UNITED STATES
Washington Times
By Meredith Somers-The Washington Times Sunday, May 4, 2014
The Vatican is bracing for a blistering session this week before the U.N. Committee Against Torture, which is expected to address the Holy See’s handling of its churchwide sexual abuse scandal and its infringement on human rights.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, warned against “ideological pressure” if the U.N. panel veers off topic like its sibling U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child did in a report earlier this year.
“A contributory factor is often the pressure exercised over the Committees and public opinion by [nongovernmental organizations] with a strong ideological character and orientation, to bring the issue of the sexual abuse of minors into the discussion on torture, a matter which relates instead to the Convention on the rights of the child,” Father Lombardi said. “The extent to which this is instrumental and forced is clear to any unbiased observer.”
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child rebuked the Vatican in February for its handling of the sexual abuse scandal and suggested that the Catholic Church update its canon to approve homosexuality, abortion, birth control and premarital sex.
The Vatican is a signatory to the anti-torture and child protection treaties, both of which require periodic reports about efforts to implement policies and promote change.
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