12 July, 2013 - The Vatican has been called to give detailed information on its record
on child sexual abuse to a United Nations panel, a move that will show how Pope Francis
wants to handle an issue that has deeply scarred the Catholic Church’s image in the
past decade. The Geneva-based U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child has asked
the Vatican to “provide detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed
by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns.” The request comes ahead of the Vatican’s
scheduled appearance in front of the committee in January 2014. All countries that
have ratified the 1990 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child must submit to a
periodic evaluation of their performance on child protection. The Vatican was among
the first countries to ratify the treaty. According to the “List of Issues” submitted
by the U.N. committee, the Vatican will have to explain the measures it has put in
place to “ensure that no member of the clergy currently accused of sexual abuse be
allowed to remain in contact with children.” The Vatican will also have to detail
cases when “priests were transferred” after being accused of abuse, as well as its
compensation policy for abuse victims, and whether compensation was linked to requiring
victims to sign confidentiality agreements. The Rev. Massimo De Gregori, a member
of the Holy See’s diplomatic mission to Geneva, stressed that the questioning was
a “routine procedure.” ((Source: UCAN)