Kevin Annett’s International Tribunal into Crimes of the Church and State (ITCCS) are not the only ones accusing the Vatican.
Now the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) have jumped on the bandwagon and are investigating the Vatican on charges of torture.
The UNCAT defines torture as:
“Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
The UNCAT Report, which can be viewed here in its entirety, believes there is ongoing torture in the Vatican church among clergy and priests. As a result the Vatican issued this statement:
“The Holy See notes that in times past, cruel practices were commonly used by legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from the pastors of the church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are, the church always taught the duty of clemency and mercy.”
The Holy See was informed earlier this year by the UN, to immediately remove all clergy and priests who were known child molesters, torturers, and abusers. Sadly, they had not been removed from office prior to the proclamation even though they were likely aware of the heinous sexual acts committed against thousands of children.
UN experts from the Rights of the Child (RTC) could not understand how these clergy, who went decades without punishing their clerical for child abuse, allowed such gruesome acts to continue right under their noses. Furthermore the clergymen refused to admit the extent of their problem and took no measures to prevent it. Because of these acts the RTC took action and interviewed the Holy See.
Upon their investigation the RTC discovered that tens of thousands of children worldwide were victimized by the Church.
The report further indicated that these “well-known child sex abusers” were for years “being transferred from parish to parish in an attempt to cover up such crimes”. As a result of moving rather than reporting pedophiles, “…in many countries… dozens of child sex offenders are reported to still be in contact with children.”
This is outright hypocrisy from the Vatican.
In 2013, a UN document sent to the Holy See demanded that the Catholic clergy provide evidence of how they have prevented past sex offences, how the children who have been perpetrated have been given assistance, and any investigations they themselves have made against their own clergymen.
The report reads:
“In light of the recognition by the Holy See of sexual violence against children committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns in numerous countries around the world, and given the scale of the abuses, please provide detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, brothers and nuns brought to the attention of the Holy See over the reporting period.”SOURCE