Catholic Priest Under Investigation: Manslaughter Probe in Newborn Church Tragedy

Tragic Abandonment: Catholic Priest Faces Manslaughter Charges in Newborn’s Death

A tragic incident occurred on January 2, 2025, at the San Giovanni Battista Church in Bari, Italy, where a newborn baby boy was found deceased inside a thermal cradle designed for abandoned infants.

The cradle’s alarm system failed to activate because the door was not properly closed, preventing notification to the parish priest, Father Antonio Ruccia, who was in Rome at the time.

The baby’s body was discovered by Roberto Savarese, a local funeral director, who noticed the cradle’s door ajar while introducing the device to a new employee.

Savarese described the experience as a “moment of shock,” noting that the baby appeared to have been dead for about two days.

Authorities have initiated an investigation to determine whether the infant was deceased before being placed in the cradle.

An autopsy is planned to ascertain the cause and time of death. The thermal cradle at San Giovanni Battista Church had previously been used successfully in two cases of abandoned babies.