The Express-Tribune
By Hilary Stauffer
Published: February 13, 2014
Vatican is probably hoping that the publicity surrounding Pope Francis’s anniversary will drown out some of the less complimentary reportage that the Holy See has been deflecting of late. Church spin doctors have been working overtime recently, doing damage control in response to a report issued last week by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Vatican officials appeared in front of the committee about a month ago, to defend their implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), a major UN human rights treaty. Representatives from the Holy See were obligated to appear because they are among the 194 sovereign states that have ratified the convention, and ratification requires periodic reporting to the committee entrusted with enforcing the convention’s provisions.
Much of the Vatican’s appearance — and much of the committee’s report—dealt with ramifications from the child sexual abuse scandal that had rocked the Church in recent years. The committee recommended first and foremost that all ‘known or suspected’ child abusers be ‘immediately removed’ from the clergy ranks and that they be referred to legal authorities for investigation and prosecution. It also addressed some of the Church’s other doctrines, including those regarding homosexuality, abortion and contraception.
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