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A former archbishop and papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic fell ill and was taken to hospital ahead of the opening of his trial on Saturday for alleged child sex offences, a Vatican official said.
Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop and “apostolic nuncio”, or Vatican ambassador, in Santo Domingo, is accused of paying boys to perform sexual acts, of downloading and buying paedophile material, and offending Christian morality.
Under arrest in the tiny Vatican state since last September, Wesolowski complained of feeling ill on Friday and was sent to an Italian intensive care unit, the court heard. Officials did not give any further information about his condition.
The trial, seen as an important test of Pope Francis’s drive to clean up the Roman Catholic Church, opened regardless, with the court reading out a list of five charges against the 66-year-old Polish national.
The hearing was then postponed until a future date.
Wesolowski is the first high-ranking Catholic official to stand trial in the Vatican on such sex charges and the case is being closely watched by victims of priestly abuse, who have accused the Vatican of repeatedly hushing up previous scandals.
In an effort to make the clergy accountable for their actions around the world, Pope Francis has re-written Church rules, opening the way for Saturday’s trial.
…]
He faces up to eight years in jail if found guilty of abusing a minor and two years for possession of child pornography. These sentences could be lengthened if the small Vatican court decides there are extenuating circumstances.
in.reuters.com/article/2015/07/11/vatican-abuse-trial-idINKCN0PL05120150711
Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop and “apostolic nuncio”, or Vatican ambassador, in Santo Domingo, is accused of paying boys to perform sexual acts, of downloading and buying paedophile material, and offending Christian morality.
Under arrest in the tiny Vatican state since last September, Wesolowski complained of feeling ill on Friday and was sent to an Italian intensive care unit, the court heard. Officials did not give any further information about his condition.
The trial, seen as an important test of Pope Francis’s drive to clean up the Roman Catholic Church, opened regardless, with the court reading out a list of five charges against the 66-year-old Polish national.
The hearing was then postponed until a future date.
Wesolowski is the first high-ranking Catholic official to stand trial in the Vatican on such sex charges and the case is being closely watched by victims of priestly abuse, who have accused the Vatican of repeatedly hushing up previous scandals.
In an effort to make the clergy accountable for their actions around the world, Pope Francis has re-written Church rules, opening the way for Saturday’s trial.
…]
He faces up to eight years in jail if found guilty of abusing a minor and two years for possession of child pornography. These sentences could be lengthened if the small Vatican court decides there are extenuating circumstances.
in.reuters.com/article/2015/07/11/vatican-abuse-trial-idINKCN0PL05120150711
