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Luigi Ventura

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Luigi Ventura
Apostolic Nuncio emeritus of France
Titular Archbishop of Equilium
Appointed22 September 2009
Retired17 December 2019
PredecessorFortunato Baldelli
SuccessorCelestino Migliore
Other post(s)Titular Archbishop of Equilium
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination14 June 1969
by Luigi Morstabilini
Consecration29 April 1995
by Angelo Sodano, Bruno Foresti and Giovanni Battista Re
Personal details
Born (1944-12-09) 9 December 1944 (age 79)
Borgosatollo, Italy
DenominationRoman Catholic
MottoUnitatem Spiritus Servare
Coat of armsLuigi Ventura's coat of arms
Styles of
Luigi Ventura
Reference styleThe Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop

Luigi Ventura (born 9 December 1944) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, ending his career as Apostolic Nuncio to France from 2009 to 2019. He became a nuncio and archbishop in 1995 and served in several African countries, Chile, and Canada before being posted to Paris.

Beginning in January 2019 he was under investigation by French authorities for sexual crimes. In July 2019, the Vatican lifted his diplomatic immunity to allow him to face criminal charges.[1] He was allowed to relocate to Rome; Pope Francis accepted his resignation in December 2019.[2] Ventura's criminal trial began in Paris on 10 November 2020 without him present,[3][4] despite previous pledges that he would appear in-person.[5][6][7] However, Ventura was also denied a motion to postpone the trial, which proceeded with many of his accusers testifying.[8][9] A verdict was handed down on 16 December 2020,[10][11][12] which resulted in Ventura receiving an eight-month suspended prison sentence which includes fines and probation.[13][10] He has agreed to not appeal his sentence.[14]

Career

Ventura was born on 9 December 1944 in Borgosatollo, Italy. He was ordained a priest on 14 June 1969 for the Diocese of Brescia. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1967.[15]

He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1978. He earned a doctor of letters and holds a licentiate in canon law. His assignments from 1978 to 1984 were in Brazil, Bolivia and the United Kingdom. He then worked in Rome with the Section for Relations with States at the Secretariat of State until 1995.[16]

On 25 March 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular archbishop of Equilium and apostolic nuncio to the Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Niger.[17] He was consecrated a bishop on 29 April 1995 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State.[18] He was made nuncio to Chile on 25 March 1999.[19]

On 22 June 2001, John Paul named him apostolic nuncio to Canada.[20][21]

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him apostolic nuncio to France on 22 September 2009,[22] replacing Fortunato Baldelli who had been appointed as Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Criminal allegations

In January 2019 the French authorities opened an investigation into Ventura after a junior official at Paris City Hall accused him of molestation. Ventura has not made comment on the allegations.[23]

On 15 February 2019, Le Monde reported that a young male employed by the office of the mayor of Paris had filed a complaint for sexual assault against Ventura and that authorities had launched a formal inquiry in January.[24][25][26][27] The city employee, Mathieu de La Souchère, and two other accusers using aliases, have asked French officials to ask the Vatican to waive Ventura's diplomatic immunity.[28] French European Minister Nathalie Loiseau said she expects the Vatican to allow Ventura to be tried.[29]

On 22 February a Canadian man, Christian Vachon, charged Ventura had touched him improperly in July 2008 when he was 32.[30][31] Vachon said Ventura's successor as Nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, called him the day he registered his complaint to discuss it.[32]

Ventura allowed himself to be questioned by French police in April. At his own request, Ventura met with his four accusers on 22–23 May and denied their charges. The accusers' attorneys were not allowed to ask him questions.[33] On 8 July a Vatican spokesperson said the Holy See had informed French authorities a week earlier that it was waiving Ventura's diplomatic immunity. He called it "an extraordinary gesture".[34] Le Monde reported it was the first withdrawal of diplomatic immunity on the part of the Vatican in modern history.[35]

As of 30 September 2019, Ventura was living at a residence for retired priests in Rome,[36] still subject to French investigators and prosecution.[37]

At the time his France trial was announced in July 2020, Ventura was still under investigation for the alleged 2008 incident in Ottawa, Canada as well.[5][38]

Pablo Larrain's film El Club also accused Ventura of covering up sexual violence in Chile when he served as apostolic nuncio to the country.[39]

Resignation

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 17 December 2019,[40] which Ventura had submitted as required on his 75th birthday. Such resignations are either accepted by Pope Francis quickly, as in Ventura's case, or sometimes he kept bishops in their jobs longer.[41] The fact that Ventura resignation was announced on the same day as Francis' abuse reforms does not seem to be a coincidence.[42] The resignation and its acceptance had been anticipated since Ventura had been relieved of his responsibilities and moved to Rome in September. Libération, which published some of the earliest complaints against Ventura, called the idea of retiring without referencing the criminal charges against Ventura "a beautiful example of Jesuitry".[43]

