GENEVA
International Business Times
By LYDIA SMITH | January 17, 2014
The Vatican has been heavily criticised at a UN hearing in Geneva for covering up sexual abuse against children and failing to protect them from paedophile priests.
It was denounced for its handling of the worldwide priest sex abuse scandal, which the UN said “was not very transparent”.
Kirsten Sandberg, the chairwoman of the committee, said: “The view of committee is that the best way to prevent abuses is to reveal old ones – openness instead of sweeping offences under the carpet.
“It seems to date your procedures are not very transparent.”
Since headlines emerged exposing the alleged sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, the Vatican has insisted it is not responsible. It claimed the abusers were not employees of the Vatican, but members of the broader Catholic Church over which it has limited control.
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