In its concluding observations on the second periodic report of the Holy See, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (“Committee”) have criticised the Holy See’s handling of clerical sex abuse scandals. Most notably, the report has criticised the Church’s failure to “acknowledge the extent of the crimes committed”.
Click here to read the Committee’s report.
In the report, the Committee expresses “serious concern that in dealing with child victims of different forms of abuse, the Holy See has systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the Church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims.” The Committee said it had received reports of nuns and priests being “ostracized, demoted and fired” for speaking out abuse. It also said that the Vatican encouraged an atmosphere where the non-reporting of paedophile crime was seen as a positive value.
In relation to the Magdalene Laundries in particular, the report urges “an internal investigation into the conduct of religious personnel working in [the laundries] in Ireland as well as in all countries where this system was in place, and ensure that all those responsible for the offences be sanctioned and reported to national judicial authorities for prosecution purposes.” It also recommends that victims and their families be paid full compensation, either through congregations or the Holy See itself.
Click here to read an article in the Irish Times summarising the report’s findings.
PILA Bulletin readers may recall that in 2013 the Irish Human Rights Commission called for a statutory inquiry into Magdalene Laundries; and earlier that year the Irish Government apologised to the survivors of the laundries.
Following the report’s publication, Irish Minister for Justice Alan Shatter wrote to the Magdalene nuns for a third time seeking their contribution to the Government compensation scheme for women who worked in the laundries. The Minister is still waiting for the nuns’ response to his correspondence.
Click here to read an article in the Irish Times about Minister Shatter’s correspondence with the religious orders.
In response to the UN Report, the Holy See’s senior spokesman, Father Fedrico Lombardi argued that the UN report presented “grave limitations” and that they reflected the “predjudices of certain NGOs” rather than the “positions of the Holy See itself”. As well as criticising the style and tone of the report, Father Lombardi found issue with the reports stance on the Holy See’s fundamental tenets of Catholic teaching in the area of sexual morality, especially with regard to abortion, contraception and LGBT communities.
Click here to read an article in the Irish Times summarising Father Lombardi’s comments.