Vatican puts accused pedophile and papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic under house arrest

The Vatican announced today in a press release that it had put Jozef Wesolowski under house arrest inside the city state. The former archbishop and papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic stand accused of paying for sex with children while in the Caribbean country. Wesolowski, from Poland, was defrocked by a Vatican tribunal earlier this year and is awaiting trial on criminal charges.

This is the first time in the history of the Catholic Church that a priest is ordered under house arrest by the City State of the Vatican. The only other case known is that of Paolo Gabriele, the ex buttler of Pope Benedict XVI but he was not a priest. He was charged with stealing private documents from the Pope and was sentenced to 18 months of jail time.

SEE ALSO: Vatican’s rep in Dominican Republic at center of pedophile scandal

Wesolowski is being investigated in the Dominican Republic where he reportedly paid for sex with young boys. As the Vatican’s ambassador there, formerly known as an apostolic nuncio, Wesolowski had diplomatic immunity and was protected from charges. The Vatican stripped him of that protection in August. Wesolowski was appealing the decision to defrock him and a final decision was supossed to be made in October.

However the Vatican was conducting its own investigation and it seems that done the gravity of the testimonies presented in the last days, the Pope, personally has ordered the house arrest, said Federico Lombardi, spoke person for the Vatican.

The Catholic Church called Wesolowski back to the Vatican a week after he resigned as nuncio and a day after Dominican authorities revealed their investigation into his alleged abuses in early September 2013. The Vatican faced accusations of attempting to protect Wesolowski, but maintained that the move was made to swiftly deal with Wesolowski and strip him of immunity.

Other scandals in the Dominican Republic

Priest Juan Manuel Mota de Jesus, “Father Johnny,” was accused in Jarabacoa, La Vega, of raping young girls. In May, clergyman Wojciech Gil (Alberto) was accused of raping some 14 boys in a community of Santiago.

SEE ALSO: Vatican defrocks Jozef Wesolowski for sexual abuse

The Bishop of La Vega, Monsignor Antonio Camilo Gonzalez, asked for pardon from the persons affected by alleged abuses committed by representatives of the Catholic Church.