Vatican City, 17 December, 2019 / 11:12 am (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis Tuesday accepted Archbishop Luigi Ventura's resignation as apostolic nuncio to France. Ventura was accused of sexual assault earlier this year.
The Vatican revoked Ventura's diplomatic immunity in July, paving the way for a possible trial.
Ventura turned 75 on Dec. 9, the mandatory age at which bishops submit their resignation to the pope. The pope then accepts the resignation at his discretion.
French news agency I.Media reported at the end of September that Ventura had returned to Rome and was living in a residence for elderly priests near St. Peter's Square.
He is accused of having inappropriately touched a young male staffer of Paris City Hall during a Jan. 17 reception for the New Year address of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. That accusation was under investigation by Parisian authorities but has not yet gone to trial.
