The Holy See has jurisdiction over
the small territory of the Vatican City state only, and not over
Catholic priests around the world, including those accused of
abuse, a senior Church official told a United Nations committee
on Monday.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, papal envoy to the United
Nations in Geneva, told a UN Committee against Torture "that the
Holy See has no jurisdiction...over every member of the Catholic
Church".
"The Holy See wishes to reiterate that the persons who live
in a particular country are under the jurisdiction of the
legitimate authorities of that country and are thus subject to
the domestic law and the consequences," he said.
However, victims' groups have argued that sexual abuse of
children falls under the terms of the UN Convention against
Torture, which the Vatican acceded to in June 2002.
This is the second time this year that the Vatican has been
called before the UN to explain its record in dealing with
decades of abuse of children by priests.
Victims of sexual abuse have argued that the Church itself
has failed to protect children and has even shielded accused
priests in order to protect the Church's reputation.
Monday's report by the Holy See to the UN marks its first
under the convention on torture and in a statement earlier in
the day, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that
the Holy See has shown "strong commitment against any form of
torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or
punishment".
Lombardi also said the UN committee must not give in to
pressure "exercised over the committees and public opinion by
(non-governmental organizations) NGOs with a strong ideological
character and orientation," that he said will aim to impose
their agenda on this week's proceedings.
Such groups, said Lombardi, will try to "bring the issue of
the sexual abuse of minors into the discussion on torture, a
matter which relates instead to the convention on the rights of
the child".
The Vatican is expected to respond on Tuesday to questions
and issues raised during Monday's session.
The Vatican has, for too long, sheltered priests to protect
itself, complained an organization of victims, the Survivors
Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
"Throughout the world, children and vulnerable adults have
been and continue to be subjected to widespread and systemic
rape and sexual violence by priests and others associated with
the Roman Catholic Church," SNAP said in a statement Monday.
In February, a UN human rights committee denounced the
Vatican for adopting policies that it said allowed sexual abuse
of tens of thousands of children by clergymen.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child demanded
immediate action and urged the Vatican to hand over its archives
on sexual abuse so that culprits and "those who concealed their
crimes" could face justice.
In a wide-ranging report, it also called on the Holy See to
"immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child
abusers and turn them over to civil authorities, adding that it
was "gravely concerned" that the Holy See had not acknowledged
the extent of the crimes committed.
Nor has the Church taken measures to protect children and
deal with sexual abuse, it added.
In response, the Holy See's Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin pledged to consider the report carefully while a Vatican
spokesman said that a plan to improve Church transparency in how
it deals with cases of child sex abuse was in the works.
Since his election in March 2013, Pope Francis has said
that dealing with sex abuse in the Church was crucial to
maintaining its credibility.
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