Vatican Police has arrested a former leading papal diplomat, who had even served in India, on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. Carlo Alberto Capella was taken into custody after an investigation. He was ordained in 1993 and joined the Vatican’s diplomatic corps in 2004 which brought him to India and Hong Kong followed by a brief stint in the US when he was recalled in 2017 after the US authorities told the Vatican about a possible violation of child pornography laws.
The arrest comes in light of Pope Francis’s efforts to snuff out child abuse in the Catholic Church where he has pledged zero tolerance. However, he has been criticised for ‘not doing enough’ to hold bishops who allegedly cover up the cases.
Child abuse in Indian churches is not unheard of. In March last year, a Kerala priest who spoke against child abuse, was himself arrested for allegedly raping a minor which led to pregnancy. The 17-year-old gave birth to a baby in a private hospital and the accused had allegedly shifted both, the mother and the baby, to an orphanage to hush up the incident. In July later that year, another Kerala priest was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing minor boys. In July, too, a Missionary school father was arrested for allegedly trying to molest a class 8 boy in Madhya Pradesh.
