The Quai d'Orsay had asked, the Vatican finally obey. Monday, July 8, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the lifting of the immunity of the representative of the Pope in France, Luigi Ventura, which is targeted by an investigation of the Paris prosecutor's office for sexual assault.
The Paris prosecutor's office made its request in March, following the complaints of four men.
The investigation began on January 24 after a first complaint by a man accusing the 74-year-old Apostolic Nuncio of touching him a few days earlier at an official ceremony at the Hôtel de Paris. city of Paris.
From "hands to buttocks" in full ceremony
The mayor of Paris had reported to the prosecutor that a young municipal official had complained of repeated touching of the apostolic nuncio - from "hands to buttocks" - during a ceremony of vows to the diplomatic authorities in January.
Two other complainants then came forward and reported similar events in 2018. The second victim, a former city official, reported being a victim of the prelate "at the same vow ceremony, but a year earlier". The former agent, who was then working at the Directorate of Communication (of the City of Paris, Ed) "was the subject of the same actions" as those denounced by the first victim.
"I was in the front row, two meters from Anne Hidalgo, when someone came to my left, busy working, I did not turn around, put his left hand on my shoulder and his right hand. he took my buttocks: an expert gesture, full of confidence, coupled with a big casual smile, as if it were something normal, I was stunned, the ceremony was going on , I left, "said this person, on condition of anonymity, in the newspaper Le Monde in February 2019.
A fourth complaint was also filed by another man.
Waiver of immunity to be heard under duress
A career diplomat of the Vatican, Bishop Ventura has been serving as Apostolic Nuncio since 2009 in Paris. He is in charge of the relations of the Holy See with the French authorities on the one hand and with the Bishops of France on the other, for which he participates in the nomination process. Given his functions, he enjoyed diplomatic immunity and could not be constrained by the investigators.
When asked about this, an official of the Holy See's Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, confirmed the information. "This is an extraordinary measure that confirms the will expressed by the nuncio himself from the beginning of this case to collaborate fully and spontaneously with the competent French judicial authorities," he added.
"Before taking this decision, the Holy See has awaited the conclusion, announced at the end of June, of the preliminary phase of the procedure in which Monsignor Ventura freely participated," said Alessandro Gisotti.
With AFP and Reuters