By Crux Staff
ROME – In a decision confirmed by Pope Francis and thus without the possibility of appeal, the Vatican has found an Austrian priest who leads a pontifically recognized association guilty of psychological and spiritual abuse and imposed a series of punishments, including a ten-year ban on ministry.
The verdict regarding Austrian Father Gebhard Paul Maria Sigl, cofounder of the Family of Mary, was reached by a three-judge ecclesiastical tribunal Sept. 18 and approved by Pope Francis Oct. 11. The decision was then formalized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy, which oversees the clerical branch of the association, and acknowledged by the group in a Nov. 6 statement on their web site.
The ruling is considered important in part because it imposes penalties for forms of abuse which aren’t strictly sexual, and thus broadens the concept of what constitutes “abuse” in a legal sense in Vatican jurisprudence.
Among other things, the 75-year-old Sigl has been barred for ten years from the following activities:
Living, or even staying overnight, in any house where there are members of the Family of Mary or its clerical branch, the Work of Jesus the High Priest.
Administering the sacrament of reconciliation, or asking any bishop for facilities to do so.
Accepting any office in either the association or its clerical group.
Offering spiritual direction, preaching, or leading retreats and spiritual exercises.
Having relations with members of the association or the clerical group.
Celebrating Mass in public.
In addition, Sigl has been directed to live in residence chosen by a papal commissioner for the Family of Mary, who is currently Bishop Daniele Libanori, a Jesuit who serves as the pope’s assessor for consecrated life.