DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Vatican Recalls Official Envoy Over Molestation Rumors

The Vatican has abruptly recalled Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, its official envoy to the Dominican Republic, in the midst of child molestation rumors about Wesolowski and another priest. The Associated Press reports:

Wesolowski's sudden departure from the Dominican Republic in recent days has been the cause of feverish speculation in local media. Dominican television network NCDN, citing a statement from the director of a community group, reported that Wesolowski had slept in the same room as several altar boys at his beach house. Shortly before his removal, several residents of the mountain town of Juncalito made allegations of sexual abuse against the Rev. Alberto Gil Wojciech, also a Polish priest and a friend of Wesolowski. The community leader, Pedro Espinal, told reporters that Wojciech took altar boys to the home of Wesolowski.

RELATED: In July, the Dominican Republic's Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez called openly gay US ambassador nominee Wally Brewster a "faggot" during a press conference. A week later local Catholics staged a protest against Brewster by dressing in black and putting black ribbons on their cars.