On Friday, June 22, this room will host the trial of a former Vatican diplomat to Washington, D.C., who is facing charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.
WHO IS CARLO ALBERTO CAPELLA?
Carlo Alberto Capella is a priest from the northern Italian city of Carpi. He was admitted into the Vatican corps of diplomats in 2004. Capella served in India, Hong Kong and Italy. He was given the title of monsignor by Benedict XVI in 2008.
More recently, Capella was serving as a diplomat at the Vatican embassy in the United States capital before being recalled in September 2017 after the U.S. State Department notified the Vatican of potential violations.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
The Vatican arrested Capella in April and is charging him with possessing and distributing “a large quantity” of child pornography.
In addition to the alert from the U.S., Canada had also flagged Capella for online distribution during a church visit in the country.
WHICH NATION IS PROSECUTING?
Although the United States issued a request for Capella's diplomatic immunity to be waived in order to try him there, and Canada had also issued an arrest warrant, the case will be first prosecuted by the Vatican.
WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL SENTENCE?
If convicted, Capella would be subject to criminal penalties, including prison time and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
Under the Vatican law revised by Pope Francis in 2013, possession of child pornography has a sentence of up to 12 years in prison.
For now, Capella sits in a Vatican Gendarmerie cell awaiting the trial, which is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on Friday. Following its conclusion, the priest will face a canonical trial at a later date.
