PARIS – The Vatican said Monday it has decided to lift the diplomatic immunity of its ambassador to France, who is accused of groping and inappropriate touching by multiple men. The Vatican has said its envoy was cooperating, but one of the accusers, Mathieu de La Souchere, asserted last week that the probe was essentially stalled over the immunity question. His whereabouts are unknown, but he attended a meeting at the Vatican last month of all the Holy See’s apostolic nuncios, or ambassadors. Ventura did agree to investigators’ request to take part in a “confrontation” with his accusers in May, according to French media reports. The Vatican invoked immunity for a high-ranking churchman during the recently concluded trial in France that convicted French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of failing to report an admitted pedophile to police.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 08, 2019 23:26 UTC