|
|
Un
Report Criticizes Vatican Child Protection Record
By Brian Roewe
National Catholic Reporter
February 5, 2014
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/un-report-criticizes-vatican-child-protection-record
A United Nations watchdog group for children’s rights
chastised the Vatican Wednesday for a series of substandard
policies that fall short in protecting children, specifically
from sexual abuse.
The condemnation came from the U.N. Committee on
Convention of the Rights of the Child, which is made up of 18
independent experts that monitor the implementation of the 1989
U.N. treaty -- ratified by the Vatican in 1990 -- related to
child protection and children’s rights.
While it welcomed the Vatican’s recent “open and
constructive dialogue” and the Vatican’s willingness “to change
attitudes and practices” related to child protection, the
committee noted that the Vatican’s response to the U.N. body
came “with a considerable delay” of 14 years. The U.N. committee
said that most of its recommendations following its initial 1995
review had not fully addressed.
Though the latest U.N. report addresses a range of
issues, such as the Vatican’s use of discriminatory terms like
“illegitimate children,” or its handling of children born of
priests, the U.N. child’s rights committee held its “deepest
concern” for the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy,
estimating that clergy have “been involved in the sexual abuse
of tens of thousands of children worldwide.
“The 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 report said.
Particular areas it highlighted included:
- The practice of offender mobility, where “well-known
child sexual abusers have been transferred from parish to
parish or to other countries in an attempt to cover-up such
crimes,” which has kept such priests in contact with children,
placing minors in many countries “at high risk of sexual
abuse”;
- A continued practice of withholding data on child
sexual abuse cases;
- A practice of instituting disciplinary measures to
abusers in secrecy, which has “allowed the vast majority of
abusers and almost all those who concealed child sexual abuse
to escape judicial proceedings in States where abuses were
committed”;
- A code of silence for all members of clergy that has
prevented a majority of child sex abuse cases from being
reported to law enforcement where the abuse occurred;
- Reporting to law enforcement that “has never been made
compulsory” and that “in many cases, Church authorities,
including at the highest levels of the Holy See have shown
reluctance and in some instances, refused to cooperate with
judicial authorities and national commissions of inquiry”;
- Limited efforts that have been made "to empower
children enrolled in Catholic schools and institutions to
protect themselves from sexual abuse."
In its recommendations, the committee urged 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.”
Other recommendations included:
- ensuring the recently announced sexual abuse
commission -- announced in December by Pope Francis and to be
housed in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith --
will investigate independently all cases of child sexual abuse
and the conduct of church leaders involved;
- ensuring transparent sharing of its all its archives;
amending canon law to make child sexual abuse a crime and
remove all provisions requiring secrecy related to allegations;
- establishing “clear rules, mechanisms and procedures
for the mandatory reporting of all suspected cases of child
sexual abuse and exploitation to law enforcement authorities”
and ensuring all religious and church personnel are aware of
their reporting obligations, “that in cases of conflict …
prevail over Canon law provisions”;
- developing programs and policies to prevent child
sexual abuse and to help victims in recovery.
The committee noted that when addressing allegations of
child sex abuse, the church “has consistently placed the
preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection
of the perpetrators above children’s best interests.” It urged
the Vatican to implement policies at all levels of authority to
make the best interests of the child a primary consideration.
In a press
statement, the Vatican said it would study and examine the
report (which is non-binding and unenforceable by the
committee).
“The Holy See reiterates its commitment to defending and
protecting the rights of the child, in line with the principles
promoted by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
according to the moral and religious values offered by Catholic
doctrine,” the statement said.
In an interview
with Vatican Radio Wednesday, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the
Vatican’s permanent observer to the U.N. who had testified before
the U.N. committee on Jan. 16, said its findings “point out a
rather negative approach to what the Holy See has been doing and
has already achieved in the area of the protection of children.”
Tomasi said the report appeared not up to date since the
discussions he and the Vatican delegation had with the committee
in mid-January. At that hearing, which marked the first time
Vatican officials defended its handling of abuse scandals before
an independent body, Tomasi reiterated the church’s commitment to
reform its policies and practices on sexual abuse.
The Vatican also took issue with portions of the report
that addressed abortion and contraception, calling it “an attempt
to interfere with Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of the
human person and in the exercise of religious freedom.”
Responding to the report’s recommendation that the
church review its abortion position and amend canon law to allow
the procedure under specific circumstances, Tomasi told Vatican
Radio, “This is a contradiction with the principle of life that
the convention itself should support recommending that children
be protected before and after birth. If a child is eliminated or
killed we can no longer talk about rights for this person.”
The report also recommended the Vatican assess its
teachings on contraception and sexuality, and review its past
statements on homosexuality that the committee said contribute to
social stigmatization and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender children, and those raised by same-sex couples.
In addition, it urged the Vatican “to make full use of its moral
authority to condemn all forms of harassment, discrimination or
violence against children based on their sexual orientation or
the sexual orientation of their parents.”
Outside of sexual abuse, the committee gave the Vatican
poor marks in its promotion of gender equality and child
trafficking, specifically noting the Magdalene laundries in
Ireland. It also urged the church to explicitly oppose and to
amend canon law to eliminate all forms of corporal punishment in
child development.
The U.N. committee requested the Vatican submit its next
report for review by September 2017.
In a statement, the Survivors Network for those Abused
by Priests called the report “a wakeup call,” not for church
officials but for those in law enforcement to investigate
possible clergy sexual abuse and cover ups, and where applicable,
prosecute church supervisors. They echoed the call for Pope
Francis to immediately remove all offenders from ministry and
“harshly punish” supervisors and peers who enabled the crimes.
“For the safety of children, we hope every head of state
on the planet reads this and acts on it,” said Barbara Blaine,
SNAP president.
[Brian Roewe is an NCR staff writer. His email
address is broewe@ncronline.org.
Follow him on Twitter: @BrianRoewe.]
Editor's Note: A previous
version of this article stated the papal sex abuse commission
was announced in January. It was announced in December, and a
month later, Vatican officials indicated it would be housed in
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
|