U.n. Report Criticizes Vatican's Handling of Clerical Sexual Abuses of Minors

By Liam Moloney
Wall Street Journal
May 23, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140523-705831.html

A second United Nations report this year has criticized the Vatican for its handling of the clerical sexual abuses of minors within the Catholic Church, without finding violations of a U.N. treaty against torture.

Friday's U.N. report focused on the Vatican's record on protecting children, condemning the church's past practices of shielding its members through a widely-criticized tradition of moving abusers to other parishes or abroad, for failing to report to police such crimes, and not providing adequate financial compensation to victims.

The Holy See must "prevent the transfer of clergy who have been credibly accused of abuse for the purposes of avoiding proper investigation and punishment of their crimes," wrote the U.N.'s Committee Against Torture in its final observations.

It must also "take effective measures to ensure that allegations...are communicated to the proper civil authorities to facilitate their investigation and prosecution of alleged perpetrators," it added.

Earlier this month, Holy See officials made comments and replied to questions in Geneva to U.N. panel members as part of the process to monitor the implementation of the 1984 U.N. Convention Against Torture. The Holy See signed up to the convention in 2002.

Friday's report mirrors a similar finding in February from the U.N. committee on the Rights of the Child.

The extent of sexual abuse of minors by clergy and the church's past practice of covering violations up rather than focusing on protecting children damaged its reputation. Many left their faith in the wake of the scandals.

In a statement, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's chief envoy in Geneva, highlighted the fact that the committee didn't find violations of the convention against torture, adding that the Holy See will give "serious consideration" to the panel's recommendations.

However, Archbishop Tomasi said there is an implicit assumption in the observations that any sexual abuse meets the definition of torture as described in the convention. This "underlying assumption is fundamentally flawed, misleading," he said.

The U.N. Committee praised Pope Francis's words on owning up to the past and in trying to remedy.

The panel highlighted the pope's decision in December to create a commission for the protection of minors.

It also lauded the comment earlier this months by Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, a key member of the new pontifical commission, emphasizing the importance that church officials be held accountable should they fail to stop priests under their watch from repeating their abuses.

The issue of accountability and punishment for failings is a particularly sour point for the Vatican as critics claim that some in positions of responsibility, mainly bishops, resist the mandatory reporting of allegations of sexual abuses to civil authorities despite the church's claims of a zero-tolerance policy.

No bishop so far has been punished by the Vatican for failing to take such action.

The committee also asked the Holy See to establish independent complaints mechanisms for victims of alleged violations of the convention and ensure that there is "no hierarchical connection between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators" so as to guarantee an impartial probe.

This U.N. panel, like the other one in February, rejected the Vatican's position that the convention applies only to the Vatican City State--the world's smallest state with a population of less than 1,000 and nestled in the center of Rome.

The Geneva-based committee noted that the convention applies to all those people under which a member state has effective control, where ever they are.

Friday's findings also stirred clear of the controversies raised in February by the panel on the Rights of the Child that the Catholic Church review some of its doctrine on abortion and contraception.

The U.N. committee's final observations aren't legally binding, but states that have ratified the treaty are expected to take them into consideration and implement them.

The committee asked the Holy See to provide a follow-up report by May 2015.

Write to Liam Moloney at liam.moloney@wsj.com