FRANCE: Vatican Archbishop Envoy Investigated After Accusation Of Groping Male Employee Of Paris Mayor

The Wall Street Journal reports:

French authorities placed the Vatican’s envoy to France under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting a local Paris official last month, the latest in a string of embarrassing episodes involving Holy See diplomats. Paris prosecutors opened an inquiry targeting Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the Vatican’s 74-year-old papal ambassador to France, after receiving a complaint from the office of the mayor of Paris.

According to the complaint, Archbishop Ventura groped in an “insistent and repeated” manner the employee in charge of welcoming the cleric at Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s New Year address Jan. 17, a city official said. The man, who is in his thirties, immediately reported the incident to his superior. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the Holy See is aware of the investigation and awaits the findings of the inquiry. He had no further comment.