VATICAN DEFENDS CHILD PROTECTION RECORD TO UN
Geneva, 14 Rabi’ul Awwal 1435/16 Januari 2014 (MINA) – The Roman Catholic Church has defended its record on tackling clerical sexual abuse, telling a UN committee it was keen to become “an example of best practice” in the field of child protection.
At a hearing in Geneva on Thursday, Monsignor Silvano Tomasi told the committee that the Holy See, which is recognised by international law as a sovereign entity headed by the Pope, had “carefully delineated policies and procedures” to help eliminate priestly paedophilia and to work with state authorities to fight such crime.
He made the remarks at the start of a hearing that will challenge the church over allegations it enabled the abuse of children by protecting paedophile priests and its own reputation at the expense of victims.
But his initial statement made no reference to the controversies that have dogged the church for decades. “Catholic cleric makes no reference to clerical sexual abuse scandal in opening remarks to UN committee,” Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
Tomasi, who is the Holy See’s representative to the UN, said: “The result of the combined action taken by local churches and by the Holy See presents a framework that, when properly applied, will help eliminate the occurrence of child sexual abuse by clergy and other church personnel.
“Given the unique standing of the Holy See within the international community, and the presence of the lcoal churches in so many parts of the world, the Catholic Church is keen to become an example of best practice in this important endeavour.”
On Wednesday a UK-based charity, the Child Rights International Network, published a report outlining the global phenomenon of clerical paedophilia.
It criticised the church for choosing self-preservation over full disclosure and said that the Holy See continued to “harbour perpetrators of abuse, obstruct justice for victims and deny accountability”. (T/P09/E1).
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).
