Former Vatican envoy goes on trial in child abuse case: Reuters

Vatican City.– Former Polish archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, ex-Vaticanambassador to the Dominican Republic, will go on trial on Saturday accused of sexualabuse of minors in our country, Reuters reported Friday.

According to the news agency, it will be the first trialheld under rules drawn up by Pope Francis in an effort to make the clergyaccountable for their actions around the world, and show that the Vatican issensitive to widespread anger over repeated abuse scandals.

Wesolowski, 66, has already been defrocked by a Vaticantribunal, a rare occurrence and a sign of how seriously the church has takenthe accusations against him, Reuters said.

The report states that he faces up to eight years in jail iffound guilty of abusing a minor and two years for possession of childpornography. Such a sentence would almost certainly be served in Italy ratherthan the Vatican. Officials have also suggested he could be extradited to theDominican Republic or Poland, the news agency reported.