Question:

Dear brother: Could you inform me about hypnotism? To what extent is it permitted or accepted? Please give me your pertinent comments. Blessings.

Answer:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Father Antonio Peinador, in his Professional Morality, n. 613-614 (B.A.C., Madrid 1962), states that in hypnotism there is a danger that, if repeated too frequently, it may produce organic and mental weakness with nervous fatigue and psychological impotence, which can unfavorably influence the moral order of subsequent conduct. Furthermore, the fact that the hypnotized subject remains subject to the will of the hypnotist carries the drawback of possible outrages or attempts thereof, on the part of the doctor or disinterested third parties.

This being assumed, one can conclude regarding hypnotism:

• It is permitted to employ it for therapeutic purposes, provided that the hypnotist is a person versed in clinical psychology.

• It is also licit to hypnotize for experimental and scientific purposes, if it is done with the consent of the hypnotized subject, who should not undergo it habitually, and if during the sessions everything that could cause scandal on the part of the doctor or that might in any way entail a danger of immorality is avoided.

• For the sole purpose of profit or recreation, hypnotic practices should not be tolerated, whether performed habitually on the same person or on various individuals. This does not mean that in every case it must be disapproved as a grave sin; it will be so when, there being no other motive than pure curiosity, together with the desire for profit, there are serious dangers of notable harm to the hypnotized subjects or to those attending the hypnotic session.

• Even in the case of an accused person, it is not licit to use hypnotic sleep for the purpose of exploring the subject’s secrets against their will. It would be licit, even assuming the subject’s refusal to be hypnotized, if one intended only to ascertain the degree of suggestibility or capacity to be hypnotized, when they have stated that they committed a crime in that state.
• In judicial practice, it will be licit to hypnotize witnesses with their consent.

It is worth noting that, according to the assertion of experts and based on experience, it is unlikely that a suggestible person will follow the hypnotist’s orders when they are in opposition to their moral conscience. The psychic conflict that arises from the opposition between the command and the subject’s conscience causes them to awaken from the hypnosis.

Thus far Peinador.

Fr. Miguel A. Fuentes, IVE

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