Vatican Arrests Diplomat Priest For Child Porn

The BBC reports:

Police at the Vatican have arrested a priest who previously worked at the Holy See’s US embassy on suspicion of possessing child pornography. Carlo Alberto Capella was taken into custody after an investigation.

Monsignor Capella was recalled from the US in September 2017 after US authorities told the Vatican about a possible violation of child pornography laws by one of its diplomats. He was ordained in 1993 and joined the Vatican’s diplomatic corps in 2004.

The arrest could draw fresh attention to Pope Francis’s efforts to snuff out child abuse in the Catholic Church. He has pledged zero tolerance but critics say he has not done enough to hold to account bishops who allegedly covered up abuse.

Vatican Insider reports:

Capella had worked at the nunciature, or embassy, in Washington since mid-2016. He was recalled to the Vatican in August 2017 when the U.S. State Department notified the Holy See of his possible violation of laws relating to child pornography.

Police in Canada subsequently issued a nationwide arrest warrant for the monsignor in September 2017 on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography. The Vatican press office first announced a diplomat’s recall Sept. 15, 2017 but did not initially identify Capella by name.

In a notable statement the day of that announcement, U.S. bishops’ conference president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo called on the Vatican to be more forthcoming with information and to mount a “transparent” investigation.

Capella is reportedly the author of a 2003 “scholarly paper on priestly celibacy.” Yeah.