WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Agency/EWTN News
By Adelaide Mena
What happens when Vatican City State diplomats commit crimes? The recent recall of a Vatican diplomat from the U.S. Nunciature in Washington, following suspicions of child pornography possession brings together both the workings of the criminal justice system at the Vatican and international diplomatic law.
“We are not yet at the conclusion of the criminal investigation, but I think it wise that he’s been recalled now,” said Dr. Kurt Martens, a Professor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of America.
According to a Sept. 15 communique issued by the Vatican, the U.S. State Department notified the Vatican Secretariat of State on Aug. 21 of a possible “violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by a member of the Vatican diplomatic corps stationed in Washington, D.C.
The priest was recalled to the Vatican, where he remains. The diplomatic process of collaboration on the case – which remains under investigation – was initiated, and findings from the U.S. State Department were shared with the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice, who also opened an investigation within the city-state of the Vatican. The identity or nationality of the diplomat has not been released.
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