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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has beefed up the Vatican's oversight of its diplomatic corps after two recent cases of alleged sexual misconduct and other instances of its ambassadors going off-message from the pope.
The Vatican said Tuesday that Francis had created a new section in the secretariat of state to coordinate the selection, training and service of its diplomats. It said the change will enable the head of the diplomatic office to make more frequent visits to embassies and better coordinate with the Vatican's secretary of state, and its interior and foreign ministers.
In 2015, the Vatican charged its Dominican Republic ambassador with soliciting sex from shoeshine boys; he died before trial began. Earlier this year, the Vatican recalled a diplomat from its Washington embassy as part of a child pornography investigation.
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