VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican’s ambassador to U.N. agencies in Geneva sought to limit the Holy See’s legal responsibility for the abuse scandal, implying that the church’s jurisdiction did not extend to dioceses and churches around the world. Read more here.
Insinuations at a U.N. committee hearing that Catholic teaching against abortion may violate an international anti-torture convention has raised questions about the partiality of the body. “It is outrageous that the U.N. Committee against Torture would challenge the Catholic Church’s religious commitment to the sanctity…
A U.N. committee on torture grilled the Vatican on the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse crisis on Monday, urging a permanent investigation system to end a “climate of impunity” prevailing for decades. In a two-hour hearing in Geneva, the Committee Against Torture launched a barrage…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Appearing before a U.N. committee monitoring adherence to an international treaty designed to fight torture, Vatican officials repeatedly were asked about efforts to investigate allegations of clerical sexual abuse, punish offenders and cooperate with civil authorities in prosecuting the perpetrators. Archbishop…
The Vatican is bracing for a blistering session this week before the U.N. Committee Against Torture, which is expected to address the Holy See’s handling of its churchwide sexual abuse scandal and its infringement on human rights. The Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, warned against…
The leadership of the Roman Catholic church faces a fresh grilling by UN human rights observers on Monday as a delegation from the Holy See makes its debut appearance before the Committee Against Torture (CAT) in Geneva. Three months after the Vatican railed against the…
The United Nations Committee Against Torture is calling upon a holy subject to testify and defend themselves against claims of human rights abuse — the Vatican. The UN torture panel is investigating the Vatican’s alleged role in doing little to prevent regimes that flagrantly abused…
Ahead of what’s likely to be another grilling tomorrow by United Nations officials over child sexual abuse, as well as matters such as abortion and homosexuality, the Vatican’s senior envoy in Geneva is projecting bravado. “We can take a few knocks, especially for the sake…
On Monday in Geneva, the United Nations Committee Against Torture will consider the Holy See’s initial report relating to its compliance with the Convention Against Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Though focusing significantly on the tragic and, in the words…
As Vatican representatives prepare to testify before a United Nations inquiry into torture next week, a senior official warned investigators that it would be “deceptive” to link torture with the pedophilia scandals that have swept the Catholic Church. The Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico…
