Mike Lewis is the founding managing editor of Where Peter Is. In addition to his work for the site, his writing has appeared in America Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, US Catholic, The Irish Catholic, Catholic Outlook, The Synodal Times, and other Catholic publications. He has been quoted in The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New York Post, and other mainstream outlets on Catholic affairs. He previously co-hosted the Field Hospital podcast with Jeannie Gaffigan and The Debrief podcast. Before founding Where Peter Is, he worked in communications at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Climate Covenant. He is married with four children.

LINKS:

Fr. Ripperger Steps Back: Denver Restricted Him in 2025
https://wherepeteris.com/fr-ripperger-steps-back-denver-restricted-him-in-2025/

Fr. Ripperger’s Bizarre and Dangerous Views on Women
https://wherepeteris.com/fr-rippergers-bizarre-and-dangerous-views-on-women-part-1/

Fr. Ripperger’s Disturbing and Harmful Views on Marriage
https://wherepeteris.com/fr-rippergers-disturbing-and-harmful-views-on-marriage/

The bizarre and dangerous views of a celebrity exorcist
https://wherepeteris.com/the-bizarre-and-dangerous-views-of-a-celebrity-exorcist/

ABOUT THIRD SPACE: Third Space is the podcast for those who see the beauty of Catholicism, as well as the ugliness, who have experienced real harm AND real grace in the Church. Every episode I will have conversations with guests about the good and the bad in the Church—avoiding easy answers or black & white fundamentalism—in order to hold on to all that is true.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW: Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. All of your support directly helps my family and allows me to continue working on projects like this podcast, the newsletter, as well as resources about spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

www.catholicthirdspace.com

LIVING SOLIDARITY: Living Solidarity upholds the infinite dignity of every person by addressing the reality of spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Catholic Church. Living Solidarity helps to build a Church of integrity and solidarity by accompanying survivors of spiritual abuse with trauma-informed life coaching; equipping Church leaders and institutions to confront systemic harm; and creating resources grounded in psychological research and the Church’s Social Teaching. Visit livingsolidarity.com to learn more, to connect with Paul, to schedule individual life coaching, or to invite Paul to speak or consult with your community, parish, seminary, or diocese.

ABOUT THE HOST: Paul Fahey is currently a professional counselor, retreat leader, and the host of the Third Space podcast. He provides counseling for those who have been spiritually abused and creates resources for Church leaders to better safeguard their communities against all forms of abuse. He previously worked for eight years as the Director of Religious Education at a Catholic parish. Paul Fahey lives in Michigan with his wife, Kristina, and their five kids.

Articles we referenced:

Pope Leo XIV Opening Speech
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/october/documents/20261007-anniversario-amoris-laetitia.html

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David’s address
https://www.amorislaetitia.va/content/dam/amorislaetitia/12-october/al-david-eng-original.pdf

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe’s address
https://www.amorislaetitia.va/content/dam/amorislaetitia/9-october/al-costelloe-eng-original.pdf

Bishop Erik Varden’s "Laetitiae Amor” article
https://coramfratribus.com/life-illumined/laetitiae-amor/

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My next Spiritual Abuse Workshop begins a week from Monday. There’s only a few spots left. If you’re interested in attending, now is the time to register!

Register Here!

I’m a professional counselor who previously worked for eight years as the Director of Religious Education at a Catholic parish. I accompany those who have been spiritually abused and create resources for Church leaders to better safeguard their communities against abuse.

Join me for an online workshop focused on recognizing, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

This workshop is for:

• Individuals trying to better understand their experiences of spiritual abuse in the Church

• Clergy and lay leaders interested in safeguarding their communities from spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience

• Therapists or spiritual directors 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

• Better understand and respond to abusive systems in the Church

Details:

This is five-part live workshop that will be held virtually on Mondays, 7:00-9:00pm (EST) | 10/26, 11/2, 11/9,11/16, 11/23.

The group will have between 5 and 15 participants and space will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Your space in the workshop will not be held until payment is received.

Register Here!

Price:

This five-week workshop is $400.

Making this workshop available to anyone who can benefit from it is important to me, but it’s also an essential part of my family’s income. I don’t want inability to pay to be obstacle for you to participate. So if you can’t pay the full $400, please pay what you can (even if it’s only $10). And if you can pay more than $400, please consider giving more to offset the cost.

And if you can’t attend this workshop, but you are grateful that resources like this exist, please consider financially supporting it.

