Luigi Ventura

Luigi Ventura (born 9 December 1944)[2] is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was apostolic nuncio to France from 2009 to 2018. He became a nuncio and archbishop in 1995 and served in several African countries, Chile, and Canada before being posted to Paris.

Luigi Ventura
Apostolic Nuncio emeritus to France
Appointed	22 September 2009
Term ended	17 December 2019
Predecessor	Fortunato Baldelli
Other posts	Titular Archbishop of Equilium
Orders
Ordination	14 June 1969
Consecration	29 April 1995 by Angelo Sodano
Personal details
Born	(1944-12-09) 9 December 1944 Borgosatollo, Italy
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Niger (1995–99) Apostolic Nuncio to Chile (1999–2001) Apostolic Nuncio to Canada (2001–09) [1]
Motto	Unitatem Spiritus Servare
Coat of arms

Styles of Luigi Ventura
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

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[3]. He was allowed to relocate to Rome; Pope Francis accepted his resignation in December 2019[4]. His criminal trial will be held in Paris starting on November 10, 2020 and will be held in-person.[5][6][7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

On 25 March 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular archbishop of Equilium and apostolic nuncio to the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger.[10] He was consecrated a bishop on 29 April 1995 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State.[11] He was made nuncio to Chile on 25 March 1999.[12]

On 22 June 2001, John Paul named him apostolic nuncio to Canada.[13][14]

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him apostolic nuncio to France on 22 September 2009,[15] 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.[16]

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.[17][18][19][20] 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.[21] French European Minister Nathalie Loiseau said she expects the Vatican to allow Ventura to be tried.[22]

On 22 February a Canadian man, Christian Vachon, charged Ventura had touched him improperly in July 2008 when he was 32.[23][24] Vachon said Ventura's successor as Nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, called him the day he registered his complaint to discuss it.[25]

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.[26] 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".[27] Le Monde reported it was the first withdrawal of diplomatic immunity on the part of the Vatican in modern history.[28]

As of 30 September 2019, Ventura was living at a residence for retired priests in Rome,[29] still subject to French investigators and prosecution.[30]

At the time his France trial was announced in July 2020, Ventura was still under investigation for the alleged 2008 incident in Ottawa, Canada was well.[5][31]

Resignation

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 17 December 2019,[32] 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.[33] The fact that Ventura resignation was announced on the same day as Francis’ abuse reforms does not seem to be a coincidence.[34] 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".[35]

Criminal charges and trial

On July 23, 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 November 10, 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]

See also

• Fortunato Baldelli
• Apostolic Nuncio
• Apostolic Nunciature to France

References

1. "Rinunce e Nomine, 22.09.2009" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 September 2009.
2. "Bishops who are not Ordinaries: VE… – VN…". www.gcatholic.org. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
3. "Holy See waives diplomatic immunity for accused nuncio to France". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
4. "Pope accepts resignation of archbishop accused of molestation". Reuters. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
5. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/23/popes-former-french-ambassador-stand-trial-sexual-assault-paris/
6. https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-vatican-envoy-to-france-to-face-trial-on-sexual-assault-charges-11595517674
7. https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/13194/paris-court-to-try-nuncio-on-sexual-abuse-charges
8. "Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, Ex-alunni 1950 – 1999" (in Italian). Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
9. Brockhaus, Hannah (17 December 2019). "Accused nuncio to France resigns post". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
10. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXVII. 1995. p. 397. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
11. "Archbishop Luigi Ventura [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
12. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXXI. 1999. p. 479. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
13. "The Vatican's man in Canada". National Post. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
14. "Rinunce e Nomine, 22.06.2001" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 June 2001.
15. "Rinunce e Nomine, 22.09.2009" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 September 2009.
16. "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.
17. "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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Vandoorne, Saskya (15 February 2019). "Vatican envoy to France under investigation for sexual assault". CNN. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
21. "Emmanuel Macron, levez l'immunité diplomatique du nonce apostolique!". La Libération (in French). 28 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
22. "France calls on Vatican to take action against envoy after sex abuse charges". RFI. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
23. Vaillancourt, Philippe (26 February 2019). "Première plainte d'inconduite sexuelle au Canada contre l'ancien nonce". Présence (in French). Retrieved 30 May 2019.
24. "French nuncio accused of sexual misconduct during time in Canada". Catholic News Agency. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
25. Vaillancourt, Philippe (28 February 2019). "Vatican embassy confirms complaint of sexual misconduct against ex-nuncio". Crux. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
26. Houdaille, Clémence (23 May 2019). "Confronté à ses accusateurs, le nonce apostolique nie toute agression sexuelle". La Croix (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
27. "Holy See waives diplomatic immunity for accused nuncio to France". Catholic News Agency. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
28. 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.
29. "Papal nuncio to France accused of sexual assault back in Rome". La Croix International. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
30. Lamb, Christopher (17 December 2019). "Pope accepts France ambassador resignation". The Tablet. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
31. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pope-francis-ex-envoy-luigi-ventura-to-stand-trial-for-sexual-assault-charges-2267783
32. "Resignations and Appointments, 17.12.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 17 December 2019.
33. "Vatican ambassador to France resigns after molestation allegations". Reuters. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
34. 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.
35. "Le nonce Ventura démisionne… «pour limite d'âge»" (in French). 17 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Piero Biggio	Apostolic Nuncio to Chile 25 March 1999 – 22 June 2001	Succeeded by Aldo Cavalli
Preceded by Paolo Romeo	Apostolic Nuncio to Canada 22 June 2001 – 22 September 2009	Succeeded by Pedro Lopez Quintana
Preceded by Fortunato Baldelli	Apostolic Nuncio to France 22 September 2009 – 17 December 2019	Succeeded by Celestino Migliore