Pope Francis has approved new norms for the handling of the most serious ecclesiastical crimes.

The “Norms on the Delicts Reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” promulgated on December 7, update the rules that were issued by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and amended by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, for the handling of crimes such as sexual abuse and abuses of the confessional.

The new norms do not define new crimes, but incoporate rules that have been added in recent papal documents, and allow for streamlined handling of some offenses.