VATICAN CITY
BBC News
Pope Francis has strengthened laws on child abuse that apply to clerics and lay people working in the Vatican.
The papal decree broadens the definition on crimes against minors to include sexual abuse of children.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis said that dealing with sex abuse was vital to the Church’s credibility.
The decree also increases the Vatican’s international co-operation in combating crimes, and raises penalties for those who leak official papers.
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