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| UN panel hears Vatican over child sex abuse by clergy | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A UN panel in Geneva has begun hearing a report by Vatican officials on the sexual abuse of thousands of children by Roman Catholic clergy. | |
| The Vatican refused an earlier request for information, saying the cases were the responsibility of the judiciary of countries where abuse took place. | The Vatican refused an earlier request for information, saying the cases were the responsibility of the judiciary of countries where abuse took place. |
| The Church has been criticised over its inadequate response to allegations of child sex abuse by priests. | The Church has been criticised over its inadequate response to allegations of child sex abuse by priests. |
| Victims say they hope the hearing will prompt the Church to end its "secrecy". | |
| Pope Francis has said dealing with abuse is vital for the Church's credibility. | |
| Last month, he announced a Vatican committee would be set up to fight sexual abuse of children in the Church and offer help to victims. | |
| He has also strengthened Vatican laws on child abuse, broadening the definition of crimes against minors to include sexual abuse of children. | He has also strengthened Vatican laws on child abuse, broadening the definition of crimes against minors to include sexual abuse of children. |
| The Holy See is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legally binding instrument which commits it to protecting and nurturing the most vulnerable in society. | |
| The Holy See ratified the convention in 1990 but after an implementation report in 1994 it did not submit any progress reports until 2012. | |
| That followed intense criticism after revelations of child sex abuse cases in Europe and beyond in 2010. | |
| Public hearing | Public hearing |
| The Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is expected to ask wide-ranging questions, forcing the Holy See to defend itself in public for the first time. | The Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is expected to ask wide-ranging questions, forcing the Holy See to defend itself in public for the first time. |
| It faces allegations that it enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims. | It faces allegations that it enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims. |
| Last July, the UN Committee requested detailed information about the particulars of all sexual abuse cases notified to the Vatican since 1995. | Last July, the UN Committee requested detailed information about the particulars of all sexual abuse cases notified to the Vatican since 1995. |
| The questions included whether priests, nuns and monks guilty of sexual crime were allowed to remain in contact with children, what legal action had been taken against them, and whether complainants were silenced. | The questions included whether priests, nuns and monks guilty of sexual crime were allowed to remain in contact with children, what legal action had been taken against them, and whether complainants were silenced. |
| In its response, the Holy See insisted that it was "separate and distinct" from the Roman Catholic Church, and that it was not its practice to disclose information about the religious discipline of clergy unless requested by the authorities in the country where they were serving. | In its response, the Holy See insisted that it was "separate and distinct" from the Roman Catholic Church, and that it was not its practice to disclose information about the religious discipline of clergy unless requested by the authorities in the country where they were serving. |
| It stressed that it had changed the criteria for choosing priests and revised Church law to ensure clergy were properly disciplined. | It stressed that it had changed the criteria for choosing priests and revised Church law to ensure clergy were properly disciplined. |
| 'We request justice' | |
| The hearing in Geneva was welcomed by Italian man Teodoro Pulvirenti, who was abused by a priest as a teenager in Sicily. | |
| Mr Pulvirenti, who now lives in the US, told the Associated Press it was time for the Vatican to end its "secrecy" over a global sex abuse scandal. | |
| He recalled how he had gone to the priest for guidance and had been abused instead. | |
| "One day I was desperate, I needed someone to talk to, I was a teenager in crisis... fights with my brother and other kids," he said. | |
| "One day, I went to his office and... something strange happened and he started putting his hands under my T-shirt and that's when the abuse actually started." | |
| He says he never told anyone about his experiences and moved to America in 2006. However, in 2011, he returned to Sicily and confronted the priest, Don Carlo Chiarenza. | |
| After secretly recording a conversation with the priest, in which the cleric apparently admitted what he had done, he went public with the tape and his story. | |
| The priest was suspended from public service and last year, following a Vatican inquiry, was found guilty and dismissed from his diocese. The decision is currently under appeal in court in the Vatican. | |
| "I'm not coming out against the Vatican and I don't want the Church to think the victims are against the Church, against the Vatican," Mr Pulvirenti said. "We are standing up for our own survival, but we request justice." |