Pope Francis on Tuesday modified church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes.
The new provisions, released on June 1 after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised criminal law section of the Vatican’s Code of Canon Law, the in-house legal system that covers the 1.3-billion-strong Catholic Church.
The most significant changes are contained in two articles, 1395 and 1398, which aim to address major problems and shortcomings in the church’s handling of sexual abuse.
The law recognizes that adults, too, can be victimized by priests who abuse their authority, and said that laypeople in church offices can be punished for abusing minors as well as adults.
Sexual abuse of minors was put under a new section titled "Offences Against Human Life, Dignity and Liberty," instead of the previously vague "Crimes Against Special Obligations". That section was expanded to include new crimes such as "grooming" minors or vulnerable adults for sexual abuse and possessing child pornography.
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