Santo Domingo.- The Vatican on Friday rejected a Warsaw Office of the Prosecutor’s request to hand over its former envoy to Dominican Republic, the Pole Jozef Wesolowski, to face charges of sexual abuse filed by five Dominican boys.

Quoting the AFP, French newspaper Le Monde reports that Pope Francis declined Warsaw’s request to extradite the Polish national to face accusations by Dominican authorities.

Wesolowski was whisked out of the Dominican Republic and sent to Rome once local journalist Nuria Piera uncovered the scandal, which could also be linked to another Polish priest, (Padre Alberto) Wojciech Gil, charged with pedophilia in Juncalito, a town in a rugged region of Santiago province.

"The Holy See’s response is concise and fits in a half-page," reports Polish TV channel N24. "The letter’s authors noted that the Vatican is investigating the Catholic hierarch about the alleged practice of pedophilia."