How to Pay:

1. Pay $400 with a credit card here: https://buy.stripe.com/fZu8wOaEy48ogpU8XZdIA01

2. Send a custom amount via PayPal (paul@faheycounseling.com) or Venmo (@catholicthirdspace)

Register Here!

I’m looking forward to having you in the workshop!

Anthony Annett is an economist and author whose work sits at the intersection of political economy, democracy, and moral philosophy. He spent two decades at the International Monetary Fund, including as speechwriter to two Managing Directors. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University and a B.A. and an M.Litt from Trinity College Dublin. He is also a member of the College of Fellows of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. He helped organize Ethics in Action — an initiative that met regularly at the Vatican and brought together representatives of the major world religions alongside economists, development experts, philosophers, business and labor leaders, philanthropists, and activists to formulate a shared moral framework for addressing major global problems. He is the author of Cathonomics: How Catholic Tradition Can Create a More Just Economy (Georgetown University Press, 2022) and Bread and Ballots: Why Democracy Needs Economic Justice to Thrive (forthcoming, Georgetown University Press, 2027). He is also a co-editor of Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development (Columbia University Press, 2022) and a contributor to The Age of Fraternity: An Economy for the Common Good (forthcoming).

Also, I just opened up registration for my next spiritual abuse workshop. This is an online workshop focused on recognizing, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

This workshop is for:

• Individuals trying to better understand their experiences of spiritual abuse in the Church

• Clergy and lay leaders interested in safeguarding their communities from spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience

• Therapists or spiritual directors 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

• Better understand and respond to abusive systems in the Church

This is a live online workshop that meets in a small group over the course of five weeks, beginning on October 26.

Visit here for more details:

https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/spiritual-abuse-workshop-november

LINKS:

The Moral Revolution Podcast
https://moralrevolution.substack.com

Tony’s book: Cathonomics: How Catholic Tradition Can Create a More Just Economy
https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Cathonomics

Pope Francis Generation episode with Tony
https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/interview-with-tony-annett-a-more

ABOUT THIRD SPACE: Third Space is the podcast for those who see the beauty of Catholicism, as well as the ugliness, who have experienced real harm AND real grace in the Church. Every episode I will have conversations with guests about the good and the bad in the Church—avoiding easy answers or black & white fundamentalism—in order to hold on to all that is true.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW: Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. All of your support directly helps my family and allows me to continue working on projects like this podcast, the newsletter, as well as resources about spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

www.catholicthirdspace.com

LIVING SOLIDARITY: Living Solidarity upholds the infinite dignity of every person by addressing the reality of spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Catholic Church. Living Solidarity helps to build a Church of integrity and solidarity by accompanying survivors of spiritual abuse with trauma-informed life coaching; equipping Church leaders and institutions to confront systemic harm; and creating resources grounded in psychological research and the Church’s Social Teaching. Visit livingsolidarity.com to learn more, to connect with Paul, to schedule individual life coaching, or to invite Paul to speak or consult with your community, parish, seminary, or diocese.

ABOUT THE HOST: Paul Fahey is currently a professional counselor, retreat leader, and the host of the Third Space podcast. He provides counseling for those who have been spiritually abused and creates resources for Church leaders to better safeguard their communities against all forms of abuse. He previously worked for eight years as the Director of Religious Education at a Catholic parish. Paul Fahey lives in Michigan with his wife, Kristina, and their five kids.

One of my favorite parts—one of the greatest privileges—of the work that I do are the live spiritual abuse workshops that I'm able to lead.

In the past two and a half years now since I started leading them, probably close to 200 people have been through them. It's been a wide range of people, a wide diversity of ages, of professions, from several different countries. I've had many different vocations. And it's been such an honor to meet and briefly, in the five weeks of a workshop, get to know the people who've attended.

The workshop is one of my favorite things in part because I'm able to show up as a teacher and I love teaching. I get to show up as a catechist. I get to speak about the Church's teaching on human dignity and freedom and conscience And I get to show up as one who accompanies.

The best part about the workshop is being able to hear people's stories. Hear people wrestle with watch people wrestle with some really challenging things. See people make connections, the experience of finally having words to describe an experience, words that have been elusive for so long for an experience so painful or, or so important in their life. Seeing people and sharing with each other realize that they're not alone in what they've experienced, that there are other people who know what that's like, and can relate to them in that way.

In these workshops, I've worked with church leaders who, lay and religious and ordained who really care about their communities and the spaces that they're in and want to protect them from spiritual coercion and abuse of conscience. And seeing how often that desire to safeguard comes from their own experiences of spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in their past.

