Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave in order to elect a successor to Pope Benedict, in a still image taken from a video at the Vatican, March 12, 2013. REUTERS/Vatican CTV via Reuters TV

 

VATICAN CITY: The Vatican said on Saturday it had opened an investigation into reports that a former teenage altar boy ? who allegedly repeatedly forced a dormitory mate to have *** with him ? went on to become a priest.

The allegations concerning the St. Pius X Institute ? known as a pre-seminary ? were made in a recent book and in Italian television reports.

The pre-seminary is a residence inside the Vatican for altar boys who serve at masses in St. Peter?s Basilica mostly presided over by priests, bishops, and cardinals. At times, they also participate in papal liturgies.

The boys go to Italian schools while they live in the Vatican, a sovereign city-state surrounded by Rome.

The reports said that despite complaints to superiors against the teenager, he was accepted into what is known as a major seminary when he became an adult. He was later ordained a priest and is now serving in a parish in northern Italy, they said.

The statement said an initial investigation in 2013 had resulted in ?no adequate confirmation?.

A new investigation had been opened following the latest reports in order to try to shed ?full light on what really happened?, it added.