Un Committee against Torture Criticises Vatican Handling of Sex Abuse
By Lizzy Davies
The United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) has criticised the Vatican's handling of the clerical sex abuse scandal, urging the Catholic church to do more to punish perpetrators, help victims and place "meaningful sanctions" on clerics who fail to deal properly with credible allegations. In observations published on Friday following a two-day hearing this month, the panel's 10 experts rejected the Holy See's argument that it only exercises control over the tiny Vatican City State and cannot be held accountable for the actions of Catholic priests and bishops throughout the world. They called on the Holy See to "take effective measures" to monitor individuals under its "effective control" and to "stop and sanction" conduct that would constitute "credible allegations of violations of the [UN] Convention [against Torture]". Before the report had even been released, the Vatican issued a statement declaring that it had not been found to be "in violation" of the convention. But advocates of abuse victims rejected this outright, labelling the report "a historic document" that they said recognised clerical sexual abuse as a form of torture and other cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment. "They're clearly wrong," said Pam Spees of the US-based Center for Constitutional Rights, regarding the Vatican's assertion. "This is an important recognition of the gravity of these offences that have been minimised by the church, places responsibility where it belongs – with the hierarchy in the church, not the victims – and could help open new avenues for redress." Felice D Gaer, the CAT's American vice-chair, told the Guardian: "Legal scholars will tell you that when we write about a concern and make a recommendation we are identifying something that is not in conformity with the requirements of the convention. We don't use the word 'violation'; others do. But it's quite clear it's not in conformity with the requirements of the convention." The report was the first issued by the CAT into the Holy See, and comes after another UN panel – the Committee on the Rights of the Child – issued a scathing rebuke to the Vatican in February, calling it out not only on its handling of child sex abuse cases but also on its stances on abortion and homosexuality. Those findings prompted an angry response from the Vatican, which accused the panel of ideologically motivated interference in church teachings. The CAT report, while critical of the church's sex abuse record, praises it for the steps taken, and, crucially, leaves out any mention of reproductive rights, which some campaigners had urged the panel to consider. John L Allen, long-term Vatican observer and correspondent for the Boston Globe, said the difference between the two reports indicated the CAT had not wanted its criticisms to be vulnerable to similar attacks. "It's pretty clear that, the last time around, the Vatican and its allies used the fact that there was a lot of language in that report that wasn't about sex abuse – it was about abortion, homosexuality and so on, culture wars – to suggest that it was ideologically driven. They also complained that it had not acknowledged any positive steps the church had taken," he said. "They styled the whole thing as a sort of political exercise – you know, axe-grinding and so on. It would seem clear to me that the Committee Against Torture did not want its findings to be dismissed in the same way." In its report, the CAT panel noted progress made by the church on the clerical sex abuse scandal, for example welcoming Pope Francis's establishment of a commission for the protection of minors, and his statement in April that the church needed to be "even stronger" in its tackling of the problem. The UN experts also welcomed the Vatican's publication for the first time this month of comprehensive statistics on how many Catholic priests had been disciplined following abuse allegations. But they added that the Holy See had not provided data regarding how many abuse allegations had been reported to the civil law enforcement authorities in the relevant countries. The CAT said it was "concerned" by reports that some church officials "resist the principle of mandatory reporting of [abuse] allegations to civil authorities", urging the church to prevent "credibly accused" abusers being simply transferred to other parishes and dioceses "for the purposes of avoiding proper investigation and punishment of their crimes." Any church official who failed to handle credible allegations "with due diligence" should be punished, it added. Citing the case of Polish archbishop Josef Wesolowski, a former papal envoy to the Dominican Republic accused of sex abuse, it said the Holy See should "if warranted … ensure such persons are criminally prosecuted or extradited for prosecution by the civil authorities" of the relevant country. It also said it was "deeply concerned" by reports of victims being unable to obtain adequate redress or compensation for their suffering and asked the Vatican to set up an independent complaints mechanism. In its statement, the Vatican said: "The Holy See condemns sex abuse as a serious crime and a grave violation of human dignity." It noted the criticisms within the report and said it would "give serious consideration" to its recommendations.
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