The elderly man, living in a care home in Canada, told police he had shot a prostitute called Margaret Cook, aged 26, in Carnaby Street in London in 1946, after a dispute about money.

It is believed the man wanted to clear his conscience before he died.

Miss Cook has no surviving relatives.

British authorities have applied for the man to be extradited, but Canadian judges have not decided whether to comply or not.

The judiciary are reportedly in a dilemma over whether to approve the extradition because of the man's age and the mitigating factor that without his confession nobody would ever have been any the wiser.

Writing in the UK Catholic Herald, Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith guessed that the unnamed 91-year-old made his admission to the police at the prompting of a confessor.

"To confess to the crime, and to allow the crime to be officially solved, would be part of making amends, indeed the only amends the man can now make," Fr Lucie-Smith wrote.

"In so doing, and in confessing to a priest (if that is what he did, though we have no way of knowing) the murderer admitted his guilt, took the penance, faced up to the truth about himself, and encountered the truth about God too - namely that God forgives because he is loving.

"That would have been a truly liberating experience."

The priest described the demand for the 91-year-old's extradition as "ludicrous".

The time period in this case is believed to be the longest gap between a crime and a confession in British criminal history.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Catholic Herald
• Image: The Telegraph

Fr Michael Ortiz got a cheque in the mail for $1.6 million, and responded to a form he also received to enter a sweepstake.

The retired priest had planned on donating half his winnings to Cathedral Catholic High School in Carmel Valley.

He wanted to help families with enrolment fees and give scholarships to students.

After receiving the cheque, Fr Ortiz said a man claiming to be an attorney pestered him often, but was interested in his plans for the school.

The man told him that before he could cash the cheque, the priest had to send US$41,000 to cover taxes.

After much hesitation, Fr Ortiz sent the money, as he really wanted to help the school.

But after sending all of his life savings, the man stopped calling.

Last week, Earl Roberts Jr. pleaded guilty to stealing from an elderly person. He was extradited from South Carolina to San Diego.

"I forgive the man, but pay for it, give me back my money or serve the jail sentence," said Fr Ortiz.

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Australian authorities are trying to extradite McGrath from New Zealand to face 252 child sex charges.

He is currently on bail.

A Christchurch District Court judge put the final extradition decision in Ms Collins's hands.

McGrath's lawyers launched an application for a judicial review after Ms Collins refused to give them more time to make submissions.

But they sent their submissions to Ms Collins in July and withdrew the review application.

Ms Collins has said she will receive advice from officials and will carefully consider submissions.

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The revised code includes provisions covering the theft and publication of confidential documents and money-laundering, and provides for the freezing of financial assets.

It also strengthens provisions against child abuse, specifying that Vatican prosecutors can proceed with an abuse case even without a formal complaint from the victim.

The code provides for co-operation with other nations in the pursuit of white-collar criminals.

Explaining the need to revise the code, Pope Francis noted that "the common good is increasingly threatened by transnational organised crime, the improper use of the markets and of the economy, as well as by terrorism".

While the strengthened code applies only within the Vatican City state, it appears to be meant to demonstrate that the Pope is taking seriously the various scandals that have hit the Vatican recently and aims to align Church policy with international legal standards.

The new code incorporates the provisions of numerous international conventions to which the Holy See is a signatory. These cover the conduct of war and war crimes, the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the rights of children.

The new Vatican laws make it much easier for the Vatican to co-operate with other governments and even extradite a person who committed the crime elsewhere, but tries to hide in the Vatican.

The possibility of extradition also explains why the new laws include crimes against the security of airports, maritime navigation or oil-drilling platforms, even though the Vatican has no airport, ships or fixed platforms in the sea.

The changes to Vatican City civil law are separate from the universally applicable canon law, norms and sanctions, which require bishops around the world to turn over to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cases of priests accused of child sexual abuse or possession of child pornography.

Sources:

Vatican Radio

Catholic News Agency

Catholic News Service

Image: Daily Mail

New South Wales police were to extradite McGrath to Australia from Christchurch where he was living. However Fairfax Media reported he was able to leave New Zealand after the charges were lodged, and is believed to staying on a tea plantation in the highlands of Sri Lanka.

New Zealand police told Fairfax the formal extradition request only came through from Interpol on November 15.

It is reported the delay in extraditing McGrath was due to the many levels of bureaucracy involved in the extradition process.

Australia does not have an extradition treaty with Sri Lanka directly. However it can extradite suspects from Sri Lanka under the London Scheme which enables Commonwealth countries to extradite criminals to each other.

Fairfax Media understands that Australian Federal Police based in Sri Lanka have been made aware of McGrath's presence.

Source

• Sydney Morning Herald
• New Zealand Herald
• Image: ABC News