Canadian Bishop Raymond Lahey has opted to begin serving a jail sentence after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Lahey was taken into custody after admitting to possessing 588 child pornography images along with about 60 videos and numerous stories featuring themes that included the humiliation, degradation and slavery of young boys, the Montreal Gazette reports.
The Vatican also announced that it would be taking its own disciplinary action.
“Although the civil process has run its course, the Holy See will continue to follow the canonical procedures in effect for such cases, which will result in the imposition of the appropriate disciplinary or penal measures,” read a Vatican statement.
The images, stories and videos were discovered after Lahey was stopped by border security agents as he returned from a trip to Britain on Sept. 15, 2009. His passport showed he had visited Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Germany since 2005.