Criminal charges and trial

On 23 July 2020, the Paris Prosecutor's Office announced that Ventura had been criminally charged with sexually assaulting four men in 2018 and 2019 and will stand trial in Paris starting 10 November 2020.[6][5] Ventura's lawyer stated that the former nuncio agreed to return to Paris and make in-person court appearances during his trial.[7] Despite this pledge, Ventura did not appear in-person when his trial began in Paris on the scheduled date.[3][4] Despite Ventura's absence, which was justified by a doctor's note pointing out the dangers of traveling to France due to the country's surging number of COVID-19 cases, a motion filed by Ventura's lawyers to postpone the trial was denied and several men accusing Ventura of groping them, including a Catholic seminarian, were able to testify in court as the trial progressed.[9][8] Ventura's verdict was scheduled to be delivered on 16 December 2020, with prosecution seeking only a 10-month suspended prison sentence.[11][12] His Paris trial concluded by 15 November.[39] On the scheduled date of 16 December 2020, a Paris court convicted Ventura and handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence.[44] The suspended sentence includes eight months probation and a payment €13,000 to the victims, as well as €9,000 in legal fees.[13] On 18 January 2021, Ventura's lawyer said he would not appeal his conviction.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Holy See waives diplomatic immunity for accused nuncio to France". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Pope accepts resignation of archbishop accused of molestation". Reuters. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b https://www.newmilfordspectrum.com/news/article/Ex-Vatican-envoy-faces-sexual-abuse-charge-in-15714916.php [dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Vatican's former France envoy Luigi Ventura on trial for sexual assault".
  5. ^ a b c Samuel, Henry (23 July 2020). "Pope's former French ambassador to stand trial for sexual assault in Paris". The Telegraph.
  6. ^ a b "Former Vatican Envoy to France to Face Trial on Sexual Assault Charges". The Wall Street Journal. 23 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Paris court to try nuncio on sexual abuse charges".
  8. ^ a b "Pope's ex-envoy tried in Paris for sex assaults, without him". 10 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Former nuncio Archbishop Luigi Ventura absent for sexual assault trial in Paris".
  10. ^ a b "L'Ancien nonce apostolique en France condamné à huit mois de prison avec sursis pour "agressions sexuelles"". 16 December 2020.
  11. ^ a b "▷ Columna de Fréderic Martel: Juan Pablo II, el "Papa malo", su legado en debate - Noticias Chile". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Pope's ex-envoy tried in Paris for sex assaults, without him". 10 November 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Archbishop Ventura sentenced to eight months' probation – Vatican News". 17 December 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Lawyer confirms ex-nuncio to France will not appeal court verdict". Catholic News Agency. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, Ex-alunni 1950 – 1999" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  16. ^ Brockhaus, Hannah (17 December 2019). "Accused nuncio to France resigns post". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  17. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXVII. 1995. p. 397. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  18. ^ "Archbishop Luigi Ventura [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  19. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXXI. 1999. p. 479. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  20. ^ "The Vatican's man in Canada". National Post. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 22.06.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 June 2001.
  22. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 22.09.2009" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 September 2009.
  23. ^ "Pope Francis lifts 'pontifical secret' for sex abuse cases". i24NEWS. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  24. ^ "L'" ambassadeur " du pape en France, Luigi Ventura, visé par une enquête pour " agressions sexuelles "". Le Monde (in French). 15 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  25. ^ Vaillant, Gauthier (15 February 2019). "Le nonce apostolique en France visé par une enquête pour agressions sexuelles". La Croix (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  26. ^ Joahny, Stéphane (17 February 2019). "Soupçons d'agression sexuelle : le cas Ventura met le Vatican dans l'embarras". Journal de Dimanche (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  27. ^ Vandoorne, Saskya (15 February 2019). "Vatican envoy to France under investigation for sexual assault". CNN. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Emmanuel Macron, levez l'immunité diplomatique du nonce apostolique!". Libération (in French). 28 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  29. ^ "France calls on Vatican to take action against envoy after sex abuse charges". Radio France Internationale. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  30. ^ Vaillancourt, Philippe (26 February 2019). "Première plainte d'inconduite sexuelle au Canada contre l'ancien nonce". Présence (in French). Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  31. ^ "French nuncio accused of sexual misconduct during time in Canada". Catholic News Agency. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  32. ^ Vaillancourt, Philippe (28 February 2019). "Vatican embassy confirms complaint of sexual misconduct against ex-nuncio". Crux. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  33. ^ Houdaille, Clémence (23 May 2019). "Confronté à ses accusateurs, le nonce apostolique nie toute agression sexuelle". La Croix (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  34. ^ "Holy See waives diplomatic immunity for accused nuncio to France". Catholic News Agency. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  35. ^ Chambraud, Cécile (17 December 2019). "Le pape François lève le secret pontifical sur les abus sexuels au sein de l'Eglise catholique" (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Papal nuncio to France accused of sexual assault back in Rome". La Croix. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  37. ^ Lamb, Christopher (17 December 2019). "Pope accepts France ambassador resignation". Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  38. ^ "Pope's Ex-Envoy to Stand Trial for Sexual Assault Charges".
  39. ^ a b "Le nonce, Sodoma et les prières de rue".
  40. ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 17.12.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 17 December 2019.
  41. ^ "Vatican ambassador to France resigns after molestation allegations". Reuters. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  42. ^ Winfield, Nicole (17 December 2019). "Pope Francis abolishes 'pontifical secret' in clergy sex abuse cases". FOX 29 KTVU, Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  43. ^ "Le nonce Ventura démisionne... "pour limite d'âge"" (in French). 17 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  44. ^ https://www.wral.com/paris-court-convicts-former-vatican-envoy-of-sexual-assault/19432368/[permanent dead link]
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Niger
25 March 1995 – 25 March 1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Chile
25 March 1999 – 22 June 2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to Canada
22 June 2001 – 22 September 2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Apostolic Nuncio to France
22 September 2009 – 17 December 2019 		Succeeded by
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