DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Hispanically Speaking
Papal Nuncio, Ordained by Pope John II, Removed from Dominican Republican Amidst Pedophile Claims
The Vatican has removed and ordered back to Rome the papal nuncio in the Dominican Republic, Archbishop Josef Wesolowski.
The removal comes in light of the announcement today by the Dominican National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice that an investigation has been opened into the activities of the 65-year-old Vatican diplomat. Rumors of sexual abuse of minors had been swirling around Wesolowski for sometime but no official investigation until today.
A local news program aired allegations that he had paid for sex with minors in Santo Domingo and was connected to a Polish priest accused of sexually assaulting boys under the age of 14. News reporter Nuria Piera alleges Wesolowski was a regular vistor to the Zona Colonial area of Santo Domingo where he was seen drinking and paying for sex in open areas of the Zona.
Archbishop Wesolowski had been acting as nuncio (ambassador) representing the interests of the Vatican in DR for nearly six years. He was born in Nowy Targ, Poland and started as a Vatican diplomat in 1999 in Bolivia. Wesolowski has the proud distinction of having been ordained a priest by Bishop Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John II.
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