The Roman Catholic Church and U.S. officials confirm that a high-ranking diplomat at the Vatican's Embassy in Washington, D.C., has been recalled to Vatican City over accusations he possessed child pornography.
The Holy See released a statement Friday saying U.S. State Department officials had informed the Vatican on August 21 of evidence the diplomat may have violated child pornography laws in the United States.
The statement said the official, a priest, has been recalled to Vatican City and an investigation is underway.
The statement does not give the priest's name and says that the investigation is “subject to investigative confidentiality.”
The U.S. State Department said it asked the Vatican to lift the priest's diplomatic immunity on August 21, but its request was denied three days later.
In 2013, the Vatican recalled a priest from the Dominican Republic over allegations he had sexually abused young boys. Monsignor Josef Wesolowski was defrocked and put on trial in the Vatican's criminal court, but died before the trial got underway.