It's a really heavy topic. Spiritual abuse is a really heavy topic to talk about. And yet there is something deeply good about being able to talk about it in a space with others. With people who are striving to engage with reality as it is, even when that reality is painful. Who are striving to understand their family, the Church, the People of God, their brothers and sisters in the Church better, even when that family has failed and continues to fail in really terrible ways.

Leading this workshop has brought me so much life because I've been able to encounter people who want to engage with what's true. I've encountered people with such tremendous courage to face what's true. I've encountered people who have been willing to grieve and to get angry over the injustices that they've experienced and that others have experienced in the Church. I've encountered Christ through the conversations and relationships from these workshops.

If you're interested in understanding some of your past experiences of spiritual abuse, abuse of conscience, of coercion. If you are a leader in the Church and want to better safeguard your community against spiritual coercion. If you're a parent who wants to raise your kids with freer consciences than what you were raised with from the Catholic or Christian culture you were in or the family of origin you came from. If you're a mental health professional or a spiritual director who accompanies others who've experienced spiritual abuse, and you wan to be more equipped to help them and support them. This workshop may be a great resource, a great opportunity for you.

If this is something you're interested in participating in, my next round of workshops begins on October 26th and is going to run for five consecutive Mondays from 7:00 to 9:00 in the evening, Eastern Time.

There's still a few spots available You can visit catholicthirdspace.com and pinned at the top is more information about the workshop I'd love if you could join me.

 In navigating my own experiences of abuse and betrayal in and by the Church—and accompanying others as they navigate these experiences and the impact of them— there's an image that's been helpful that I wanna share. And it's a way of hearing Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

If you haven't heard of Plato's Allegory of the Cave that's fine (And I will probably butcher it here, so go look it up online). In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato's trying to make a case for his philosophy of reality as we experience it versus the realm of the, the forms, of things that are more real more true. And he paints this image of how we are like people trapped in a cave, and there's light at the front of the cave shining in, and we don't see reality in and of itself. We see shadow puppets cast on the wall. We see shadows of trees and shadows of dogs.

Say someone is unchained from their tether in the cave and dragged out. He comments on this process of being unchained, and you're looking at the light and being dragged out of the cave, as extremely painful, right? Our eyes burn as we look at the light directly. We get all scraped up as we are dragged out of the cave. And we're dragged out into the real world and see things as they are. We see dogs and we see trees, not just shadow puppets of them. And we see the sun and our eyes hurt. The things are so real.

I think of C.S. Lewis in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where as they get closer to Aslan's land, like, the water becomes more wet, the things become more real, and they're sharp. It's painful.

My experience of abuse and betrayal in the church, and so many other people's experiences, led to what could be called a deconstruction, a questioning of reality as we knew it, a questioning of God, a questioning of the Church. And this process of betrayal and moral injury is extremely painful. People we once trusted, we don't trust anymore. Our own sense of God that we once, that we once relied on for so much, we don't feel like we can rely on anymore.

And in this process, though, we come to see things. We come to see the reality of the Church more for what it is And it's not a pretty reality. What's more true about the Church are the systemic injustice, the structures of abuse and cover-up and betrayal. The preferential option for the institution, for self-protection, over and above a preferential option for the vulnerable and the marginalized. We see not just human failure, but some of the worst of human evil instantiated in cultures and structures in the Church, and it's ugly.

Not all of it's ugly. Some of the most beautiful parts of this seeing reality more as it is, for me, has come from being able to encounter Christ in the marginalized, in the vulnerable. And I've experienced Christ in ways in my relationships with them that…I've had experiences of Christ that I've never had before, that have been life-changing for me. And I wouldn't wanna go back.

I mean, maybe on some days, like there's the thought of the pleasant fiction of, you know, the Church really isn't that bad. Seems nice on some days. But in reality, I couldn't go back because I know that that's a fiction now.

And then also trying to go back into the cave to help others see things as they are is also a really painful experience. Plato talks about how the enlightened person who went outside comes back into the cave to try and rescue people, and they're perceived as an idiot or treated with violence, right? They become a martyr. I think of Jesus' words that a prophet is not welcomed in his own town, right?

Coming back to share with others, to try and unchain others from the fiction that they see. To say, "No, here's how it really is. There's more. It's painful to see, but it's also more real and more true. Don't you want what is more real and more true?" And the reality is that a lot of people don't or aren't able to see what is more real and true yet. That the painful process of getting there is maybe too much for them, and they refuse. And that just furthers the feelings of isolation for survivors

If you find yourself standing outside the cave looking at things that are more real, and they're painful to look at. Maybe see if you can find others standing out there with you. People who you may not have…people you may have misjudged in the past, but who see things more as they are.

