VATICAN-WESOLOWSKI/ABUSE Vatican trial to start for former Dominican archbishop accused of sexually abusing minors

Record ID: 147409

  • Title: VATICAN-WESOLOWSKI/ABUSE Vatican trial to start for former Dominican archbishop accused of sexually abusing minors
  • Date: 9th July 2015
  • Summary: SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SANTO DOMINGO RESIDENT, GIL CORDERO, SAYING: "Because he didn't come here to do such things [sexually abuse minors], he came here on a mission to the country and the country received him with a lot of love and the wish for him to be here, but not to be taking part in sexual abuse practices. As such,
  • Embargoed: 24th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Dominican Republic
  • Country: Dominican Republic
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAEK3HN28QPOQNP6XW7U2A8H3CI
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    The trial for Jozef Wesolowski, the former archbishop and papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic charged with sexually abusing minors and possessing child pornography, is set to start in the Vatican on (Saturday) July 11.
    The trial marks the first of its kind inside the tiny city-state that is the headquarters of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.
    The 66-year-old former Polish archbishop, who was "apostolic nuncio", or Vatican ambassador, in Santo Domingo for five years, was arrested last September and detained in the Vatican. It was the first arrest there related to paedophilia charges.
    Dominican journalist Nuria Piera initiated the investigation into Wesolowski by following him along the city's waterfront in an area he allegedly used to frequent in search of victims. After enough evidence was gathered, Piera took her findings to the police.
    "We met several times with the people, the waiters, the owner of the bar, to get more information. Later, when it could really be verified that what they were saying could be true we initiated the pursuit, following Wesolowski. We had a contact who called us when he [Wesolowski] went down to the area where he was, which is the area of the waterfront known as the 'malecon' and so we waited for him there, we followed him and we did this for a few weeks. He realised that we were following him and he went up to the investigation team, knocked on the door [of the car] and asked why he was being followed, she said.
    Wesolowski was swiftly recalled to Rome by the Vatican in 2013 when he was still a diplomat in Santo Domingo and was relieved of his duties. Pope Francis then ordered a criminal investigation. After his arrest, Vatican inspectors found child pornographic material on his computer.
    Santo Domingo resident, Jose Mujosa, said he hoped the city's ex-archbishop would get the maximum penalty if found guilty.
    "It is the first time that the Vatican has taken a policy of punishment against these shameful acts. As a Dominican I hope the maximum penalty is applied to this man, fake and irresponsible in his mission as a religious person," he said.
    According to Piera's investigation, Wesolowski would dress in layman's clothes, including a baseball cap, when visiting the beach front area where he would find his alleged abuse victims.
    While some point to his trial as evidence of Pope Francis's crackdown on sex abuse by clergy members, others, such as those from BishopAccountability.org, an independent research group that helps tackle the issue in the Catholic Church, claim that holding a Vatican trial effectively protects the church from damaging revelations that could've come out if the former archbishop had been tried in the Dominican Republic or his native Poland.
    Santo Domingo resident, Gil Cordero, felt that Wesolowski had betrayed his religious duties and hoped he would receive due punishment.
    "Because he didn't come here to do such things [sexually abuse minors], he came here on a mission to the country and the country received him with a lot of love and the wish for him to be here, but not to be taking part in sexual abuse practices. As such, as a Dominican, I hope that the Vatican applies the weight of the law," said Cordero.
    Wesolowski's trial will be the highest profile judicial event in the Vatican since Paolo Gabriele, a former papal butler, was convicted in 2012 of stealing and leaking private papers of former Pope Benedict XVI. He was convicted and later pardoned by Benedict.
    If convicted, Wesolowski is unlikely to spend time in the Vatican's jail, which consists of just a few rooms attached to its courthouse.
    The Vatican's statement said the trial would be "a detailed and delicate procedure".
    He would likely be sent to an Italian prison as part of an international agreement between Italy and the Vatican, or be extradited to the Dominican Republic or Poland, Vatican officials have said.
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