Vatican City, 15 June 2015 (VIS) –
The President of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, Professor
Giuseppe Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, by decree of 6 June
2015 in response to the request submitted by the Office of the
Promoter of Justice, has ordered the trial of the former apostolic
nuncio to the Dominican Republic, Jozef Wesolowski. The first hearing
of the trial is scheduled for 11 July 2015. The ex-prelate is accused
of a number of offences committed both during his stay in Rome from
August 2013 until the moment of his arrest (on 22 September 2014) and
in the period he spent in the Dominican Republic, during the five
years in which he held the office of apostolic nuncio (he was
appointed as nuncio to the Dominican Republic on 24 January 2008 and
apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico, offices from which he resigned on
21 August 2013).
With regard to the period spent in
Rome, the nuncio is charged with the offence of possession of child
pornography under Law VIII of 2013 introduced by Pope Francis. The
allegations referring to the preceding period are based on evidence
transmitted by the judicial authorities of the Dominican Republic in
relation to the sexual abuse of minors.
These serious allegations will be
scrutinised by the competent judicial body which will be assisted by
both technical appraisals of the IT systems used by the defendant
and, if necessary, international legal cooperation for the evaluation
of testimonial evidence from the competent authorities in the
Dominican Republic. This will be a delicate and detailed procedure,
requiring the most careful observations and insights from all parties
involved in the trial.
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