Monsignor Capella had not contested the charges against him, and during the first hearing, on Friday, he admitted to “compulsive acts of improper internet consultations” of photographs, videos and manga cartoons showing adolescent minors engaged in sexually explicit acts. He told the court that he had been going through a personal crisis because he was unhappy to have been transferred to the Holy See’s embassy in Washington.

The Vatican recalled Monsignor Capella from Washington in September, shortly after the State Department had notified it of a “possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by one of the Vatican’s diplomats there. The American authorities had sought to strip his diplomatic immunity and charge him with possession of child pornography, and his recall was denounced by critics as the Vatican’s attempt to shield one of its own.

However, Gian Piero Milano, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, said on Saturday that it was right for Monsignor Capella to have been recalled for trial because crimes committed by one of the Holy See’s officials in any state were under the jurisdiction of the Vatican.

Monsignor Capella entered the diplomatic corps in 2004. Before being posted to Washington, he served in Hong Kong, India and Italy.

The Vatican trial was another step in Pope Francis’ attempts to repair a series of missteps in the Church’s handling of the sexual abuse crisis. While professing to observe “zero tolerance” when it came to abusive priests and the bishops who mishandled or covered up the conduct, Francis has been accused by critics of being big on words and short on action.