Find people who can hold space for both the good you've experienced and the ugliness and the harm it is more lonely outside the cave. But you are not alone outside the cave.

We discussed the Church’s relationship with the world as well as how the Church too often squanders its credibility—and there its witness—to proclaim the common good, human dignity, and, ultimately, the Gospel.

Become a paid subscriber to Third Space here: https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Pope Leo Weekly here:
https://popeleoweekly.substack.com/subscribe

It’s also a document that I often cite in my work to address spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Church. It has really grieved me how much this document is dismissed and maligned by so many Catholics in the US.

So I’m encouraged that Leo is putting it back into the spotlight as a normative teaching for the Church.

This live video has four parts

1. Overview of the upcoming meeting on Amoris Laetitia

2. Look at the four sections of Amoris that I cite in my work addressing spiritual abuse

3. The Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics controversy

4. Time for Questions and Response

Thank you to everyone who joined the live discussion!

You see all my notes and citations here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cLs2NXijlhM8rHzFYOaWi98OBsoSyxI-/view?usp=sharing

This seemed like a fitting occasion for me to talk about why I love Amoris Laetitia so much. I’ll be going live at 12:30pm (EST) on Monday.

Amoris was a pivotal document for me in my own deconstruction away from a rigid and transactional faith to a faith grounded on the gratuitous love of God. It’s also a document that I go back to often in my work to address spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Church.

Join the live Substack Live on Monday, bring your questions, and let’s discuss this document.

https://open.substack.com/live-stream/394712?utm_source=live-stream-scheduled-upsell

 I want to share a tension that I see in the Church—the whole body of Christ, from laypeople to priests to bishops to the pope—in the way we talk about the poor, the marginalized, and the vulnerable—including survivors—in the Church.

Last week, Pope Leo visited France, and during his visit, he visited with several survivors of sexual abuse in the church. And the way that this was covered, or the way that I saw this covered, in Catholic media was: the Pope is doing this thing, he's making this gesture that isn't just a gesture, he's meeting and listening to survivors of abuse in the Church. But it's framed as he's doing something for them in this meeting.

Now, certainly there's a layer of truth in that, but I think we need to see and frame these types of events differently and have different goals in mind with them even.

In Pope Leo's apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, that came out last fall, he talks about the poor. And in the category of poor he includes the vulnerable and the marginalized, and certainly survivors of abuse in the Church would be included in that. And he talks about how the poor are not simply objects of charity or objects of pity, but subjects in and of themselves, subjects in their own right, with their own culture. He says that we must be taught by the poor, evangelized by the poor, that from their experiences of being vulnerable and being marginalized and material poverty, that the poor have something to teach the Church.

He really gives this impression that God has something to give to the Church. And he says throughout that it's only through a preferential option for the poor that the Church will experience renewal. Like, survivors in the Church are the way by which the Church will find renewal. Not in an objectification way, but in a way of recognizing that whether a survivor of abuse in the Church is practicing or not, or identifies as Catholic or not, they are a brother or sister. God is doing good in their life, and God has something that the Church needs. The Church needs to learn from survivors and be evangelized by them.

Often in discussion about abuse in the Church, the good leaders, the good priests will recognize that they have a role in healing, and they do, and there's truth in that. But what's often missed is the next step, which is recognizing that the leaders in the Church, and everyone in the Church, the whole body of Christ, needs to learn from, needs to be healed by, survivors.

I think of the parable of the lost sheep. I've heard it framed that priests and leaders in the Church need to be like Christ towards survivors who goes out in search of the lost sheep. I don't think that framing is helpful or true. And I think it furthers a paternalistic, clericalist, white knight type of mindset.

I think rather we need to recognize that we're the lost sheep. We've participated in structures of sin that have caused so much harm to people in the Church. And Christ needs to find me.

Christ needs to find me through the vulnerable and the marginalized.

Christ needs to find me through precisely the people that I've participated in marginalizing in the Church.

I don't come in as a white knight. I come in as a lost sheep who needs to be found.

Lindsay Younce Tsohantaridis was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest as an evangelical Quaker. At 19, she became Catholic then earned a BA in English and Masters in Teaching from George Fox University. She worked briefly as an actress on stage and film, portraying St Therese of Lisieux in the independent Catholic film Therese, then taught high school English and Drama. She currently lives in Steubenville, Ohio with her husband and seven children, and has scribbled off to the side for the past twenty years, submitting poetry and non-fiction here and there before starting her Substack.

