Learn About Spiritual Abuse in a Catholic Setting (Resource Sharing)

01/06/25 • 9 min

Episode 143
In this episode, I briefly discuss the importance of understanding spiritual abuse, particularly if you're on a healing journey from trauma and its effects on your relationship with God. I outline three major reasons why learning about spiritual abuse is crucial: it helps identify and heal from obstacles in our relationship with God, prevents the inadvertent perpetuation of abuse, and enhances accountability and responsibility, especially for those in leadership positions within the Catholic Church.

I also introduce an invaluable workshop presented by Paul Fahey, focusing on recognising, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic context. Join me in exploring this significant resource—check the show notes for more information and a link to the workshop.

Link to Register for Spiritual Abuse Workshop: https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/spiritual-abuse-workshop-7b6

Read Paul Fahey’s article on Spiritual Abuse in the Catholic Church: https://wherepeteris.com/resources/the-place-where-you-stand-is-holy-ground/

Watch this recording on YouTube .
Follow me on my Instagram account @animann for more material on the integration journey and subscribe to my monthly reflections on Begin Again.CHAPTER MARKERS
00:31 The Impact of Trauma on Faith
02:14 Reasons to Learn About Spiritual Abuse
03:58 The Systemic Nature of Spiritual Abuse
05:25 Introducing a Valuable Resource
06:56 Personal Reflections and Endorsements
08:14 How to Join the Workshop
08:40 Final Thoughts and Farewell
TRANSCRIPT
Available here.
REFLECTION PROMPT
What do you know about spiritual abuse in your own life? Can you think of any spiritual experiences where you had felt like an important boundary was violated but you could not name what it was?

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Link to Register for Spiritual Abuse Workshop: https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/spiritual-abuse-workshop-7b6

Read Paul Fahey’s article on Spiritual Abuse in the Catholic Church: https://wherepeteris.com/resources/the-place-where-you-stand-is-holy-ground/

Watch this recording on YouTube .
Follow me on my Instagram account @animann for more material on the integration journey and subscribe to my monthly reflections on Begin Again.CHAPTER MARKERS
00:31 The Impact of Trauma on Faith
02:14 Reasons to Learn About Spiritual Abuse
03:58 The Systemic Nature of Spiritual Abuse
05:25 Introducing a Valuable Resource
06:56 Personal Reflections and Endorsements
08:14 How to Join the Workshop
08:40 Final Thoughts and Farewell
TRANSCRIPT
Available here.
REFLECTION PROMPT
What do you know about spiritual abuse in your own life? Can you think of any spiritual experiences where you had felt like an important boundary was violated but you could not name what it was?

Support the show

Previous Episode

How Does God Heal Complex Trauma?

Episode 142
In this episode, I delve into an intriguing question posed by one of my listeners: Can healing of complex trauma happen through a personal encounter with God where He reveals His true nature to us?

Building on a previous video that discussed how healing complex trauma transforms our image of God, I explore the multidimensional aspects of such healing. I share insights from my personal faith journey, emphasising that while direct, mystical experiences with God can indeed be a significant part of healing, they are only one facet.

I discuss the importance of healing through safe relationships with other creatures, including pets, and the crucial process of repairing our relationship with ourselves. This episode highlights the interconnectedness of our relationships with God, ourselves, and others in the journey towards holistic healing from complex trauma.

Watch this recording on YouTube.
Follow me on my Instagram account @animann for more material on the integration journey and subscribe to my monthly reflections on Begin Again.CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Introduction
01:04 Context
03:28 Viewer's Question
05:33 Pre-Response Notes on Interdisciplinary Perspective and Complex Trauma
09:12 Short Response: One Dimension of Healing
10:40 Extended Response: Other Dimensions of Healing
14:31 What Healing Is
17:33 Healing Through Direct Encounters with God
18:35 Healing Through Safe Relationships with Creation
22:24 Healing the Relationship with Oneself
24:02 Impact of Complex Trauma on the Relationship with Self, Prayer, and Trust
29:16 How A Broken Relationship with Self Impacts Relationship with God
35:25 God's Presence, and Interconnectedness in the Dimensions of Healing
38:52 Response Summary
39:24 Concluding Thoughts
40:40 Podcast Plans and Updates
TRANSCRIPT
Available here.
REFLECTION PROMPT
Have you experienced God revealing his loving nature to you in a direct, unmediated encounter before? Have you experienced God loving you through a safe and loving relationship with another person or creature? Have you experienced how healing your relationship with yourself has deepened your ability to connect with others?

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Next Episode

When You Harm Others In Spite of Your Best Intentions

Episode 144
In this episode, I share a deeply personal story about the painful moment when I realized that having faith and spiritual practices alone couldn't save me from the dysfunctional patterns in my life.
I discuss the inadvertent impact of unconscious complex trauma, the harm of spiritual abuse, and the significance of human integration in the healing journey. This reflection highlights the importance of seeking broader resources beyond faith practices in the journey toward wholeness in healing. This may include developing insight on psychological and family dynamics. I hope this sharing makes you feel less alone and provides hope on your path to becoming more integrated and whole.
In the previous episode, I introduced an invaluable workshop presented by Paul Fahey, focusing on recognising, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic context. Join me in exploring this significant resource—check the show notes for more information and a link to the workshop.
Link to Register for Spiritual Abuse Workshop.
Read Paul Fahey’s article on Spiritual Abuse in the Catholic Church.
Watch this recording on YouTube.
Follow me on my Instagram account @animann for more material on the integration journey and subscribe to my monthly reflections on Begin Again.
CHAPTER MARKERS
[00:00:36] Lack of Awareness and Spiritually Abusive Behaviours
[00:01:23] Personal Story on Spiritual Abuse
[00:02:27] Gaps in Human Formation and Integration
[00:06:07] Impact of Gaps in Integration: Poor Boundaries
[00:07:38] Impact of Gaps in Integration: Insecurities and Burnout
[00:10:15] Impact of Gaps in Integration: Performing and Pushing for Perfection
[00:12:13] The Wake-Up Call that I Had Harmed Others
[00:14:12] On Realizing that I Had Been Spiritually Abusive
[00:15:45] Trauma and Toxic Shame
[00:17:44] 'Waking Up' to the Integration Journey
[00:19:17] Acknowledging Our Context with Compassion
[00:24:52] Embodied Faith
[00:28:56] Encouragement for Listeners
[00:31:14] Conclusion and Final Thoughts
TRANSCRIPT
Available here.
REFLECTION PROMPT
Have you had an encounter or experience where you realised that you were harming someone when you were only intending to love them to the best of your ability? How did you respond to that realisation?

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Becoming Me - Learn About Spiritual Abuse in a Catholic Setting (Resource Sharing)

Transcript

Hello everyone. Happy new year. I just wanted to pop on briefly to share a time sensitive resource with you.
Now, if you are on the inner, healing journey and you are learning about trauma and how it impacts your relationship with God. One of the most important topics to learn about is spiritual abuse. It's also probably one of the heaviest topics that we could learn about.
[00:31] The Impact of Trauma on Faith
Okay, so all kinds of trauma can obscure the face of Go