Victory in Geneva!

Report from Geneva

May 2014

The Holy See's investigation by the UN Committee against torture and Inhuman and degrading treatment.

Sue Cox

Survivors Voice -Europe  are delighted by the outcome of the report against the Holy See after making our submission to the UN Committee Against Torture and degrading and inhuman treatment,(CAT)

This is the second time we have submitted evidence to the UN , the first being the committee for the Rights of the Child which resulted in a similar victory for justice in February this year.

But once again we hear the vatican shouting from the rooftops that they have NOT been found in violation of the UN convention against torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, despite the exact opposite being true.

It beggars belief that they still employ these PR tactics.

To begin with they tried to NOT be questioned at all about sexual abuse of minors by their clergy! saying it was not part of this committee’s remit.That was firmly rejected!

After churning out the same old chestnut that “they are only responsible for the people in the square mile of vatican city”, and seeing that soundly and categorically rejected by the UN committee,  they very quickly resorted to their usual default position of lying through their teeth.

Even before the UN announcement, they put out a statement saying they had NOT been found in breach of the convention, then when the announcement to the contrary was made public, they complained  that their violation of the convention, and the categorising of childhood clergy abuse as torture and inhuman and degrading treatment was only “implied”!

We already  know that they lie, having witnessed them for decades, and having witnessed their performances in Geneva, we also now know that they have distorted hearing and vision too ! 

How desperate must these people be to defend the indefensible that they will even totally misreport and misrepresent the findings of a specialist UN committee!

I am told by my Italian colleagues that there is little reporting of the UN findings in Italy, (no change there! ) But what IS being reported is an absolute reversal of the findings!

They are claiming black is white as usual, and I guess you can’t expect much else from a narcissistic organisation which is gradually having a spotlight shone on every one of their  dark and sinister corners.

So let me put the record straight! 

1.The UN committee against torture and inhuman and degrading treatment made it crystal clear that the Holy See were found to be in violation of that convention. They even went as far in their report specifically about the Holy See to detail  their clear definition of torture.

The committee recognises child sexual abuse and sexual abuse of adults by priests as acts covered by the convention against torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.

3/ They criticised the fact that the Holy Sees report to them was 9 years late!

4/ The HS tried to argue that it relates only to the square mile of the Vatican City. The committee rejects that argument – it applies to RC priests and clergy worldwide.

5/The HS has tried to place time limits on dealing with these complaints. The committee says there are no time limits.

6/ The HS is criticised for resisting the principle that all allegations should be reported to the police. They have not named or detailed the priests who they say they have disciplined, or shown their whereabouts now.

7/The HS is criticised for not providing the data relating to the number of reports of abuse throughout its church.

8/The HS is criticised for harbouring criminals – Father Joseph Jeyapaul, Father Peter Kramer, and Archbishop Josef Wesolowski were named, but there are many more.

9/ They are criticised for encouraging an Australian Bishop to withhold documentation from the New South Wales Australian inquiry.

10/The committee says the HS cannot be trusted to deal with complaints and recommends an independent complaints mechanism.

11/ It criticises the lack of constructive approach to compensation namely failing to contribute to the Magdalenes scheme in Ireland.

They have a year to go back to the committee to show what changes have been made, in the same way they have to report back to the committee for the Rights of the child to show that they have complied with their recommendations.

Make NO mistake, childhood clergy sexual abuse of children and vulnerable people IS clearly defined as torture, and degrading and inhuman treatment as defined by the UN convention, and is recognised as such not only by that committee at the UN but by every thinking human being on the planet.

The fact that the Holy see has the sheer audacity to deny this is mind boggling, and really shows them in their true light.

I hope that these findings will now open doors to further  legal actions.There can be no statute of limitation for cases of torture.

I hope also it opens the door to criminal proceedings in the International Criminal Court and the court of Human Rights.

I would encourage EVERY survivor of these criminals to bombard those courts with their own complaints ,and recognise that now they do have absolute right to redress.

I would also ask my Italian, Polish, Russian, French,German speaking colleagues in who’s countries reporting is “sparse”  to translate this and circulate it freely!

Sue Cox Survivors Voice Europe