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The Vatican blasted back at a UN-authored Rights of Children report, saying its criticism of the church's stand on homosexuality is driven by critics of the church's "non-negotiable" teachings. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, whose members have included such nations as Saudi Arabia, Syria, Uganda and Thailand,accused the Vatican Wednesday of "systematically" adopting policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, and urged it to open its files on pedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the head of the Holy See's delegation to the United...

The Vatican blasted back at a UN report that accused it of allowing children to be abused by priests and condemned its stances on homosexuality, contraception and abortion, saying the findings were "ideological" and likely driven by critics of the church's "non-negotiable" teachings. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, whose members have included such nations as Saudi Arabia, Syria, Uganda and Thailand,accused the Vatican Wednesday of "systematically" adopting policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, and urged it to open its files on pedophiles and bishops who concealed their...

The Catholic Church must be held to account by a UN human rights watchdog for doing too little to halt and expose paedophile priests, victims of abuse by the clergy said Tuesday. David Clohessy, director of the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he had few hopes of a massive shake up by Pope Francis, who since being elected in March has made several pronouncements urging action. "We're dealing with a well-established, longstanding, extraordinarily powerful global monarchy, that really has few or any checks and balances on its power," he told reporters.

A nasty Norwegian diplomat at the UN frequently badmouths the Holy See. He wonders why Holy See diplomats are allowed into the room during negotiations. He says outright that the Holy See ought to leave. This has happened more than once.It’s amusing a Norwegian would say such a thing. The development of Norway is rather murky and it is hard to figure when Norway really became Norway. Norwegians might claim it was when Harald Fairhair unified disparate tribes and clans in 872 after the Battle of Hafrsfjord. Even so, it is questionable when the people living there began to...

BRUSSELS, Belgium, (Zenit.org).- The European Parliament on Tuesday is poised to debate a report that condemns the Catholic Church for its moral principles and its position on women priests. The document, written by Spanish Socialist Mariacute;a Izquierdo Rojo, was approved last October by the Womenacute;s Rights Commission and analyzed subsequently by the Citizensacute; Liberties and Rights Commission. Among other things, the document condemns quot;the administrations of religious organizations and the leaders of extremist political movements who promote racial discrimination, xenophobia, fanaticism and the exclusion of women from leading positions in the political and religious hierarchy.quot; The report could be voted...

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