VATICAN CITY
CNN
By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Editor
(CNN) – The Vatican announced on Tuesday that it has placed a former ambassador under house arrest while he faces charges for “serious acts of abuse of minors” while he was the Pope’s official representative in the Dominican Republican.
Jozef Wesolowski, who was defrocked by the Vatican in June, is one of the highest-ranking church officials to be accused of abusing children during the Catholic Church’s widespread and costly sexual abuse scandal.
It is the first time a top Vatican ambassador has faced such charges and represents a major test for Pope Francis, who has been accused by some victims’ groups of downplaying the sexual abuse scandal.
Wesolowksi’s arrest, the Vatican said Tuesday, “is a result of the express desire of the Pope, so that a case so serious and delicate would be addressed without delay.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.