A
high-ranking priest working in the Vatican's embassy in Washington has been
recalled after U.S. prosecutors asked for him to be charged there and face
trial in a child pornography investigation, Vatican and U.S. officials said
Friday.
The Vatican declined to identify the priest, but said he was
currently in Vatican City and that Vatican prosecutors had launched their own
probe.
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
diplomat would be the second from the Vatican's diplomatic corps to face
possible criminal charges for such crimes during Francis' papacy. 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 State Department said it had asked the Vatican to lift the
official's diplomatic immunity on Aug. 21. It said that request was denied
three days later. 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.
The
circumstances that prompted prosecutors to make the request, however, weren't
clear. The Justice Department, which would have brought any charges, did not
immediately comment.
In a statement, the Vatican said the U.S. State Department had
notified the Vatican on Aug. 21 of a "possible violation of laws relating
to child pornography images" by one of its diplomats in Washington.
The Vatican said recalling the priest was consistent with diplomatic
practice of sovereign states. In declining to identify him, the Vatican said
the case was subject to confidentiality while still under investigation. It
said the Vatican had asked for information about the case from the U.S; it
wasn't clear if any had been provided.
The Vatican has recalled envoys before — including its former
ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who was recalled in 2013 after
being accused of sexually abusing young boys on the Caribbean island.
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