GENEVA
The News (Poland)
The United Nations has accused the Vatican of systematically allowing priests to rape thousands of children, in an unprecidented report released on Wednesday.
The report by the UN watchdog for children’s rights also demands that the Holy See “immediately removes” all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers.
The report says the Vatican should also hand over its archives on sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so that culprits, as well as “those who concealed their crimes”, could be held accountable, Reuters reports.
The damning report follows the Vatican’s refusal to extradite Polish archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who is wanted by both Domincan Republic and Poland’s police forces following accusations he sexually abused children on the carribean island.
The Vatican says it is investigating the allegations against Wesolowski, who was the Holy See’s representative in the Domican Republic. The UN report says that it fears the Vatican has not come to terms with the widespread accusations of child sex abuse by clergy.
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