In a hard-hitting report, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child slammed the Holy See for failing to live up to repeated pledges to put its house in order, and said all clergy and lay employees suspected of abuse must be turned over to the police.
"The committee expresses serious concern that in dealing with child victims of different forms of abuse, the Holy See has systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the Church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims," it said.
It urged the Vatican to "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes".
Committee head Kirsten Sandberg said that despite the Vatican's pledges to adopt a zero tolerance approach, it was in clear breach of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"The simple answer is yes, they are in breach of the Convention as up to now, because they haven't done all the things that they should have done," Sandberg told reporters.
The report said the Vatican "has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators".
It blasted the practice of transferring abusers to different parishes within countries, and even across borders, in an attempt to cover up their crimes and remove them from the clutches of justice.
"Offenders' mobility, which has allowed many priests to remain in contact with children and to continue to abuse them, still places children in many countries at high risk of sexual abuse, as dozens of child sexual offenders are reported to be still in contact with children," it said.
The report followed a landmark hearing last month during which members of the committee — made up of 18 independent human rights experts from around the globe — grilled senior churchmen and repeatedly questioned the Vatican's resolve.
Like other signatories of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Vatican agrees to be scrutinized by the panel.
UN
Vatican slammed over child abuse ‘failures’
A UN committee in Geneva denounced the Vatican on Wednesday for failing to stamp out systematic child abuse and called on the Church to remove all clergy suspected of raping or molesting children.
UN
‘The war must end now’: UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Sweden's Prime Minister in Stockholm on Wednesday, ahead of the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the city's historic environment summit .
After a bilateral meeting with Magdalena Andersson on the security situation in Europe, Guterres warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a global food crisis that would hurt some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
“It is causing immense suffering, destruction and devastation of the country. But it also inflames a three-dimensional global crisis in food, energy and finance that is pummelling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” the Portuguese diplomat told a joint press conference with Andersson.
He stressed the need for “quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy,” including “lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to vulnerable populations and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility.”
Between the two, Russia and Ukraine produce around 30 percent of the global wheat supply.
Guterres was in Stockholm to take part in the Stockholm 50+ conference, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
The conference, which was held on the suggestion of the Swedish government in 1972 was the first UN meeting to discuss human impacts on the global environment, and led to the establishment of the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
At the joint press conference, Andersson said that discussions continued between Sweden and Turkey over the country’s continuing opposition to Sweden’s application to join the Nato security alliance.
“We have held discussions with Turkey and I’m looking forward to continuing the constructive meetings with Turkey in the near future,” she said, while refusing to go into detail on Turkey’s demands.
“We are going to take the demands which have been made of Sweden directly with them, and the same goes for any misunderstandings which have arisen,” she said.
At the press conference, Guterres condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “a violation of its territorial integrity and a violation of the UN Charter”.
“The war must end now,” he said.
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