U.N. torture committee probes Vatican on sex abuse scandal

The Vatican is bracing for a blistering session this week before the U.N. Committee Against Torture, which is expected to address the Holy See’s handling of its churchwide sexual abuse scandal and its infringement on human rights.

 

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, warned against “ideological pressure” if the U.N. panel veers off topic like its sibling U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child did in a report earlier this ye

 

“A contributory factor is often the pressure exercised over the Committees and public opinion by [nongovernmental organizations] with a strong ideological character and orientation, to bring the issue of the sexual abuse of minors into the discussion on torture, a matter which relates instead to the Convention on the rights of the child,” Father Lombardi said. “The extent to which this is instrumental and forced is clear to any unbiased observer.”

 

Read More: U.N. torture committee probes Vatican on sex abuse scandal, human rights issues – Washington Times.