Two Polish-born prelates are being investigated by Holy See authorities for alleged possession of child pornography, a Vatican spokesman said.

Father Federico Lombardi today identified one of them as Monsignor Bronislaw Morawiec, an administrator at St Mary Major Basilica, a Rome church where Pope Francis sometimes prays.

The spokesman said Mgr Morawiec has already been convicted by the tiny city-state's justice system of fraud, part of efforts to assure that the Holy See's financial practices meet international standards.

He identified the other child-porn suspect as Josef Wesolowski. A Vatican church tribunal already found Wesolowski guilty of sexually abusing boys while serving as papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic.

Fr Lombardi gave no details on the pornography investigations, which Vatican prosecutor Gian Piero Milan referred to in an annual report today.

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