Jozef Wesolowski, a former Catholic archbishop charged with sexually abusing children, has been found dead in his room at the Vatican. The 67-year-old died on Friday morning, with initial verifications indicating natural causes, according to a statement from the Holy See.
Wesolowski, who previously served as the Vatican's ambassador to the Dominican Republic, was due to stand trial for paying boys to perform sexual acts, downloading and sharing child abuse material, and offending Christian morality. His case was the first under a Vatican system revitalised by Pope Francis following widespread abuse allegations within the Church.
The trial, originally scheduled for July 11, had been repeatedly postponed due to Wesolowski's declining health. He had been laicised, or defrocked, last year ahead of a Vatican criminal hearing. If convicted, he could have faced up to 35 years in prison.
The Vatican statement confirmed that Pope Francis has been informed of Wesolowski's death. The case had drawn international attention as the first criminal trial of a church official for child sexual abuse under the Vatican's own judicial system.
