“Rape is torture under international law, and for the Vatican to minimize the profound harm caused to so many and claim otherwise is both wrong and cruel. When the Vatican voluntarily ratifies a treaty, it must meet its obligations under that treaty,” said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney Katherine Gallagher.  “For too long, the Vatican has been able to deny and deflect attention from its role in enabling, perpetuating, and covering-up these serious crimes around the globe, but those days of impunity are clearly numbered.”

 

The Vatican ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in June 2002.  This is the first time it has had its compliance with its treaty obligations reviewed by the UN Committee Against Torture.  The Vatican was summoned before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in January 2014 to report on its compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which obliges it to protect children from sexual violence and safeguard their well-being and dignity.  It was the first time the Holy See had been called to account for its actions on these issues before an international body.  In February 2014, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed “grave concern that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed…has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and impunity for the perpetrators,” and that “[t]he Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children’s best interests.”

 

Said SNAP President Barbara Blaine, “Not only is the UN calling the Vatican to account, they are acknowledging the gravity of the harms at stake—which amount to torture of the most vulnerable individuals and cause deep, long-lasting harm. Pope Francis must humbly acknowledge the breadth of the problem in the church and take concrete steps to end the sexual violence and finally hold accountable not only perpetrators but those who cover up the violence, knowingly  shift priests, and endanger more children.”

 

International human rights bodies have paid increasing attention to the crisis of sexual violence in the Catholic Church following CCR’s filing, in September 2011, of a case with the International Criminal Court on behalf of SNAP against the former Pope and other high-level Vatican officials for crimes against humanity.  The hearing before the Committee Against Torture will continue tomorrow.