It said the Vatican had asked for information about the case from the U.S it wasn't clear if any had been provided. In declining to identify him, the Vatican said the case was subject to confidentiality while still under investigation. The Vatican said recalling the priest was consistent with diplomatic practice of sovereign states. The Vatican yearbook lists three counselors who work under the nuncio, or ambassador. official familiar with the case said the priest was a senior member of the Vatican embassy staff. 21 of a "possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images" by one of its diplomats in Washington.Ī U.S. In a statement, the Vatican said the State Department had notified the Vatican on Aug. The Justice Department, which would have brought any charges, didn't immediately comment, and the Vatican gave no details about what, if any, evidence had been provided to persuade it to recall the priest.
The circumstances that prompted prosecutors to make the request, however, weren't clear. For the State Department to make such a request, its lawyers would have needed to be convinced that there was reasonable cause for criminal prosecution. It said that request was denied three days later. The State Department said it had asked the Vatican to lift the official's diplomatic immunity on Aug.
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And any trial in the Vatican would come as Francis' own financial czar, Cardinal George Pell, is on trial in his native Australia for alleged historic sex abuse cases. The diplomat would be the second from the Vatican's diplomatic corps to face possible criminal charges for such crimes during Francis' papacy. If the accusations pan out, the case would be a major embarrassment for the Vatican and Pope Francis, who has pledged "zero tolerance" for sexual abuse.
The Vatican declined to identify the priest, but said he was currently in Vatican City and that Vatican prosecutors had launched their own probe and sought evidence from the U.S. The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The diplomat was suspected of possessing, but not producing or disseminating, child pornography including images of pre-pubescent children, a U.S. prosecutors asked for him to be charged there and face trial in a child pornography investigation, Vatican and U.S. VATICAN CITY - (AP) - A high-ranking priest working in the Vatican's embassy in Washington has been recalled after U.S.
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