Despite protestations that it opposes sexual abuse of children and youths by Catholic clergy, across the globe the Roman Catholic Church continues to obstruct justice and seeks to thwart police investigations of suspected predator priests. Worse yet, the Vatican employs claims of "diplomatic
immunity” to protect senior prelates from the reach of the law. The United Nations anti-torture commission is losing patience. A piece in The Telegraph looks at the UN's growing impatience with the Vatican's failure to assume responsibility for abuse done in dioceses around the world. Here are excerpts:
The United Nations anti-torture watchdog has ordered the Vatican to hand over files containing details of clerical sexual abuse allegations to police forces around the world amid concerns over the use of “diplomatic immunity” to hamper investigations.
Members of the UN Committee on Torture also warned the Holy See against effectively allowing suspected paedophiles to seek sanctuary in Rome, after calls for a former Papal ambassador to be extradited to his native Poland to face investigations.
In a highly critical report, published in Geneva, it questioned attempts by the Vatican to claim that its obligations under international law only apply within the tiny city state.
It ordered the Vatican to use its authority over the Roman Catholic Church worldwide to ensure all allegations of clerical abuse are passed on to the secular authorities and impose “meaningful sanctions” on any Vatican officials who fail to do so.
And it voiced “regret” at a lack of openness by the Vatican about its co-operation with civil authorities in sexual abuse investigations.
As I have argued before, if Pope Francis was really serious about dealing with the sex abuse scandal, there would be widespread sackings of bishops and cardinals who participated in cover ups and the obstruction of justice. His failure to so act speaks volumes, none of it good.
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