The trial of Rev. Gabriele Martinelli for allegedly abusing an altar boy when both were under the age of 18, ended on 6 October 2021, when the Vatican tribunal (in effect, the Pope’s criminal court) acquitted the accused of some charges and found others could not be punished as they had allegedly occurred too long ago. The former rector of the seminary, the Rev. Enrico Radice, was held not to have tried to cover up the alleged abuse.

In a statement, the tribunal said it accepted that there was evidence of there being a sexual relationship between Martinelli (who was not ordained at the time) and the alleged victim, LG, but no proof that LG, who was just seven months younger, had been forced into that relationship.