The lawyer who represented Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta in a canonical trial is now investigating some of the clerics who testified against him.

Bishop Zanchetta is now serving a prison term in Argentina for sexual abuse. The results of an earlier trial before an ecclesiastical tribunal have not been made public. But the lawyer who represented him in that trial, Belda Iniesta, has now been appointed by the Vatican to investigate priests in the Oran diocese, where the bishop once served.

Iniesta said that there was no conflict of interest involved in his switch from defender of the bishop to investigator of the accusers. He said that his appointment for the latter role was natural because of his familiarity with the case.