Vatican City, Mar 26, 2019 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis amended canon law Tuesday to create a new mechanism for dismissing a religious man or woman who has deserted their community.

Under the new law, promulgated by the pope in an apostolic letter issued “motu proprio,” superiors can declare a member dismissed ipso facto if they have been illicitly absent from the community for more than a year and cannot be located.