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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