Also, I just opened up registration for my next spiritual abuse workshop. This is an online workshop focused on recognizing, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

This workshop is for:

• Individuals trying to better understand their experiences of spiritual abuse in the Church

• Clergy and lay leaders interested in safeguarding their communities from spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience

• Therapists or spiritual directors 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

• Better understand and respond to abusive systems in the Church

This is a live online workshop that meets in a small group over the course of five weeks, beginning on October 26.

Visit for here more details:

https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/spiritual-abuse-workshop-november

LINKS:

A Proverbial Naked Bike Ride Through Steubenville, Ohio (Part 1)
https://lindsaytso.substack.com/p/a-proverbial-naked-bike-ride-through

Lindsay’s Substack
https://substack.com/@lindsaytso

Spiritual Abuse Workshop
https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/spiritual-abuse-workshop-november

ABOUT THIRD SPACE: Third Space is the podcast for those who see the beauty of Catholicism, as well as the ugliness, who have experienced real harm AND real grace in the Church. Every episode I will have conversations with guests about the good and the bad in the Church—avoiding easy answers or black & white fundamentalism—in order to hold on to all that is true.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW: Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. All of your support directly helps my family and allows me to continue working on projects like this podcast, the newsletter, as well as resources about spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

www.catholicthirdspace.com

LIVING SOLIDARITY: Living Solidarity upholds the infinite dignity of every person by addressing the reality of spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Catholic Church. Living Solidarity helps to build a Church of integrity and solidarity by accompanying survivors of spiritual abuse with trauma-informed life coaching; equipping Church leaders and institutions to confront systemic harm; and creating resources grounded in psychological research and the Church’s Social Teaching. Visit livingsolidarity.com to learn more, to connect with Paul, to schedule individual life coaching, or to invite Paul to speak or consult with your community, parish, seminary, or diocese.

ABOUT THE HOST: Paul Fahey is currently a professional counselor, retreat leader, and the host of the Third Space podcast. He provides counseling for those who have been spiritually abused and creates resources for Church leaders to better safeguard their communities against all forms of abuse. He previously worked for eight years as the Director of Religious Education at a Catholic parish. Paul Fahey lives in Michigan with his wife, Kristina, and their five kids.

I want to highlight one element of this doctrinal note here, specifically, how its own internal inconsistency is a microcosm of a greater struggle happening in the Church as she “constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth” (Dei Verbum 8).

Before I get too far, I want to begin with a personal story. Several years ago, I resigned as the Director of Religious Education from my home parish. For nearly eight years I held that position working for a pastor who exhibited a lot of narcissistic behavior. His lying and bullying escalated through those years, culminating in him firing a colleague, telling the parish that she quit, publicly lying about me, and accusing me and the rest of the lay ministry staff of “grave sin” in the parish bulletin.

There’s a lot more that could be said about these events, but I want to focus on what happened after. Even though the diocese I was in at the time knew exactly what was going on, they chose not to remove the pastor or defend my reputation or the reputation of my colleagues. Several months later the pastor resigned for health reasons and the priest at a neighboring parish was our interim pastor for a year. After he came in, he met with and listened to me and all of the former staff and performed empathy, but he chose not to correct any of the lies that the previous pastor had written or say anything critical of his predecessor. He just wanted to move on.

And he wasn’t alone. Shortly after the new pastor started, he held a parish town hall meeting to address any questions parishioners had about the transition. When the time for open Q&A began, the questions were about why a Mass time changed and why the votive candles in our parish cost more than the candles at the neighboring parish. The community wanted to forget about the previous pastor and just move on.

It took me a couple of years to put into words why this part of that experience hurt as much as it did. Eventually, a friend shared an illustration that I deeply resonated with. It felt like a bomb had gone off in my parish and there was this huge flaming crater in the middle of the church. But everyone in the community, including the new pastor, just wanted to ignore it, walk around it, pretend it wasn’t there, and eventually forget it existed at all. It felt like there was this mass pretending that the bad thing didn’t really happen.

As I continued researching trauma and, more importantly, listening to survivors of abuse in the Church, I realized that the pain from silence and denial, and a deep longing for the truth to be told, was far from uncommon. The wider community’s move to pretend that nothing bad happened often feels like a refusal from others to listen to survivors’ experiences and engage with reality as it really is. Victims of abuse in the Church become the turd in the ecclesial punch bowl; their stories are an assault on the pleasant fiction that things in the Church aren’t that bad.

