In major rewrite of church law, Pope Francis aims for clearer penalties for sex abuse offenders

The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Francis has signed off on a rewrite of the universal Catholic Church's internal penal system, updating a version in place since the 1980s and laying out clearer penalties for the sexual abuse of minors.

The changes, years in the making, are in part a response to the church’s raft of abuse and financial scandals — which have often been magnified by secretive, highly subjective decision-making about how and whether to apply punishments.

Pope Francis, in a letter accompanying the revisions, said the laws are intended to be clearer...