Vatican diplomat recalled from Washington amid child pornography investigation despite US efforts to prosecute
The Italian city declined to identify the individual, but said he had returned from America and was under investigation
A high-ranking Vatican priest working in the Holy See’s embassy in Washington has been recalled after US prosecutors asked for him to be charged and face trial in a child pornography investigation, Vatican and US officials said on Friday.
The Vatican declined to identify the diplomat, but said he was currently in Vatican City and that local prosecutors had launched their own investigation.
The State Department said it had asked the Vatican to lift the official’s diplomatic immunity on August 21. It said that request was denied. 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.
In a statement, the Vatican said the US State Department had notified the Vatican on August 21 of a “possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by one of its diplomats in Washington.
A US official familiar with the matter said the priest was a senior member of the Vatican embassy staff. The Vatican yearbook lists three counsellors who work under the nuncio, or ambassador.
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.
