UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Thomas C. Fox | Feb. 5, 2014 NCR Today
In an unprecedented report critical of the Catholic church’s handling of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, the United Nations demanded Wednesday the Vatican immediately remove all clergy known or suspected to be child abusers, turn them over to civil authorities, and hold “those who concealed their crimes” accountable.
The report by the U.N. watchdog for children’s rights targets bishops for enabling the abuse over decades. Church child sex abuse watchdogs maintain many hundreds of bishops have enabled and covered up abuse but have never been held accountable by authorities inside or outside the church.
The UN report called on the Vatican to turn over tens of thousands of potentially incriminating documents held in its archives, according to various news reports.
It was the most far-reaching critique of the church hierarchy by the world body and followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month.
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