Credit
Luis Gomez/Diario Libre, via Reuters
ROME
— Jozef Wesolowski, a Polish former archbishop who would have been
the first high-level prelate to stand before a Vatican tribunal on
charges of child sexual abuse, was found dead early Friday, the Vatican
said in a statement.
Initial
examinations carried out by Vatican officials “determined that his
death occurred from natural causes,†the statement said.
Mr.
Wesolowski died in his Vatican City residence, where he had lived since
September, after he was placed under house arrest. He was found by one
of the Franciscan friars who lived in the same house, said a Vatican
spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini.
An autopsy was being conducted Friday morning, Father Benedettini said.
Vatican
prosecutors had accused Mr. Wesolowski, 67, of sexually abusing
children in the Dominican Republic, where he was stationed from 2008 to
2013 as the Vatican’s ambassador. Already defrocked under canon law in
2014, Mr. Wesolowski was facing a prison sentence of up to eight years
if found guilty.
His
trial, which began on July 11, would have been the first case of sexual
abuse argued out in a Vatican tribunal, and it became emblematic of
Pope Francis’ proactive approach to dealing with the child sexual
abuse accusations that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church in recent
decades.
Papal Responses to Sexual Abuse in the Church
At
the first hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, the Vatican’s
chief prosecutor, Gian Piero Milano, argued that Mr. Wesolowski had
caused serious psychological distress and harm to the youths, said to be
ages 13 to 16. He was also accused of having offended “Christian
morality†by repeatedly logging onto pornographic sites involving
minors in the Dominican Republic and Vatican City.
The
trial was unexpectedly adjourned that same day because Mr. Wesolowski
had been admitted to an intensive care unit in an Italian hospital for
an “unexpected illness†the day before. No new date had been set for
its resumption.
Francis
is not the first pope to have addressed the issue of sexual abuse of
minors by members of the clergy, but he has drafted new rules giving
prosecutors more leeway in the cases, allowing criminal charges to be
applied to Vatican employees anywhere. He is also the first pope to take
action against superiors accused of covering up for priests.
Because
of his health, Mr. Wesolowski was effectively incarcerated inside
Vatican City, although he was allowed to move around the grounds freely,
Father Benedettini said.
This
week, the advocacy group BishopAccountability.org raised concerns that
“this loosening of restrictions raises urgent child safety
concerns.†It called for Mr. Wesolowski to be “heavily guarded at
all times,†otherwise “unaccompanied minors in Vatican City could be
at risk,†the group said in a statement.
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