Former nuncio placed under house arrest as he awaits criminal trial on sex-abuse charges

The Vatican has placed the laicised papal ambassador Jozef Wesolowski under house arrest as he awaits a criminal trial for sexually abusing young boys, Catholic News Service reports. Spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ released a statement on Tuesday regarding the case of the Polish former archbishop who served as nuncio to the Dominican Republic until August 2013.

A Vatican prosecutor had summoned Wesolowski and informed him of the charges against him, Fr Lombardi said. Because of the “gravity of the accusations” investigators decided to arrest the former ambassador, the spokesman said, but “in light of the medical condition of the accused, supported by medical documentation”, he was placed under house arrest in Vatican City.

The Vatican announced in June that a canonical court had investigated Wesolowski on charges of sex abuse in the Dominican Republic and concluded by dismissing him from the clerical state.