GENEVA
Irish Independent
MICHAEL DAY – 17 JANUARY 2014
The United Nations has lambasted the Vatican for failing to protect children from paedophile priests.
As the Holy See basks in the favourable PR provided by Pope Francis, yesterday’s inquisition by investigators in Geneva reminded the world of the global scandal that rocked the Catholic Church, and the questions it has yet to answer.
The UN committee’s main human rights investigator, Sara Oviedo, pressed the Vatican on the frequency with which abusive priests have been moved to different areas rather than turned over to police. Given the church’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy, she asked, why were there “efforts to cover up and obscure these types of cases”?
Panel member Hiranthi Wijemanne asked Vatican representatives: “Why is there no mandatory reporting to a country’s judicial authorities when crimes occur? Taking actions against perpetrators is part of justice.”
COVER-UPS
Monsignor Charles Scicluna the Vatican’s former chief sex crimes prosecutor, denied the Holy See encouraged cover-ups: “Our guideline has always been that domestic law of the countries where the churches operate needs to be followed.”
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