VATICAN CITY – Eight minutes of silence instead of a homily have marked the Vatican funeral of a former papal diplomat, whose trial on charges of possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of minors had begun this summer in a Holy See courtroom.
A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said time for silent reflection followed the Gospel reading at Jozef Wesolowski’s funeral Monday evening in a chapel in a Vatican administrative building.
The Holy See, citing preliminary autopsy results, says Wesolowski, 67, died of a heart attack in his room at the Vatican Aug. 27.
During the funeral, a ritual prayer so God might “cancel the sins that he had committed with human fragility” was recited.
Cameras were banned from the funeral. Burial will be in Wesolowski’s native Poland.
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