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U.n.
Expresses " Deepest Concern" ...
Center for Constitutional Rights
February 5, 2014
http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/u.n.-expresses-%E2%80%9Cdeepest-concern%E2%80%9D-over-widespread-sexual-abuse-catholic-clergy%2C-finding-vatican-faile
[with pdf]
[with pdf]
Committee Calls for Overhaul of
Policies to Enable Protection and Accountability, Full
Disclosure of Clergy Sex Abuse Records
February 5, 2014, New York – "The Holy See has
consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the
Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children’s
best interests, as observed by several national commissions of
inquiry," wrote a United Nations Committee today. The Vatican
must undertake a series of reforms to meet its obligations under
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and disclose records
on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy
around the world, according to concluding
observations released today by the U.N. Committee on the Rights
of the Child. The U.N. Committee questioned
Vatican representatives in a public hearing last month regarding
the Vatican’s handling of the global crisis of sexual violence
committed by Catholic clergy, including allegations that it
enabled sexual violence against children by transferring
pedophile priests to different parishes or destroying evidence
in order to cover up their crimes. This was the first time
Vatican officials have been directly questioned by an
international body on this topic.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
(SNAP) and their attorneys from the U.S.-based Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR), which had submitted a joint report
to the Committee, had been in attendance at the hearing in
Geneva.
“We are so gratified that the U.N. has taken up
this issue with such seriousness,” said Barbara Blaine,
president of SNAP. “The more international bodies and local
governments step up, the sooner we can end the Vatican
practices, including cover-ups, that continue to result in
the rape of children and other vulnerable adults in the
Church.”
The U.N Committee is “gravely concerned that the
Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes
committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address
cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has
adopted policies and practices which have led to the
continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the
perpetrators.” The Committee lamented the “code of silence”
that has allowed both abusers and those who have covered it
up to “escape judicial proceedings.” Among its many
recommendations, the U.N. Committee called on the Vatican to
“immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual
abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant
law enforcement authorities for investigation and
prosecution purposes.”
So far, the Vatican has refused to provide
concrete data on its handling of sexual violence cases or
turn over records to the Committee. The Vatican has also
asserted that it is only responsible for actions or crimes
that occur within Vatican City, despite its global reach
and control over all Catholic clergy. In its report, the
U.N. Committee dismisses that assertion, noting the
Vatican is the “supreme power of the Catholic Church” and
that “subordinates in Catholic religious orders are bound
by obedience to the Pope.”
“This day has been a long time coming, but the
international community is finally holding the Vatican
accountable for its role in enabling and perpetuating
sexual violence in the Church,” said Katherine
Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for
Constitutional Rights. “The whole world will be watching
to ensure that the Vatican takes the concrete steps
required by the U.N. to protect children and end these
crimes. Impunity and cover-up, including at the highest
levels of the Church, will not be tolerated.”
Although the Committee’s recommendations are
non-binding, as a State Party to the Convention, the
Vatican has undertaken to meet the obligations that the
Committee found it has breached. The Committee has
called the Vatican back to report on its progress in
2017; previously it had been 14 years between reports.
The U.N. Committee
Against Torture has also summoned the Vatican to
Geneva in April to report on its compliance with the
Torture Convention.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of
those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and
largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000
members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we
have members who were molested by religious figures
of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis,
bishops, and Protestant ministers, as well as those
who suffered institutional abuse or those hurt by
scout leaders, coaches and teachers. Visit www.snapnetwork.org.
The Center for Constitutional
Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting
the rights guaranteed by the United States
Constitution and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who
represented civil rights movements in the South,
CCR is a non-profit legal and educational
organization committed to the creative use of law
as a positive force for social change.
Contact: press@ccrjustice.org
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