Vatican Child Sex Abuse Trial Adjourned As Former Archbishop Falls Ill

Fact checked

Former papal diplomat charged with the sexual abuse of boys was taken to hospital and put in intensive care ahead of the opening of his trial at the Vatican.

Vatican Child Abuse

The Vatican child sex abuse trial has been halted as the former archbishop has fallen ill.

The trial of Jozef Wesolowski who was charged with child sex offences and possession of child pornography, has been adjourned after the defendant fell ill just hours before he was due to appear in court today at the Vatican.

There were no details available immediately from the Vatican about Wesolowski’s medical condition.

The BBC report:

Jozef Wesolowski, 66, is accused of paying for sex with children in the Dominican Republic from 2008-2013.

He is being treated in intensive care for an unspecified illness.

Wesolowski is the first high-ranking Catholic to stand trial in the Vatican on sex abuse charges.

He has already been found guilty by a special church tribunal and defrocked.

His case is seen as a test of Pope Francis’ push to tackle sex offenders.

Wesolowski, who is originally from Poland, had been recalled from his role as the Vatican’s envoy to the Dominican Republic in 2013 after allegations surfaced accusing him of abusing boys there.