These experiences echoed what I would later come to read in Dr. Judith Herman’s book, Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice. She said that the “wounds of trauma” are not only caused by the abusers, but also by “the actions or inactions of bystanders—all those who are complicit in or who prefer not to know about the abuse or who blame the victims.” In fact, the community’s silence often causes “even deeper wounds” than the abuse itself. Herman said, “These wounds are part of the social ecology of violence, in which crimes against subordinated and marginalized people are rationalized, tolerated, or rendered invisible. If trauma originates in a fundamental injustice, then full healing must require repair through some measure of justice from the larger community.”

Herman goes on to say [emphasis in original], “The survivors whom I interviewed about their dreams of justice were in unanimous agreement on this first point: They wanted the truth to be known.”

In other words, a necessary step towards justice is truth telling. Forgetting and moving on, pretending that the bad thing never happened, perpetuates injustice. This is affirmed by Pope Leo in Magnifica Humanitas…

Read the rest at Where Peter Is:
https://wherepeteris.com/forgetting-the-past-is-not-justice/

Through the Scriptures, Tradition, liturgies, and devotions, people can encounter the living Christ and experience his love, healing, and freedom.

But what happens when the women and men in the Church who are tasked with teaching doctrine, preaching God’s word, or presiding over the sacraments, do so with carelessness or coercion? What harm is done when the place of healing becomes a source of harm?

I’m a professional counselor who previously worked for eight years as the Director of Religious Education at a Catholic parish. I accompany those who have been spiritually abused and create resources for Church leaders to better safeguard their communities against abuse.

Join me for an online workshop focused on recognizing, preventing, and responding to spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Register Here!

This workshop is for:

• Individuals trying to better understand their experiences of spiritual abuse in the Church

• Clergy and lay leaders interested in safeguarding their communities from spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience

• Therapists or spiritual directors 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

• Better understand and respond to abusive systems in the Church

Details:

This is five-part live workshop that will be held virtually on Mondays, 7:00-9:00pm (EST) | 10/26, 11/2, 11/9,11/16, 11/23.

The group will have between 5 and 15 participants and space will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Your space in the workshop will not be held until payment is received.

Register Here!

Price:

This five-week workshop is $400.

Making this workshop available to anyone who can benefit from it is important to me, but it’s also an essential part of my family’s income. I don’t want inability to pay to be obstacle for you to participate. So if you can’t pay the full $400, please pay what you can (even if it’s only $10). And if you can pay more than $400, please consider giving more to offset the cost.

And if you can’t attend this workshop, but you are grateful that resources like this exist, please consider financially supporting it.

How to Pay:

1. Pay $400 with a credit card here: https://buy.stripe.com/fZu8wOaEy48ogpU8XZdIA01

2. Send a custom amount via PayPal (paul@faheycounseling.com) or Venmo (@catholicthirdspace)

Register Here!

As God’s people enter the Promised Land, Moses presented the choice ahead of them: “I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live” (Deut 30:19).

Similarly, Pope Leo begins his first encyclical by presenting us with the choice we face today: “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together” (MH 1).

Stories about data centers, flock cameras, and rogue AI agents are filling more and more of my newsfeed. I read articles from AI Doomers predicting the end of humanity, and from AI Dreamers forecasting utopia. This feels like a pivotal moment in history. A pivotal enough moment for the pope to weigh in.

Like how his 19th century predecessor—Pope Leo XIII—issued the first social encyclical Rerum Novarum to address the “new things” of his generation, this spring, Pope Leo XIV gave us Magnifica Humanitas to help us navigate the present day. Specifically, the pope is helping us discern how to safeguard the human person in the age of AI. He goes on to say:

“Technology has the power to heal, connect, educate and protect our common home; but it can also divide, exclude and generate new forms of injustice. In the abstract, technology in and of itself is not a solution to humanity’s problems, just as it is not inherently evil. In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Therefore, the primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence” (MH 9).

I would like to invite you to read and discern Pope Leo’s guidance with me this October. I’m leading a four-week study group to read and discuss the landmark encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.

This group is for:

• Catechists

• Teachers

• Priests

• Parents

• Anyone trying to better understand what it means to live as a Christian in the modern world

This workshop will help you:

• Better understand the Kerygma and the Church’s social teaching

• Participate more in building the Kingdom of God in the age of artificial intelligence

• Apply the Church’s social teaching to your own life

• Have the skills and confidence to read and understand papal documents

In this study group, you will have:

• The freedom to participate as you want

• The opportunity to learn and grow within a small group

• A non-judgmental space that proclaims and invites, but never imposes

• The chance to ask and discuss any questions that you have

Details:

This is a four-part live study group that will be held virtually on Thursday, October 8, October 15, October 22, and October 29 at 7:30-9:00pm (EST).

