisgeneration.com/p/spiritual-abuse-and-the-abuse-of
- What is Abuse of Conscience?
Paul Faheylives in Michigan with his wife and five kids. He is a limited licensed professional counselor, retreat leader, and catechist. He is a co-founder of Where Peter Is, founder and co-host of the Pope Francis Generation podcast, and the host of the Third Space podcast. He seeks to provide pastoral counseling for Catholics who have been spiritually abused, counseling for Catholic ministers, and counseling education so that ministers are more equipped to help others in their ministry.
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