International Conference "Behind the Veil"

Behind the Veil. Analyzing the Hidden Patterns of Spiritual and Sexual Abuse among Catholic Women Religious  

University of Regensburg   

When? 26–29 June 2025 | Start: 16:30 on 26 June | End: 13:30 on 29 June 

Where? Großer Sitzungssaal PT 3.0.79 | University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053 Regensburg 

Concept and organization: Philippa Haase, Barbara Haslbeck, Magdalena Hürten, Judith König and Ute Leimgruber 

Registration:  Please complete this form by 30 April if you are not part of the conference programme, but would like to attend the conference. If you are interested in individual lectures, please send an e-mail to [email protected] 

Preliminary programme outline below 

Conference Abstract 

Gendered violence in religious communities has been identified as a global problem through multiple public inquiries over the last 20 years – but was ignored for a long time. Recently, attention to the experiences of CWR has identified a significant level of sexual and spiritual abuse, with CWR as both victims and perpetrators of abuse. The conference will address the hidden patterns of abuse by discussing the phenomenon of spiritual and sexual abuse of CWRs from an academic perspective – a first for the world – and will bring together scholars from multiple disciplines. The panels will address themes including CWRs as victims and perpetrators, spiritual abuse as well as systemic factors.   

The first panel will deal with the circumstances under which abuse of CWRs can be discussed at all and will begin with a journalistic and activist approach to the topic. The second panel presents the results of two in-depth empirical studies in which CWRs were asked about their experiences with sexual abuse within religious communities in Africa and Germany. The third panel will discuss issues related to religious and theological traditions and gender aspects and will particularly focus on the topic of spiritual abuse. The fourth panel will discuss vulnerability and vulnerabilities in the communities with a systemic approach. One of the highlights of the conference will be the World Café in the fifth panel, in which all continents will be represented. The sixth panel will address the issue of colonialism, a blind spot thus far, and then turn its attention to topics for future research. 

Programme 

Thursday, 26 June 2025  

 16:30 Arrival at the university and registration 

17:00 Dinner (self-service buffet) 

18:00 Opening: Ute Leimgruber (Regensburg)  

18:30 Panel 1 | Speaking, Listening, Believing  

Chair: Magdalena Hürten (Regensburg)  

• Federica Tourn (Torino) | The Rupnik case. Experience of a Journalist 

• Sr Philippa Haase (Regensburg) | Lifting the Veil of Silence. Public Speaking about CWR Abuse 

• Sr Sophia Weixler (Tübingen) | Disclosure Experiences 

Friday, 27 June 2025  

9:00 Panel 2 | Sexual Abuse of Catholic Women Religious (CWR) 

Chair: Ute Leimgruber (Regensburg)   

• Sr Mary Lembo (Rome) and Barbara Haslbeck (Regensburg) | Victims, Perpetrators and (Non)consensual Relationships  

11:00 Coffee break (30 min.) 

11:30 Hildegund Keul (Würzburg) | Introduction into the Concept of Vulnerability, Vulnerance and Resilience 

12:00 Panel discussion | Sexual Abuse of Catholic Women Religious (CWR) and the system of Vulnerability, Vulnerance and Resilience

• Sr Mary Lembo (Rome) 

• Barbara Haslbeck (Regensburg) 

• Hildegund Keul (Würzburg) 

13:00 Lunch 

14:00 Panel 3 | Religious Faith, Theological Traditions and Gender Aspects 

Chair: Judith König (Regensburg)  

• Monika Białkowska (Poznań) | ‘God's Will’ as a Tool of Enslavement 

• Rocio Figueroa (Auckland), Sr Catherine Shirima (Bloemfontein), Lisa Spriggens (Auckland) and David Tombs (Otago) | Spirituality, Resilience, and Abuse: Lessons from the Kuibuka Program 

16:30 Coffee break (30 min.) 

• Kathleen McPhillips (Newcastle), Tracy McEwan (Newcastle); Ute Leimgruber (Regensburg), Magdalena Hürten (Regensburg) | Planning a Global Survey on Catholic Women Religious GSCWR 

19:30 Dinner in Regensburg 

Graphic Recording: Ines Schaffranek (Hamburg)  

Saturday, 28 June 2025  

9:00 Panel 4 | Vulnerability, Vulnerance and Resilience in Religious Communities: A Systemic Approach   
Chair: Regina Heyder (Mainz) 

• Judith Könemann (Münster) and Juliana Osterholz (Münster) | "Don't you think you need an environment that holds you close and leads you to God?" Emergence and Development of Spiritual Abuse – Analysis of a Nun as a Spiritual Leader 

 10:30 Coffee break (30 min.)

• Sr Kudzai Mutsure (Harare) and Sr Sarudzai Mutero (Bulawayo) | Protecting the Sisters. An Example from the Dominican Sisters in Zimbabwe 

• Judith König (Regensburg) | Response to Sr Kudzai Mutsure (Harare) and Sr Sarudzai Mutero (Bulawayo)

12:30 Panel discussion | Vulnerability, Vulnerance and Resilience in Religious Communities

• Judith Könemann (Münster)  

• Juliana Osterholz (Münster) 

• Sr Kudzai Mutsure (Harare)  

• Sr Sarudzai Mutero (Bulawayo) 

• Judith König (Regensburg) 

13:00 Lunch 

14:00 Panel 5 | Globally Interconnected and Uniquely Different – Sexual and Spiritual Abuse of Catholic Women Religious (CWR) as an International Phenomenon 

World Café   (ca 15:30 Coffee break)

Chair: Barbara Haslbeck (Regensburg) 

• Kathleen McPhillips (Newcastle) and Tracy McEwan (Newcastle) | Oceania 

• Stella Matutina (Mindanao) | Asia  

• Monika Białkowska (Poznań) and Rita Perintfalvi (Budapest) | Eastern Europe   

• Ana Lourdes Suárez (Buenos Aires) and Véronique Lecaros (Lima) | Southern America 

• Lucy Huh (Los Angeles) and Terrence McKiernan (Boston) | Northern America 

• Sr Rosemary Ukata (Abuja) and Sr Kudzai Mutsure (Harare) and Sr Sarudzai Mutero (Bulawayo) |  Africa 

Sunday, 29 June 2025  

9:00 Panel 6 | Academic Gaps and Future Research

Chair: Katharina Karl (Eichstätt)

• Ana Lourdes Suárez (Buenos Aires) and Véronique Lecaros (Lima) | CWRs as State Subsidiaries in Latin America: Analyzing Their Legacy and Present Through a Decolonial Lens

• Magdalena Hürten (Regensburg) and Thomas Schmidt (Regensburg) | From Epistemic Injustice to Epistemic Awareness 

 10:45 Coffee break (30 min.) 

• Kathleen McPhillips (Newcastle), Tracy McEwan (Newcastle); Ute Leimgruber (Regensburg), Magdalena Hürten (Regensburg) | Future research: Global Survey on Catholic Women Religious GSCWR 

12:00 Concluding Discussion  

Chair: Ute Leimgruber (Regensburg) 

13:00 End (optional lunch buffet)