VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, head of the Institute of Psychology at the Gregorian University in Rome and Centre for the Protection of Minors, says the Church has learnt lessons and has made great strides in the safeguarding of children.He made the comments to Vatican Radio following the publication of a report issued on Wednesday by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which accused the Vatican of turning a blind eye to decades of sexual abuse of children by priests.
The report comes less than a month after a meeting between the United Nations Committee and a Holy See delegation in Geneva.
Fr Zollner said the report was “harsh in parts but recognises that the Holy See and the Church as a whole has made steps forward.”
Asked about references made in the report to issues such as abortion, homosexuality and contraception, Fr Zollner said there was no reason for these issues to be included, he said, “it looks as if some people… just wanted to make their point…”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.