Madrid:
Spanish police have arrested an 85-year-old Irish Roman Catholic priest suspected of sexually abusing three altar boys in Britain over many years.
A National Police spokeswoman said on Saturday that Francis Paul Cullen, a native of Dublin, was arrested in the town of Arona on the Canary Island of Tenerife.
He was detained on a European arrest warrant issued by Britain and will be taken to the National Court in Madrid.
A police statement said the abuses occurred in religious centers and churches in Britain between 1955 and 1991. The locations were not disclosed.
Police said the altar boys were aged 7, 8 and 12 years when they were first abused.
The officer spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with police regulations.