Archbishop accused of abuse is reportedly at liberty in Rome

June 24, 2014

A bishop from the Dominican Republic has reported that he was shocked to see a former papal nuncio, who is under investigation on sex-abuse charges, walking freely around the center of Rome.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who had been the Vatican's representative in the Dominican Republic, was recalled to Rome last year. Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic have said that they have convincing evidence that the prelate molested young men there; he has also been accused of abuse in his native Poland.

The Vatican has promised to cooperate with Dominican and Polish prosecutors, and pointed out that as a citizen of the Vatican city-state, Archbishop Wesolowski is also subject to criminal prosecution there. The Vatican has made no further public statement about his case. But when Pope Francis told reporters that three bishops are under investigation, most reporters assumed that Archbishop Wesolowski was included in that number.

However, Bishop Victor Masalles, an auxiliary of the Santo Domingo archdiocese, reported that he saw the Polish bishop during a trip to Rome. "For me it was a surprise to see Wesolowski walking along the Via della Scrofa," he said.

Bishop Masalles said that the Vatican's failure to clarify the status of the former nuncio is damaging. "The silence of the Church has injured the People of God," he said.

 

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Further information:

• Dominican Republic bishop questions the Vatican on sexual abuse (Dominican Today)
• Vatican reveals investigation of former nuncio; denies refusing extradition (CWN, 1/13)