Vatican: A Paris criminal court on Dec. 16 sentenced Archbishop Luigi Ventura, to an eight-month suspended prison sentence for sexual harassment of several men.
The 76 year-old prelate will also have to pay €13,000 to the victims, as well as €9,000 in legal fees. Archbishop Ventura served as Apostolic Nuncio to France from 2009 to 2019.
He was the Vatican’s ambassador to Canada from 2001 to 2009. He served as nuncio to Chile for two years, from 1999 to 2001 and, before that, in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger from 1995 to 1999. He retired in December, 2019, after his 75th birthday.
The Archbishop has consistently denied the accusations. The Holy See waived jurisdictional immunity, which Archbishop Ventura could have claimed under the terms of the Vienna Convention of 18 April 1961 on diplomatic relations. The decision to waive immunity was intended to express the Nuncio’s willingness to cooperate fully and spontaneously with the French judicial authorities.
Archbishop Ventura’s lawyer said he is considering an appeal.
https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/41149