A Vatican tribunal convicted a former Holy See diplomat and sentenced him to five years in prison and a 5,000 Euro fine for possessing and distributing child pornography in the first such trial of its kind inside the Vatican.
Monsignor Carlo Capella admitted to viewing the images during what he called a period of "fragility" and interior crisis sparked by a job transfer to the Vatican embassy in Washington. He apologized to his family and the Holy See, and appealed for leniency by saying the episode was just a "bump in the road" of a priestly vocation he loved and wanted to continue.
Tribunal President Giuseppe Dalla Torre read out the verdict after a two-day trial and imposed the sentence immediately.
Monsignor Capella will serve the sentence in the Vatican barracks, where he has been held since his arrest earlier this year.
Prosecutor Gian Piero Milano had asked for a stiffer sentence due to what he called the "great" amount of material accessed, which included 40 to 55 photos, films and Japanese animation found on his cellphone, an iCloud and Tumblr account, whichMonsignor Capella viewed even after he had been recalled by the Vatican in August of 2017.
Prosecutors and Vatican investigators said the material featured children aged 14-17 engaging in sexual acts.
Capella's attorney disputed that Capella had distributed the material. He denied the amount of porn was excessive, and said his client had cooperated with investigators, repented and was seeking psychological help.
The Vatican recalled Monsignor Capella, among the highest ranking officials in its Washington embassy, after the U.S. State Department notified it in August of a "possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images" by one of its diplomats in Washington.
Soon after, Canadian police issued an arrest warrant for Capella, accusing him of having accessed, possessed and distributed child porn over Christmas 2016 from a church in Windsor, Ontario using a social networking site.
The trial was the first known enforcement of a 2013 law for the Vatican City State that specifically criminalized possession and distribution of child pornography, punishing it with up to five years in prison and a 50,000 euro fine.
Now that the criminal prosecution is over, Monsignor Capella will be subject to a canonical trial, which could result in him being laicized.
It wasn't immediately clear if Canadian authorities would pursue their case against him; the Vatican doesn't extradite its citizens.
The Body of Christ continues to be crucified by these horrid tales of perversion and corruption which so often reach into the highest echelons of Church administration and authority.
Dear Holy Spirit, when will it end?
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