The Vatican is establishing a study group to more clearly define the crime of “spiritual abuse” in Church law. It follows a swath of scandals involving founders of religious orders and institutions along with other charismatic individuals who have committed abuse under the guise of false spiritual and mystical experiences.
Despite the recent revision of the Vatican’s penal code, which includes broader provisions for laypeople and lay founders accused of abuse, there is still no classified crime for this kind of more spiritual abuse – involving less tangible emotional and psychological manipulation – leaving what many canonical experts have described as a legal lacuna in Church law.
