Pedophile priest conviction upheld on appeal

(ANSA) - Palermo, July 11 - A Palermo appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of a priest for repeatedly sexually abusing a mentally disturbed minor.
    Father Calcedonio Di Maggio, 65, was sentenced to five and a half years behind bars for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 2003, and then again in 2006.
    A court found him guilty that same year, writing that he "abused of the powers and violated the duties inherent in his position as a clergyman".
    The Catholic Church accepted Di Maggio as a priest in spite of the fact that he allegedly found his vocation while doing time in the northern city of Turin. He had been convicted of several counts of sexual assault on children, back in 1986.