UN body to question Vatican

A UN human rights panel has posed a list of tough questions to the Vatican about child abuse by Catholic priests, a potential embarrassment for Pope Francis.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) asked for “detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, brothers, or nuns” since the Holy See last reported to it some 15 years ago, and set Nov 1 as a deadline for a reply.

The request was included in a “list of issues”, posted on the CRC’s website, to be taken up when the Vatican appears before it in January to report on the Church’s performance under the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It will be the first time the Holy See has been publicly questioned by an international panel over the child abuse scandal which severely damaged the Church.

The committee also asked if the Church had investigated the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland.

There was no immediate comment from the Vatican yesterday.

— Reuters