Vatican UN Observer Archbishop Silvano Tomasi has lashed out at
criticism over the Church's handling of the pedophilia crisis saying the
Catholic Church was “busy cleaning its own house” and that the problems
with clerical sex abuse in other churches were as big, if not bigger.
In a statement following the UN Human Rights Council meeting in
Geneva, Vatican observer Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said that most
abusive clergy who committed such acts were not pedophiles but
homosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent males.
The statement, read out by Archbishop Tomasi defended its record by
claiming that “available research” showed that only 1.5%-5% of Catholic
clergy were involved in child sex abuse.
He also quoted statistics from the Christian Science Monitor
newspaper to show that most US churches being hit by child sex abuse
allegations were Protestant and that sexual abuse within Jewish
communities was common.
He added that sexual abuse was far more likely to be committed by
family members, babysitters, friends, relatives or neighbours, and male
children were quite often guilty of sexual molestation of other
children.
The statement said that rather than paedophilia, it would “be more
correct” to speak of ephebophilia, a homosexual attraction to
adolescent males.
“Of all priests involved in the abuses, 80 to 90% belong to this
sexual orientation minority which is sexually engaged with adolescent
boys between the ages of 11 and 17.”
The statement concluded: “As the Catholic church has been busy
cleaning its own house, it would be good if other institutions and
authorities, where the major part of abuses are reported, could do the
same and inform the media about it.”
The Holy See launched its counter-attack after an international
representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, Keith
Porteous Wood, accused it of covering up child abuse and being in
breach of several articles under the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Porteous Wood said the Holy See had not contradicted any of his accusations.
“The many thousands of victims of abuse deserve the international
community to hold the Vatican to account, something it has been
unwilling to do, so far. Both states and children’s organisations must
unite to pressurise the Vatican to open its files, change its
procedures worldwide, and report suspected abusers to civil
authorities,” Porteous-Wood told the Guardian.
SOURCE
Sex abuse rife in other religions, says Vatican (Guardian)