GENEVA
Expatica
A UN anti-torture watchdog on Monday began a two-day grilling of the Vatican over its efforts to stamp out child sex abuse by priests.
The hearing is the Vatican’s first since 2002, when it signed up to an international convention banning torture as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Victim support groups insist that the rape and molestation of children by the clergy and lay personnel falls under the terms of the convention.
They are hoping that the Vatican will face similarly-scathing criticism as it did in January when it came before a UN children’s rights watchdog.
That panel condemned the Vatican for failing to do enough to stamp out abuse and for allowing systematic cover-ups around the glove, despite pledges to adopt a zero-tolerance approach.
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