The first meeting will include personal introductions and a brief catechesis from me about the encyclical and Catholic Social Teaching in general. The study group will be held in a seminar format where small group-discussion will be prioritized over lecture or formal presentations.

Sign Up Here!

Pricing:

This four-week study group is $250.

Making this group available to anyone who can benefit from it is important to me, but it’s also an essential part of my family’s income. I don’t want inability to pay to be obstacle for you to participate. So if you can’t pay the full $250, please pay what you can (even if it’s only $10). And if you can pay more than $250, please consider giving more to offset the cost.

And if you can’t attend this workshop, but you are grateful that resources like this exist, please consider financially supporting it.

How to Pay:

1. Send a custom payment via PayPal (paul@faheycounseling.com) or Venmo (@catholicthirdspace)

2. Or use your credit card to pay $250 here:
https://buy.stripe.com/00w9AS4ga0Wc7To3DFdIA05

I’m looking forward to having you in this group.

Sign Up Here!

I’ve been really enjoying their bonus episodes over the past few weeks, but I had honestly forgotten that I also recorded a bonus conversation with them months ago!

If you’re not already following the Sisters, now is a great time to start :)

Sisters of the Little Way

BONUS | Paul Fahey on Spiritual Abuse

In this bonus episode of Descent into Light, hosts Sister Danielle and Sister Theresa are joined by counselor Paul Fahey to unpack the subtle dynamics of spiritual abuse, abuse of power, and abuse of conscience in today's Church…

Listen now

a month ago · 6 likes · Sisters of the Little Way, Sr. Theresa Aletheia, Sr. Danielle Victoria, and Paul Fahey

This sort-of-impromptu video came from Timothy and I watching and discussing a couple of recent videos of Dominican priests ‘splaining about things they have no understanding of. The priests were exhibiting distilled clericalism, but the problem of clericalism in the Church extends far beyond our east coast friends in white habits.

Sources cited:

2024 Final Synod Document
https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/news/2024-10-26_final-document/ENG---Documento-finale.pdf

Final Report, Study Group 5: The Participation of Women in the Life and Leadership on the Church
https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/process/implementation/10workinggroups/final-reports/sg5/SG-5_ENG_Final-Report.pdf

Magnifica Humanitas
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html

La croix article
https://www.la-croix.com/religion/abus-spirituels-d-anciens-membres-de-communautes-demandent-au-pape-des-reponses-fortes-20260907

Dilexi Te
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html

I’ve been following Aimee and her work for over a decade now and have tremendous respect for her integrity living out a consistent life ethic. I interviewed her four years ago, during the second season of the Pope Francis Generation podcast, about her book: Rehumanize: A Vision to Secure Human Rights for All. It was a huge honor to present next to her on this panel.

I also want to thank Hunter for putting this event together and St. Monica’s parish in Kalamazoo, MI for hosting.

Two quick things before we jump into the episode.

First, if you like this discussion about Magnifica Humanitas and want to dive in more, I’m leading an online study group through October that will spend four weeks discussing this magnificent encyclical. Check out https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/magnifica-humanitas-study-group for more details.

Also, if you want me to come out to your parish to give a presentation or day-long conference about Catholic Social Teaching, Conscience, or spiritual abuse, I’d love to see you! You can also find more info about that at https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/i-can-present-in-person-too

Aimee Murphy is an author, speaker, and creator whose life itself exists at the intersection of communities often pitted against each other. Thus, she seeks to build bridges, breathe love and compassion into the tension, and draw people together across divides. She is the founder of the Consistent Life Ethic nonprofit Rehumanize International, a full-time caregiver for the first "snowflake baby" she and her husband adopted, and a soon-to-be-certified birth doula.

LINKS:

Pope Francis Generation interview with Aimee Murphy - A Consistent Life Ethic
https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/interview-with-aimee-murphy-a-consistent

Magnifica Humanitas Study Group
https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/magnifica-humanitas-study-group

Magnifica Humanitas
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html

Have me out to speak at your parish
https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/i-can-present-in-person-too

ABOUT THIRD SPACE: Third Space is the podcast for those who see the beauty of Catholicism, as well as the ugliness, who have experienced real harm AND real grace in the Church. Every episode I will have conversations with guests about the good and the bad in the Church—avoiding easy answers or black & white fundamentalism—in order to hold on to all that is true.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW: Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. All of your support directly helps my family and allows me to continue working on projects like this podcast, the newsletter, as well as resources about spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

www.catholicthirdspace.com

LIVING SOLIDARITY: Living Solidarity upholds the infinite dignity of every person by addressing the reality of spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in the Catholic Church. Living Solidarity helps to build a Church of integrity and solidarity by accompanying survivors of spiritual abuse with trauma-informed life coaching; equipping Church leaders and institutions to confront systemic harm; and creating resources grounded in psychological research and the Church’s Social Teaching. Visit livingsolidarity.com to learn more, to connect with Paul, to schedule individual life coaching, or to invite Paul to speak or consult with your community, parish, seminary, or diocese.

