Click here to read: “UN slams Vatican for ‘efforts to cover up’ pedophile priests in sex abuse scandal,” by Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor, Jan. 16, 2014.
Excerpt: “The U.N. committee in Geneva, Switzerland, was pressing the Holy See about its failure to provide reports for almost two decades on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it ratified in 1990. It also asked for more information about the special committee announced by Pope Francis in December that aims to improve measures to protect children against sex abuse.”
It’s about time some national/international news delved more into this issue. I hope it continues.
Susan, the link you provide to the Smith’s news story took me to a story about the YMCA and yoga classes.
Sorry about that Kate. I was at a family wedding but just updated the link.
Here’s a link.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/16/22324032-un-slams-vatican-for-efforts-to-cover-up-pedophile-priests-in-sex-abuse-scandal
Thank you! for posting the link. I’ve just updated within the blog copy. I apologize. Had a family wedding.
Unfortunately, from what I recently learned, instances of sexual assault, pornographic photographing and abuse of minors and vulnerable individuals committed by Catholic religious orders of brothers, nuns, non-diocesan and/or visiting priests in the US (and perhaps elsewhere?) do not get reported to the Vatican’s CDF (Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith) in the same way the dioceses priests who are found credibly accused do get reported; some as we know only after much cover up is plowed through by brave victims or tenacious advocates/lawyers. Thus the “issue” re the “amount” or “degree” of abuse that occurred within Catholic institutions is grossly deflated. Given that the United Nations is investigating the issue through the CDF reports, the numbers going to the UN will be incredulously erroneous due to this fatal flaw in the system. The UN needs to hold the Vatican accountable for the compartmentalization and gross under-reporting of the actual crimes that took place and not rely on the CDF’s fictionalized version of a heinous truth. Keep in mind, the orders of brothers, nuns and non-diocesan priests are the ones who often operated and worked at the schools, orphanages and other Catholic institutions in which they had much more frequent access to youth than the diocesan priests did, thus likely drawing many more sociopaths to their ranks.
Similarly, accountability by perpetrators form these various Catholic religious orders is more arduous. The Bishops’ and Cardinals’ and Vatican’ “not one of ours” approach is just another blemish on the Catholic Church. For the most part, the dioceses’ treatment of those abused by such religious within its Diocese seems discriminatory here in the US as are the laws in NY, NJ and many other states. Your right to pursue civil action is determined by which state(s) you were assaulted in. How ridiculous! NJ’s Catholic Church and Bishops have gone so far as to protect predators by hiring the ultra-expensive lobbying firm, Princeton Public Affairs Group, to fight the extension of the Statute of Limitations on sexual abuse of minors. Truly moral Catholic leaders who cared for its members would be fighting for the extension of such statutes and would be asking their parishioners to join in that fight. Instead the NJ Catholic Church is spending those in the pews hard earned money on lobbying efforts that endanger the welfare of children and teens. The Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and all religious should be doing everything they can to eradicate sexual predators in the Church’s ranks and elsewhere and to assist those abused in the past to heal. Given that the UN and the public are not taking a broader look at the depth and breadth of the issue by excluding these additional religious representatives of the Catholic Church using their Godly connection to abuse others, it is unlikely the problem will ever be truly addressed.