Ex-diplomat admits to viewing child porn

VATICAN CITY » On the first day of his criminal trial inside the walls of this citystate, a longtime Holy See priest-diplomat said Friday that he had viewed and shared child pornography while stationed in Washington, D.C., in an activity that he described as “compulsive.”

Monsignor Carlo Capella said that while struggling two years ago with his new posting in Washington, he would send and receive images in one-on-one chats on Tumblr, a blogging site. Capella said the chats were short but “vulgar.”

“In retrospect,” Capella said, “I can see how repugnant they were.”

Capella’s trial, which will continue today, comes after his indictment on charges of possessing and sharing child pornography and marks a major test of how the Vatican’s justice system will address one aspect of the abuse that has deeply scarred the Roman Catholic Church.

The church has been accused for years by critics of shielding alleged perpetrators from harsh punishment, and the Vatican — which rebuffed a request from the United States to drop Capella’s diplomatic immunity and have him prosecuted in a U.S. court — is under pressure to handle the case with transparency.

Several pool reporters were permitted in the courtroom, where three judges also heard testimony from a Vatican police investigator.

The Vatican has said Capella’s case falls under its jurisdiction because he is a Holy See public official, “albeit abroad.”