Clergy Sexual Abuse, Unification Church, Opus Dei
"The first research study into the sexual abuse of women religious in German-speaking countries has shown a typical pattern of spiritual abuse with global cases and highlighted that the majority of abuse is perpetrated by men, although some sisters were abused also by women superiors.
The study titled "Sexual Abuse of Catholic Women Religious Victims, Perpetrators and (Non)consensual Relationships" is the culmination of three years' work by Barbara Haslbeck, professor of pastoral theology and homiletics at the University of Regensburg, Germany.
Speaking to OSV News about the new study, published on Sept. 15, Haslbeck explained that 15 women who experienced sexual abuse as religious in German-speaking countries were interviewed for the study.
"Given the sensitive nature of the subject matter, this is a major study," Haslbeck told OSV News.
The aim of this pioneering research project is to gain an understanding of "the systemic conditions of abuse and determine the consequences of the abuse," the researcher said.
It also aimed to shed light on the characteristics of the perpetrators, the grooming, the extent of the abuse, the occasions of the abuse, and identify spiritual manipulation in the abuse process.
The assumption that priests are "harmless" was highlighted as an enabling factor in the communities in which the women lived, the research director said. Other issues included obedience as "a vulnerability factor." At the same time, chastity and the "bridal motif" were identified by the victims as "ambivalent ideals" in the face of abuse, used by perpetrators to lure their potential victims."
"With the special counsel team investigating the Unification Church's alleged bribery scheme now having arrested its leader, Han Hak-ja, the probe is likely to set its sights on former President Yoon Suk-yeol next by tracing the flow of church funds.
Early on Tuesday, a judge from the Seoul Central District Court's warrant division issued an arrest warrant for Han, citing "concerns over destruction of evidence." Han currently faces suspicions of violating the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, embezzling church funds, and instructing the destruction of evidence.
The key allegation requiring further investigation is that Han delivered 100 million won (US$72,000) in illegal political funds to PPP lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong in January 2022 through Yun Young-ho, the former global operations director of the Unification Church. Yun has been indicted and is currently behind bars.
The special counsel team is considering the possibility that this sum reached the former president himself. During the investigation, it was revealed that Yun, who managed Unification Church finances, placed half of the 100 million won delivered to Kweon in a separate bundle that bore the Chinese character for "king" in embroidery. This suggests Yoon may have received or been aware of a portion of the Unification Church's bribe.
The team will likely turn up additional funds beyond the aforementioned 100 million won that the Unification Church handed Kweon."
"An ex-assistant numerary, Anne Marie Allen held the lowest rank of Opus Dei's hierarchical structure, where she spent almost seven years with the conservative Catholic group in Ireland, starting when she was 15.
"I think it is the voice of the weakest that will bring Opus Dei down," Allen says matter-of-factly.
In Serve: My Lost Years at the Heart of Opus Dei, the 62-year-old documents the domestic servitude that she and other Irish women say they were lured into with the promise of vocational training. Her criticism of Opus Dei, including that the promised training never materialized, echoes that of other ex-numerary assistants around the world, including in Argentina, where a criminal investigation involves 43 former members who say they were trafficked and exploited.
Opus Dei is a conservative and notoriously secretive Catholic group founded in 1928 in Spain by Fr. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás (1902-1975). Dogged by controversy from the beginning, the group's stated aim is to help lay and clerical members sanctify their daily lives. While this mission has resonated with a post-Vatican II church, critics say Opus Dei seeks to influence the powerful and wealthy to increase its own access to the levers of power within both the church and society. This blending of faith and political lobbying has been powerful in the United States and Spain.
Assistant numeraries — Opus Dei's lowest rank — are women who primarily attend to the domestic needs of the organization's centers, including cooking and cleaning. The women live and work under the obedience of Opus Dei and commit to celibacy and to sanctifying their lives.
Opus Dei is believed to have 90,000 members in up to 70 countries, though exact figures are elusive due to the group's discretion — or secrecy, depending on your viewpoint."
The selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not imply that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly endorse the content. We provide information from multiple perspectives to foster dialogue.
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