Vatican: Former diplomat who abused children could face extradition [View all]
David Gibson
(RNS) The Vatican said Monday (Aug. 25) that its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who was defrocked in June for sexually abusing children in the Carribean nation, has also been stripped of his diplomatic immunity and could face extradition once he has exhausted his appeals in the church courts.
The Vatican’s decision to quietly recall Jozef Wesolowski to Rome last year to face charges there rather than in the Dominican Republic, prompted an outcry and, critics said, undermined Pope Francis’ vow to get tough on clerical abusers no matter who they are.
The Wesolowski saga was recounted in detail on Sunday in a front-page story in the New York Times, which prompted a response late Monday from the Vatican’s chief spokesman, who insisted there was no cover-up and that the Vatican had acted “without delay and correctly.”
The Rev. Federico Lombardi said that Francis has been “duly and carefully informed” of the status of the Wesolowski case and wants to address it “justly and rigorously.”
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/08/25/vatican-former-diplomat-abused-children-face-extradition/
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