VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis has changed Catholic Church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority. The revised criminal law section of the Vatican’s Code of Canon Law also says that lay people who hold church office, such as a Catholic school principal, can be sanctioned for sex abuse crimes. The new provisions were released Tuesday after 14 years of study. The most significant changes 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 lay people in church offices can be punished for abusing minors as well as adults.