The Holy See placed its own reputation above children’s best interests

On 5 February 2014, Kirsten Sandberg, Chairmwoman of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, said this during a news conference in Geneva:

"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children…

The main finding of the committee was that the Holy See has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators. The Holy See has consistently place the preservation of the reputation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators above children’s best interests…

The Committee in this regard has highlighted the practice of offenders’ mobility. They were moved from parish to parish when things were discovered and this still places children in many countries at high risk of sexual abuse…

Another matter was the code of silence that was imposed by the church on children, and the fact that reporting to national law enforcement authorities was never made compulsory… Due to a code of silence imposed on all members of the clergy under penalty of excommunication, cases of child sexual abuse have hardly ever been reported to the law enforcement authorities in the countries where such crimes occurred."