ABOUT THE HOST: Paul Fahey is currently a professional counselor, retreat leader, and the host of the Third Space podcast. He provides counseling for those who have been spiritually abused and creates resources for Church leaders to better safeguard their communities against all forms of abuse. He previously worked for eight years as the Director of Religious Education at a Catholic parish. Paul Fahey lives in Michigan with his wife, Kristina, and their five kids.

The reason for our trip was that I was invited by Our Lady of Nazareth parish in Roanoke to present a day-long conference about healthy ministry and spiritual abuse for all of the church staff in their deanery. There were over forty participants there including bookkeepers, deacons, front office staff, youth ministers, priests, and (my favorite) catechists.

While I’ve given presentations and workshops about spiritual abuse dozens of times, most of the time my audience self-selected to be there. That wasn’t the case for this group. This event was a professional development day that the staff were asked to attend. And it was a wonderful day! The participants were engaged with the presentations and the group discussions were lively. It was such a great time being with this group of ministers.

Most of my work, from my counseling to my workshops, is online. This allows people from all over the world to have access to these resources. But there’s something really wonderful about connecting and engaging with others in person.

I’d love to visit your parish to give a presentation or day-conference. See the poster below for the details!

Similarly, Pope Leo begins his first encyclical by presenting us with the choice we face today: “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together” (MH 1).

Stories about data centers, flock cameras, and rogue AI agents are filling more and more of my newsfeed. I read articles from AI Doomers predicting the end of humanity, and from AI Dreamers forecasting utopia. This feels like a pivotal moment in history. A pivotal enough moment for the pope to weigh in.

Like how his 19th century predecessor—Pope Leo XIII—issued the first social encyclical Rerum Novarum to address the “new things” of his generation, this spring, Pope Leo XIV gave us Magnifica Humanitas to help us navigate the present day. Specifically, the pope is helping us discern how to safeguard the human person in the age of AI. He goes on to say:

“Technology has the power to heal, connect, educate and protect our common home; but it can also divide, exclude and generate new forms of injustice. In the abstract, technology in and of itself is not a solution to humanity’s problems, just as it is not inherently evil. In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Therefore, the primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence” (MH 9).

I would like to invite you to read and discern Pope Leo’s guidance with me this October. I’m leading a four-week study group to read and discuss the landmark encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.

This group is for:

• Catechists

• Teachers

• Priests

• Parents

• Anyone trying to better understand what it means to live as a Christian in the modern world

This workshop will help you:

• Better understand the Kerygma and the Church’s social teaching

• Participate more in building the Kingdom of God in the age of artificial intelligence

• Apply the Church’s social teaching to your own life

• Have the skills and confidence to read and understand papal documents

In this study group, you will have:

• The freedom to participate as you want

• The opportunity to learn and grow within a small group

• A non-judgmental space that proclaims and invites, but never imposes

• The chance to ask and discuss any questions that you have

Details:

This is a four-part live study group that will be held virtually on Thursday, October 8, October 15, October 22, and October 29 at 7:30-9:00pm (EST).

The first meeting will include personal introductions and a brief catechesis from me about the encyclical and Catholic Social Teaching in general. The study group will be held in a seminar format where small group-discussion will be prioritized over lecture or formal presentations.

Sign Up Here!

Pricing:

This four-week study group is $250.

Making this group available to anyone who can benefit from it is important to me, but it’s also an essential part of my family’s income. I don’t want inability to pay to be obstacle for you to participate. So if you can’t pay the full $250, please pay what you can (even if it’s only $10). And if you can pay more than $250, please consider giving more to offset the cost.

And if you can’t attend this workshop, but you are grateful that resources like this exist, please consider financially supporting it.

How to Pay:

1. Send a custom payment via PayPal (paul@faheycounseling.com) or Venmo (@catholicthirdspace)

2. Or use your credit card to pay $250 here:
https://buy.stripe.com/00w9AS4ga0Wc7To3DFdIA05

I’m looking forward to having you in this group.

Sign Up Here!