Vatican Priests under Un Scrutiny after Recent Sex Abuse Report

Press TV
May 8, 2014

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/05/08/361740/vatican-priests-under-un-scrutiny-after-recent-sex-abuse-report/

[with video]

In Geneva, a United Nations panel is trying to ascertain whether the Church has violated an international convention against torture in its response to the clergy sexual abuse.The UN is urging a permanent investigation system to end what it called a climate of impunity prevailing in the Vatican for decades. The Church is accused of putting its reputation and interests ahead of those of sex abuse victims.

After facing trenchant questioning by the UN anti-torture panel on Monday, the Vatican issued its formal answers on Tuesday. For the first time, the Vatican has released comprehensive statistics on how it has disciplined clergymen accused of raping and molesting children. Vatican says 850 priests have been deprived of ecclesiastical status and roughly another 2,600 given lesser sanctions over the past decade. However the number of sexual abuses is thought to be much higher. The UN anti-torture panel has also raised the possibility that the Church's failure to investigate its clergy could have broader legal implications. The panel will issue its final observations and recommendations on the 23rd of May.