Vatican must report child abusers to police: UN

[SecularMotion]

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the Holy See to "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes".

In a hard-hitting report, the committee said that the Catholic Church was still failing to do enough to live up to its stated commitment to stamp out child abuse by priests and lay employees, including in schools.

It underlined its "deepest concern about child sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic churches who operate under the authority of the Holy See, with clerics having been involved in the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children worldwide".

"The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators," it added.

http://www.thelocal.it/20140205/vatican-must-turn-all-child-abusers-over-to-police-un

[trotsky]

1. But at least the new pope is running a great PR campaign.

That counts for something, right?

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Idunno, those threads have been coming to a screeching halt lately..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=718325

[AtheistCrusader]

2. How in the HELL is this something that the RCC needs to be *told* to do?

If I ran ANY sort of organization, and I had an employee or member that abused a child, I'd pin the fucker to the ground, and turn him or her over to the cops the second they arrived. I mean no shit, I don't even need two seconds to deliberate over it.

What is to be gained by doing ANYTHING other than immediately complying with law enforcement, and distancing yourself from the perp, as having done something your org doesn't approve of?

What possible value could these predators return to the church that warrants hiding them, covering up, making yourself complicit in their depredations?

[trotsky]

5. I'll tell you what the value is.

It comes from maintaining a millenia-old image that the church and its hierarchy answer only to god, making sure their parishioners understand that church rules ALWAYS come before anything else. The church has gained mightily from maintaining that image - from being assured a privileged position of power in monarchies all the way to the modern day.

[hrmjustin]

4. They should report them to the police.

[skepticscott]

6. Really?

Ya think??

[rug]

7. "Urged" doesn't quite have the same import as "must".

The UN is complicit.

[Htom Sirveaux]

8. And open the books, while we're at it.

Let's see how much could have gone to the poor, but instead was selfishly wasted on trying to protect the church's image.