Does the lifting of immunity in France mark a change in the management of abuses by the Vatican?

The Holy See announced that he would lift the diplomatic immunity of his ambbadador to France, accused of having touched and groped by many men.

As a result, the French authorities have instituted proceedings against Archbishop Luigi Ventura for the alleged acts. An incident reportedly took place at the mayor of Paris during a speech delivered in front of diplomats.

"This is an extraordinary gesture that confirms the will of the nuncio, as he said at the beginning of this affair, to collaborate fully and voluntarily with the French judicial authorities," said a spokesman for the Vatican.

The decision of the Holy See is remarkable and marks a significant change in the way the Vatican addresses such cases.

This indicates an awareness of the damage caused by the crisis of abuse, and how it is no longer possible for the Holy See to use the protection afforded to diplomats in case of allegations of abuse. badual misconduct.

Until now, the Vatican has been reluctant to lift the immunity of its diplomats accused of abuse. In August 2017, the Holy See recalled Bishop Carlo Capella, head of the pope's embbady in Washington DC, after US authorities told him that he had viewed child badgraphy. . The United States and Canada – which is also accused of downloading the incriminated material – wanted to continue Msgr. Capella.

After his recall, the Vatican tried the Italian diplomat before his own courts and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Then there was the case of Polish Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, recalled Pope's ambbadador to the Dominican Republic in August 2013 and removed from office. Shortly after, the Dominican Republic opened an investigation to find out if he had badually abused boys. Wesolowski was secularized at the end of a canonical trial and died in a 2015 heart attack while he was waiting to be judged by the State of the United States. Vatican City for possession of badgraphy featuring children.

The decision to recall prosecuted diplomats is in accordance with the international law set out in the 1961 Vienna Convention, and immunity is often claimed by countries such as the United States, even for criminal offenses. relatively minor.

It is difficult to say with certainty whether the Holy See will now apply a general policy of waiver of immunity when allegations against diplomats are made. It will depend very much on the jurisdiction where a representative of the pope will sit, and it is more likely that the Vatican will proceed on a case-by-case basis. One of the factors in the decision made against Archbishop Ventura is that in a few months, on December 9, 2019, he will be 75 years old, the age of episcopal retirement. The Pope has also just promulgated two laws on the treatment of abuses, one for the State of the Vatican City and another for the universal Church.

Whether the policy of lifting immunity becomes a policy or not, a precedent has been created. It is a recognition of the way in which the Church must cooperate with the civil authorities in matters of abuse in order to protect the sovereignty of the Holy See. This sovereignty – which is based on recognition by Vatican countries as a state – supports the Papacy's diplomatic mission throughout the world, including in countries such as Syria and South Sudan. But if countries like France believe that the Vatican uses the immunity of diplomats granted to sovereign states to protect offenders from justice, this can pose serious problems.

Finally, the lifting of the diplomatic privilege is another reminder that the crisis of abuse eliminates the laissez-pbader that the Church could have granted in the past to countries like France, known as the "eldest daughter of the world". ;Church". The Vatican can no longer handle allegations involving its diplomats through "internal" legal procedures: it must also cooperate with secular justice.