At UN, Vatican seeks limit on abuse responsibility

[DonViejo]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

GENEVA (AP) — In its second grilling at the United Nations this year, the Vatican on Monday sought to limit its responsibility for the global priest sex abuse scandal by undercutting arguments it has violated an international treaty against torture and inhuman treatment.

The Vatican delegation's appearance in Geneva is the first time that the committee that oversees the U.N. Convention Against Torture, which the Vatican ratified in 2002, has hauled the Holy See before its members.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, lost no time asserting that its responsibility for enforcing the U.N. treaty against torture only applies within the confines of the tiny Vatican City, which has fewer than 1,000 inhabitants in an area less than half a square-kilometer in size, making it the smallest country in the world.

"The Holy See intends to focus exclusively on Vatican City state," he told the committee. "State authorities are obligated to protect and when necessary to prosecute persons under their jurisdiction."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Vatican-undergoes-2nd-grilling-this-year-on-abuse-5452901.php

[iandhr]

1. Jesus

No pun intended.

[lark]

2. Yeah

Jesus has zero to do with this, just some lying scheming old men who dress funny and abuse that name a lot, trying to protect themselves from the fallout of their criminal actions.

[Dawson Leery]

3. This should be no surprise as Babylonians take an oath to protect their cult.

[weissmam]

4. and these are the guys that are supposed to be the moral compass for

about 2 Billion people

[theHandpuppet]

5. Color me surprised -- not

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/03/05/pope-francis-strikes-back-church-critics-sex-abuse/1AV6WpnxgqVTLN1Cpj09MJ/story.html

[happyslug]

6. Here is the Vatican's position on the meeting:

Please note, the official meeting is TUESDAY May 6, 2014, this was just a meeting to get additional information for that meeting.

He reiterated that the Holy See’s “authority does not extend to institutions and the persons of the Catholic Church at large” and it cannot be assumed that the Holy See is “directly responsible for the behavior of every priest and of every employee of any Church institution in the world.” Catholics are subject to the laws of the states in which they are citizens or residents.

Archbishop Tomasi talked briefly to Vatican Radio following Monday’s meeting in Geneva:

“The delegation of the Holy See presented its point of view and emphasized first of all that the Convention has been signed and ratified by the Holy See on behalf - and only on behalf - of the Vatican City State. In this way, the implementation of the Convention under the responsibility of the Holy See, applies to the territory of Vatican City State.....

And then, I must underline the fact that the Chairman of the Committee has tried to be very fair, pointing out the good actions and measures - legal and pastoral I would say - undertaken by the Church in the last few years. And at the same time, he also posed some questions that need to be answered.

http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-see-addresses-un-anti-torture-committee