UN demands the Vatican 'removes' all known or suspected paedophiles and hand over its archives on abuse so culprits can be held to account
- Demanded the Vatican 'immediately remove' all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to civil authorities
- Also said the Holy See should also hand over its archives on sexual abuse
- Watchdog's paper followed public grilling of Vatican officials last month
- The Vatican was expected to issue a statement on the report later today
By JILL REILLY
The United Nations has demanded that the Vatican 'immediately remove' all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to civil authorities, in an unprecedented and scathing report.
The U.N. watchdog for children's rights said the Holy See should also hand over its archives on sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so that culprits, as well as 'those who concealed their crimes', could be held accountable.
The watchdog's exceptionally blunt paper - the most far-reaching critique of the Church hierarchy by the world body - followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month.
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The United Nations has demanded that the Vatican 'immediately remove' all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to authorities. Pictured: Kirsten Sandberg, centre, chairperson of the U.N. human rights committee and committee members Maria Herczog, right, and Benyam Mezmur, left
'The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See 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,' the report said.
The Vatican was expected to issue a statement on the report later on today.
The U.N. committee on the Rights of the Child said the Catholic Church had not yet taken measures to prevent a repeat of cases such as Ireland's Magdalene laundries scandal, where girls were arbitrarily placed in conditions of forced labour.
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Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican today. The watchdog's exceptionally blunt paper - the most far-reaching critique of the Church hierarchy by the world body - followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month
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A commission created by Pope Francis in December should investigate all cases of child sexual abuse 'as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them,' the report said
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Pope Francis greets the faithful as he arrives for his weekly general audience. Pope Francis called the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by priests 'the shame of the Church'
It called for an internal investigation of the laundries and similar institutions so that whose who were responsible could be prosecuted and that 'full compensation be paid to the victims and their families'.
A commission created by Pope Francis in December should investigate all cases of child sexual abuse 'as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them,' the report said.
Abusers had been moved from parish to parish or other countries 'in an attempt to cover-up such crimes,' it added.
'Due to a code of silence imposed on all members of the clergy under penalty of excommunication, cases of child sexual abuse have hardly ever been reported to the law enforcement authorities in the countries where such crimes occurred,' the U.N. body said.
At a public session last month, the committee pushed Vatican delegates to reveal the scope of the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests that Pope Francis called 'the shame of the Church'.
The Holy See's delegation, answering questions from an international rights panel for the first time since the scandals broke more than two decades ago, denied allegations of a Vatican cover-up and said it had set clear guidelines to protect children from predator priests.
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