The Vatican refused to provide a United Nations rights panel with
information on the Church's internal investigations into the sexual
abuse of children by clergy, saying on Tuesday that its policy was to
keep such cases confidential.
In response to a series of tough
questions posed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC),
the Holy See said it would not release information on its internal
investigations into abuse cases unless required to do so by a request
from a state or government to cooperate in legal proceedings.
The
response of the Holy See, which will be directly questioned by the
panel in January 2014, will be closely watched as it tries to draw a
line under financial scandals and abuse by priests that have damaged the
standing of the Roman Catholic Church around the world.
In
response to a series of tough questions posed by the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), the Holy See said it would not release
information on its internal investigations into abuse cases unless
required to do so by a request from a state or government to cooperate
in legal proceedings.
The response of the Holy See, which will be
directly questioned by the panel in January 2014, will be closely
watched as it tries to draw a line under financial scandals and abuse by
priests that have damaged the standing of the Roman Catholic Church
around the world.
Since becoming the first non-European pontiff
in 1,300 years, Pope Francis has largely succeeded in changing the
subject after the resignation of Benedict XVI in February.
The
questions from the panel aimed to assess the Church's adherence to the
1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty guaranteeing a
full range of human rights for children which the Holy See has signed.
In
its response the Vatican said internal disciplinary proceedings "are
not open to the public" in order to protect "witnesses, the accused and
the integrity of the Church process", but said this should not
discourage victims from reporting crimes to state authorities.
However, it said state laws, including the obligation to report crimes, must be respected.