Vatican
City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon Archbishop
Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer for the Holy See at the United
Nations in Geneva commented on the concluding observations of the
United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child, which were very
critical regarding the issue of the abuse of minors by members of the
clergy and the actions taken by the Vatican and the Holy See on the
matter, and urges revision of the Church's teaching on certain themes
such as contraception and abortion.
“My
first impression: we need to wait, read attentively and analyse in
detail what the members of this Commission have written”, commented
the nuncio. “But my first reaction is of surprise, because of the
negative aspects of the document they have produced and that it looks
almost as if it were already prepared before the meeting of the
Committee with the delegation of the Holy See, which had given in
detail precise responses on various points, which have not been
reported in this conclusive document or at least have not seemed to
be taken into serious consideration. In fact, the document does not
seem to be updated, taking into account what, over the last few
years, has been done by the Holy See, with the measures taken
directly from the authority of Vatican City State and then in various
countries by the individual Episcopal Conferences. It therefore lacks
a correct and updated perspective, which in reality has seen a series
of changes for the protection of children that, it seems to me, are
difficult to find, at the same level of commitment, in other
institutions or even in other States. This is simply a question of
facts, of evidence, which cannot be distorted!”.
With
regard to the Holy See's reaction to the document, the archbishop
affirmed that “the Holy See will respond, because it is a member, a
State that is part of the Convention: it has ratified it and intends
to observe it in the spirit and letter of this Convention, without
added ideologies or impositions that lie outside of the Convention
itself. For instance: in its Preamble, the Convention on the
Protection of Children talks about the defence of life and the
protection of children before and after birth; whereas the
recommendation made to the Holy See is that of changing its position
on the question of abortion! Of course, when a child is killed it no
longer has rights! Hence this seems to me to be a real contradiction
of the fundamental objective of the Convention, which is the
protection of children. This Committee has not done a good service to
the United Nations, seeking to introduce and request the Holy See to
change its non-negotiable teaching! So, it is somewhat sad to see
that the Committee has not grasped in depth the nature and functions
of the Holy See that, however, has expressed clearly to the Committee
its decision to carry forward the Convention's requests on the rights
of the child, but defining precisely and protecting first of all
those fundamental values that give real and effective protection to
the child”.
The
observer for the Holy See also commented on the fact that the United
Nations had said at one time that the Vatican had responded better
than other countries to the protection of minors, and with regard to
the change of opinion expressed in the document published yesterday,
he said, “the introduction to the final report recognised the
clarity of the answers that were given; there was no attempt to avoid
any request made by the Committee, on the basis of the evidence
available, and where there was no immediate information, we had
promised to provide it in the future, according to the directives of
the Holy See, as all countries do. So it seemed to be a constructive
dialogue and I think it should remain as such. Therefore, given the
impression received through direct dialogue by the delegation of the
Holy See with the Committee and the text of the conclusions and
recommendations, it is tempting to say that probably that text had
already been written, and does not reflect the input and clarity,
other than by some hasty addition, to that which had already been
offered. So we must, with serenity and on the basis of the evidence -
because we have nothing to hide! - bring forth the explanation of the
position of the Holy See, respond to the questions that remain, so
that the fundamental objective that is to be pursued - the protection
of children - can be achieved. We are talking about 40 million cases
of child abuse in the world: unfortunately some of these cases - even
though in small proportions in comparison to all those that are
happening in the world - affect people in the Church. And the Church
has responded and reacted and continues to do so! We must insist on
this policy of transparency, of no tolerance of abuse, because even
one single case of child abuse is one case too many!”
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