THE Vatican is to put its former envoy to the Dominican Republic on trial over child sex abuse charges.
Jozef Wesolowski is accused of sexually abusing young boys in the Dominican Republic from 2008 to 2013.
The 66-year-old, who is under house arrest in the Vatican, is due to stand trial on July 11.
He is also accused of having child pornography on his computer, dating from his return to Rome in 2013.
Wesolowski, originally from Poland, was recalled from the Dominican Republic in 2013 after rumours surfaced that he allegedly paid shoeshine boys to perform sex acts.
He had spent five years in the Caribbean country as the papal envoy.
He was defrocked in June last year after he was found guilty by a Church tribunal – the highest-ranking church official to be defrocked for such abuse.
Wesolowski will now be tried by a Vatican criminal court and could face between six and 10 years in prison if found guilty.
In a statement the Vatican said computer systems used by Wesolowski would be scrutinised.
He has been under house arrest in the Vatican since September.
The Vatican said at the time of his arrest that he had not been placed in a police cell because of his poor health.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has accepted the resignations of a US archbishop and his deputy following allegations in Minnesota of ignoring a priest's child abuse.
The developments are seen as part of a tougher response by Pope Francis to allegations of clerics and Church employees exploiting minors.
Last year the Pope compared the actions of those who commit such crimes to a "satanic mass".
