Gold profiteers have fallen out with a nun who is leading a community protest against their greed. She is protesting against the Dominican Republic’s government for not sharing profits from a gold mine. “It’s a shame that naturally rich communities live in poverty and whose basic needs go unmet. “Our communities are among the poorest Read more
A US senator has called on Pope Francis to intervene over a Dominican Republic cardinal who made derogatory remarks about a gay US ambassador. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois took exception to what he called “hateful” attacks against openly gay ambassador James “Wally” Brewster. Earlier this month, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, 79, said Read more
Former Vatican diplomat Józef Wesołowski has been taken to hospital with an “unexpected illness” on the first day of his trial for alleged child sex abuse. His is the first trial in the Holy See’s criminal court of a senior official on charges of paedophilia and possession of child pornography. Wesołowski, a former archbishop, was Read more
The Vatican has placed its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic under house arrest, after opening a criminal trial against him. Former Archbishop Josef Wesolowski is the first high-ranking official to face Vatican criminal charges for sexually abusing young people. He had already been laicised in June after a canonical trial. On Tuesday, the Vatican Read more
It’s been a big week for the clergy and their dealings with the police across the world. In legal matters in countries covering four continents – India, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Australia – clerics are being held to account by police and civil courts: Two priests in India have been charged with murdering the Read more
A former papal ambassador accused of paying for sex with minors has been dismissed from the clerical state. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made the order against Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a former apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic. The order against Polish-born Wesołowski is thought to be the first such move taken against a Read more
A Caribbean bishop was shocked to see a former papal nuncio under investigation for alleged child abuse walking freely around Rome. Bishop Victor Masalles, an auxiliary of the Santo Domingo archdiocese in the Dominican Republic said that he recently saw Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski “walking along the Via della Scrofa”. Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic say Read more
The Vatican has recalled its ambassador to the Dominican Republic and relieved him of his duties pending an investigation into reports linking him to child sex abuse. A special prosecutor had been appointed to investigate Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, who has been ambassador to Santo Domingo for nearly six years. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Read more
The Dominican Republic’s cardinal has denounced the “international scandal” of violence against women in his Caribbean nation, better known for sunshine and sandy beaches. Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez made his views known to President Leonel Fernandez during a two-hour meeting as the president approached the end of his term of office. In the Read more