May 6, 2014: The cases of clerical sexual abuse of children are a reality which the
Catholic Church wishes never happened, he said, but, "human nature being what it is,
they did happen." Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See representative to United
Nations agencies in Geneva, made the statement at a May 5-6 hearing of the Committee
Against Torture, which monitors the implementation of the Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. The Vatican delegation led by Archbishop
Tomasi was asked about efforts to investigate allegations of clerical sexual abuse,
punish offenders and cooperate with civil authorities in prosecuting the perpetrators.
In response, the prelate said "there has been in several documentable areas a stabilization
and even a decline in cases" of abuse of minors. "Measures undertaken in the last
10 years on the part both of the Holy See and local churches are bringing about a
positive result," he said. In his opening remarks to the committee, Archbishop Tomasi
told members that the Holy See, which signed the treaty, has no direct legal and juridical
jurisdiction outside Vatican City State. While it hopes to exercise moral influence
over all Catholics, "persons who live in a particular country are under the jurisdiction
of the legitimate authorities of that country and are thus subject to the domestic
law and the consequences contained therein."