A SENIOR figure in the Catholic Church has been arrested in the Vatican for possession of images showing child abuse.

Monsignor Carlo Capella, a diplomat who was recalled from Washington last year amid investigations in the United States, Canada and the Vatican, is being held in Gendarmerie barracks inside the Holy See.

Police in Windsor, Ontario, said Capella, a high-ranking priest in the Vatican's diplomatic corps, allegedly uploaded files showing child abuse from a social networking site while visiting a place of worship in December 2016. In a statement they accused Capella of accessing, possessing and distributing material showing child abuse.

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The Vatican recalled Capella, the number four in its Washington embassy, after the US State Department notified them on August 21 of a “possible violation of laws” by one of its diplomats in Washington.

Capella served on the Italy desk in the Vatican's Secretariat of State and was part of the official delegation that negotiated a tax treaty with Italy before being posted to the US embassy last year.