Vatican Has Multiple Issues to Deal with in Order to Keep Children Safe

Road to Recovery
February 5, 2014

http://www.road-to-recovery.org/

United Nations Committee on Children’s Rights rightly blasts Vatican for negligence

Church abusers must be removed permanently and referred to law enforcement

Road to Recovery, Inc. applauds the United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of Children for issuing a scathing and accurate criticism of the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse cases by its clergy, religious, and lay people. The UN Committee cited the fact that “tens of thousands of children worldwide” had been systematically sexually abused for decades in the Catholic Church.

The United Nations report got to the heart of the matter by pointing out that as an institution, the Catholic Church has not, cannot, and more than likely will not police itself and treat childhood sexual abuse as the crime it is. Additionally, the report cites the Vatican for not treating the issue of sexual abuse of children with urgency and outrage. Instead, the Vatican spent more time protecting its image and defending abusers. Clergyman and other abusers were protected; children were not.

The United Nations report was critical of the Vatican’s arrogance, displayed in a number of ways. The Church failed to submit data on child sexual abuse in a timely fashion, and it usually handled cases secretly, thumbing its nose at any entity outside itself that wished to hold it accountable. Several grand jury reports in the United States concluded similarly; there was a concerted effort to keep sexual abuse quiet.

In our opinion, the United Nations report got it right. In fact, every organization that has investigated the Church’s handling of child sexual abuse has concluded the same thing: the Church deliberately placed itself first and children second. The Church still protects itself, ostracizes whistle blowers, and lacks an action plan to address child sexual abuse appropriately.

Road to Recovery calls for a massive reform of the Catholic Church’s approach to child sexual abuse. All sexually abusive clergymen, religious, and lay people must never serve in the Church again, all Church leaders who have covered up sexual abuse of children must be fired, and those who are criminally charged and convicted must serve jail time.

Finally, Road to Recovery calls on United States Attorney General Eric Holder to commence a federal investigation of the United States Catholic Church and its handling of child sexual abuse. The results of such an investigation should lead to indictments, trials, and sentences, if appropriate.

Contact: roberthoatson@gmail.com