BBC News, 4
September 2013
Related Stories
Pope Francis has vowed to act against child abuse allegations within the Church |
Related Stories
- Vatican reforms child abuse laws
- UN quizzes Vatican over child abuse
- Fresh claims over church sex abuse
The Vatican has recalled its envoy to the Dominican Republic and launched an investigation after local media accused him of sexually abusing children.
Archbishop
Jozef Wesolowski had been the Apostolic Nuncio in Santo Domingo for nearly six
years.
Vatican
spokesman Federico Lombardi told the Reuters news agency he had been
"relieved of his duties" and the Holy See had "begun an
investigation".
Archbishop
Wesolowski had been recalled "in the last few weeks", he added.
But he did
not give details about the allegations.
The
attorney general of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Dominguez Brito, told the
Associated Press that his office was investigating what he called
"rumours" of abuse, and that it had received no formal complaints.
The
whereabouts of the 65-year-old Polish prelate are unknown.
Following
his election in March, Pope Francis said dealing with sex abuse allegations was
vital to the Roman Catholic Church's credibility.
In July, he
strengthened laws that apply to clerics and lay people working in the Vatican -
broadening out the definition of "crimes against minors" to include
child prostitution, sexual violence, sexual acts with children, and indecent
images of children.
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.