Reading the AP coverage this morning of the ongoing hearings in Geneva regarding the Vatican and torture, the story this morning explains that the Holy See yesterday provided some additional information on what’s happened in the last 12 years — the culture change within the Church to zero-tolerance, where, frankly, priests are considered guilty until proven innocent when allegations are brought up against them. It’s a culture of transparency and independent audits, vetting and vigilance. (Ed Mechmann has a good briefing on the “real story” here, if you haven’t read it already).
The AP notes this but then immediately charges:
But significantly, he didn’t dispute the committee’s contention that sexual violence against children can be considered torture. Legal experts have said that classifying sexual abuse as torture could expose the Catholic Church to a new wave of lawsuits since torture cases in much of the world don’t carry statutes of limitations.
