UN to Vatican: Hand Over Records of Child Sex Abuse Cases

The United Nation's Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) wants the Vatican, the seat of the Holy See and Pope Francis' bailiwick, to hand over the Catholic church's records as to how it dealt the child sex abuse cases against the church throughout the years.

"In the 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", the UNCRC believed it is high time that the Vatican should provide detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by the Catholic clergy around the world.

More precisely, the committee wants to know if the Vatican properly instituted and implemented measures "to ensure that no member of the clergy currently accused of sexual abuse be allowed to remain in contact with children." Unfortunately, it is an open secret among the Roman Catholic faithful that bishops just moved abusive priests from one parish to another to avert potential crisis and leadership breakdown.

The committee's aggressive stance follows the apparent determination of Pope Francis to crack down on allegations of corruption and money laundering within the Vatican bank. A complete opposite of his predecessor, the new pope who was installed in March is seen by many as more approachable, sensible and open.

"I think it's a good sign," Keith Porteous Wood, the executive director of the National Secular Society, was quoted by The Telegraph. "Child abuse is a major issue, along with corruption, that he needs to sort out. His legacy will be judged, I think, on his ability to deal with these immensely difficult problems."

On Tuesday, the UNCRC released a detailed "list of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of the Holy See." The Vatican has been given until January to prepare all information. Vatican officials will later be questioned in an open meeting of the UN committee in Geneva.

"Francis's papacy could well be defined by the world's verdict on his response - more handwringing apologies or calls for a line to be drawn under the past will no longer wash," Geoffrey Robertson QC, a human rights lawyer, said.

"He will fail unless he initiates bold tangible actions, for example lifting the veil of secrecy that has protected so many clerical rapists, engaging secular authorities and offering rather than resisting appropriate compensation."

A signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Holy See, however, had avoided requests for information.

But a Vatican spokesman said in April that the church would "act decisively in sex abuse cases, above all promoting measures to protect minors, assistance for all those who in the past suffered such violence, [and] necessary measures against the guilty."