ITALY
The Local
A controversial Italian priest awaiting a criminal trial for sex abuse of minors has agreed to pay €125,000 in compensation to the families of five of his alleged victims, Italian media reported on Thursday.
Mauro Inzoli, 66, was defrocked in 2012 after he was first accused of paedophilia but that decision was reversed in 2014, when Pope Francis ordered him to stay away from minors and retire to “a life of prayer and humble discretion.”
An outcry over Inzoli’s treatment led to criminal proceedings being initiated against him in the northern Italian town of Cremona but the Church has reportedly refused to hand over details of its own investigation.
The priest’s trial has been set for June and at a preliminary hearing this week he agreed to pay €25,000 ($28.500) each to five families who had been considering becoming civil parties in it, according to reports.
Inzoli, dubbed “Don Mercedes” by the press for his penchant for luxury cars, will be tried for abusing minors aged between 10 and 16 years between 2004 and 2008. He faces up to 12 years in prison.
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