The Vatican arrested the Pope’s former nuncio to the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, placing the 66-year-old Polish native under house arrest.
Józef Wesołowski served as apostolic nuncio in various countries since 1999; he was sent to the Dominican Republic in 2008, where he is accused of having engaged in sexual abuse of minors. He was recalled from the Dominican Republic in 2013.
Wesołowski in June was laicized after he was found guilty in canon law proceedings, with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith handing down the strictest punishment, return to the lay state.
A message released by the Vatican press office on Tuesday evening announced his house arrest, a restriction chosen “in light of the accused’s health condition, as evidenced by medical documentation.”
The statement also referred to Pope Francis’ readiness to sanction the former diplomat and his concern over the matter.
“The initiative taken by the judicial departments of Vatican City State is a result of the express desire of the Pope, so that a case so serious and delicate would be addressed without delay, with just and necessary rigor, and with full assumption of responsibility on the part of the institutions that are governed by the Holy See,” noted the Vatican statement.
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Vatican statement:
