Former Polish archbishop Jozef Wesolowski passed away Friday morning at age 67, the Vatican said in a statement. The prelate, who was the Apostolic Nuncio to the Dominican Republic from January 2008 until he was recalled in August 2013, was found dead in his Vatican City residency (where he had lived since September) by one of the Franciscan friars, said spokesperson Rev. Circo Benedettini. The Vatican statement notes that he likely died of "natural causes."
Mr. Wesolowski would've been the first high-ranking church official to go on trial on pedophile charges after being accused of child abuse in Dominican Republic where he was stationed from 2008 to 2013 as the Vatican’s ambassador. Vatican prosecutors had accused Wesolowski of sexually abusing children in the Caribbean island, arguing that he caused psychological distress and harm to minors between the ages of 13 and 16. He was also accused of having disrespected "Christian morality" by logging onto pornographic sites involving minors.
In June 2015, the Vatican announced that Wesolowski would stand trial for charges of possessing child porn, and faced a possible prison term of up to eight years if found guilty. The trial was set to begin on July 11 but was postponed due to Mr. Wesolowski health problems that landed him in the hospital. It would've marked the first case of sexual abuse disputed in a Vatican tribunal. The trial was also emblematic for Pope Francis, in response to widespread accusations of sexual abuse of children by priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
An autopsy following his death, was being conducted Friday morning, Father Benedettini said.
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