VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
Father Lombardi: “he might also be subjected to judicial procedures from other courts”
ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY
After being dismissed from the clerical state, according to a verdict by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the former nuncio in Santo Domingo Jozef Wesolowski, who is accused of enticing young boys on the beach and paying them for sexual favours, is not granted diplomatic immunity any longer and will thus be prosecutable in other countries. Other than in Santo Domingo, the former prelate is under investigation in Poland, his home country. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, announced this while answering the questions of the press following an article in the New York Times that brought the issue back into the spotlight, criticising the Vatican for his management of the incident.
Wesolowski, who was recalled to Rome immediately after being accused, was reduced to the lay state in few months, which is the highest possible punishment for a priest in Canon law. Now, says Lombardi, the former archbishop “has recently appealed, within the prescribed limit of two months, the most serious canonical sentence of a return to the lay state”. It appears that the appeal will be judged within October. As soon as the canonical sentence becomes definitive, the punitive procedure of the Vatican’s civil judiciary departments will begin: if he is found guilty by them as well, he might go to prison.
Lombardi explained that “Wesolowski has ceased functioning as a diplomat of the Holy See and has therefore lost his related diplomatic immunity”. The spokesman for the Vatican highlights that the Authorities of the Holy See “moved without delay and correctly in light of the fact that former nuncio Wesolowski held the position of a diplomatic representative of the Holy See.” Lombardi continues “This action relates to his recall to Rome and in the treatment of the case in relation to Authorities of the Dominican Republic. Far from any intention of a cover-up, this action demonstrates the full and direct undertaking of the Holy See’s responsibility even in such a serious and delicate case, about which Pope Francis is duly and carefully informed and one which the Pope wishes to address justly and rigorously”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.