The United Nations is demanding all clergy, known or suspected to be child abusers, be immediately removed from their posts.
This is one of many wide-sweeping recommendations on February 5, from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Declaring the Holy See as in breach of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the UN Committee said it is gravely concerned the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed.
The Committee accuses the Vatican of not having taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and protect children.
The same report also criticises Vatican attitudes towards abortion, homosexuality and contraception.
Responding to the document, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s representative to the UN in Geneva stressed that every single case of child abuse is “a case too much”.
However he says that in recent times a lot has been achieved.
Tomasi said it is hard to find other institutions or even states that have done as much for child protection as the package of measures taken by the Vatican and local bishops conferences.
Observing the UN report asks the Church to accept the practice of abortion, Tomasi said the Committee appears to have difficulty understanding the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the protection of life in the womb and the freedom for believers to express their deeply held convictions.
Specific UN recommendations
The report accuses the Vatican of adopting policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by the impunity of the perpetrators.
Acknowledging there have been notable changes in the Holy See’s approach to the whole abuse question over the past decade, the UN Committee still insists that much more needs to be done by the Holy See to comply with the UN Convention, and the Committee:
- “strongly urges” the Commission for the Protection of Children set up by Pope Francis in December 2013 to “investigate independently all cases of child sexual abuse as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them”.
- calls on the Holy See to “immediately remove all known and suspected child abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes”.
- asks the Holy See “to ensure a transparent sharing of all archives which can be used to hold the abusers accountable as well as those who concealed their crimes and knowingly placed offenders in contact with children”.
- urges the Holy See to “amend Canon Law in order for child sexual abuse to be considered as crimes and not as “delicts against the moral”, and repeal all provisions which may impose and obligation of silence on the victims and on all those who become aware of such crimes”.
- recommends that the Holy See “establish clear rules, mechanisms and procedures for the mandatory reporting of all suspected cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation to law enforcement officials”.
- requests that the Holy See “ensure that all priests, religious personnel and individuals working under the authority of the Holy See are made aware of their reporting obligations and of the fact that in case of conflict, these obligations prevail over Canon Law provisions”
- proposes that the Holy See “Develop programs and policies for the prevention of such crimes and for the recovery and social integration of child victims, in accordance with the outcome documents adopted in 1996, 2001 and 2008 World Congresses against Sexual Exploitation of Children…”
John L Allen, associate editor of the Boston Globe says that because the UN Committee has no police power and relies on moral pressure to adopt its recommendations, there is a strong possibility the fusillade from the UN panel may backfire.
Allen questions the wisdom of the UN Committee blurring the cause of child protection with the culture wars over sexual mores such as jettisoning Church teaching on abortion.
“Not only are those bits of advice deeply unlikely to be adopted, they may actually strengthen the hand of those still in denial in the Church on the abuse scandals by allowing them to style the UN report as all-too-familiar secular criticism driven by politics,” said Allen.
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