U.N. to question Vatican again on clergy sex abuse

U.N. to question Vatican again on clergy sex abuse
Rachel Zoll April 14, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — A second U.N. committee plans to question Vatican officials on failures to stop clergy sex abuse.

The hearing scheduled for May 5-6 in Geneva will look at whether the Vatican's record on child protection violates the U.N. Convention Against Torture. The Holy See ratified the treaty in 2002....

Last January, Vatican officials testified for eight hours before an obscure human rights committee on the scale of clergy sex abuse globally.

The Vatican was compelled to appear as a signatory to the U.N. Convention for the Rights of the Child, which requires governments to take all adequate measures to protect children from harm. The Holy See was one of the first states to ratify the treaty in 1990.

The U.N. committee issued a scathing report, accusing Vatican officials of systematically placing their own interests over those of victims. The Vatican condemned the findings as a reflection of "prejudiced" positions of anti-Catholic advocacy groups.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/14/un-vatican-clergy-sex-abuse/7706461/