VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s former ambassador to the Dominican Republic has been convicted by a church tribunal of sex abuse and has been defrocked, the first such sentence handed down against a top papal representative.
READ MORE: Vatican comes under sharp criticism for sex abuse
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The Vatican said Friday that Monsignor Jozef Wesolowski was found guilty by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and sentenced to the harshest penalty possible against a cleric: laicization, meaning he can no longer perform priestly duties or present himself as a priest.
Wesolowski can appeal. He also faces other charges by the criminal tribunal of Vatican City, since as a papal diplomat he is considered a citizen of the tiny city state.
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