by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA — A United Nations panel questioned representatives from the Vatican on Thursday about its handling of decades worth of reports regarding sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

Thursday’s panel was the first such interrogation of the Vatican by an international body. The United Nations committee in Geneva is examining the Vatican’s failure to adhere to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UNCRC calls on countries that adopt the agreement to protect children from sexual and physical abuse. The UN committee will issue final observations and recommendations on February 5^th, but it has no authority to issue sanctions, and its recommendations are nonbinding.

The Vatican representatives contended that the sexual abuse cases were not the responsibility of the Vatican, but rather of local law enforcement and local dioceses to investigate and prosecute the offenders. The representatives did concede that the Church could “do better to prevent these crimes.”

“The Holy See gets it. Let’s not say too late or not, but there are certain things that need to be done differently.” Bishop Charles J. Scicluna, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sexual abuse up until 2012, stated to the panel.

The Center for Constitutional Rights submitted documents and victims’ testimony as evidence that the Vatican had allowed sexual abusers to remain in their posts and even transported them to different locations without informing law enforcement officials or local dioceses.

The UN panel questioned Bishop Scicluna about why the Vatican does not require local dioceses to report abusive conduct to authorities. “Our guidelines have always said the domestic law of the country needs to be followed,” he simply stated.

During Thursday’s UN panel, Pope Francis participated in a morning Mass with a private audience and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, the former archbishop of Los Angeles. Last year, leaked documents revealed that Cardinal Mahoney had a history of protecting priests accused of sexual abuse. The documents were released via a court-order, and Cardinal Mahony was relieved of his duties shortly thereafter.

At the Mass, the Pope delivered a homily about scandal in the church, never mentioning sexual abuse, but speaking to “those failings of priests, bishops, laity.” Francis stated, “Scandals in the church happen because there is no living relationship with God and his word.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Vatican Defends Child-Protection Record – 16 January 2014

BBC News – UN Panel Confronts Vatican on Child Sex Abuse by Clergy – 16 January 2014

The Guardian – UN Condemns Vatican Over Handling of Clerical Sex Abuse of Children – 16 January 2014

New York Times – UN Panel Questions Vatican on Handling of Clergy Sexual Abuse – 16 January 2014

The Washington Post – Vatican Defends Sex Abuse Record to UN Panel – 16 January 2014

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BILBAO, Spain – Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in northern Spain on Saturday to protest the imprisonment of members of a separatist group known as “ETA.”

Tens of thousands of protesters formed a demonstration in the city of Bilbao, in Spain’s Basque region, after a judge had banned an initial demonstration to demand concessions for the ETA prisoners, such as being imprisoned in facilities closer to their families.

Spain’s Basque region has seen an ongoing standoff between authorities and secessionists in the area. ETA has been campaigning for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France for over 40 years. The organization, which has been labeled a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has been blamed for 829 murders.

The organization has been depleted in recent years due to the arrests and imprisonment of its leadership in both Spain and France. Roughly 520 members have been imprisoned, and only an estimated few dozen active fighters are on the run. The ETA pledge to end armed activity back in 2011, but Spain and France remain opposed to negotiating with the organization due to its past.

On Friday, a judge of the highest criminal court in Madrid issued a ruling against a planned demonstration to explicitly support the imprisoned ETA members, reasoning that the protest was organized by a banned terrorist group. Both Basque nationalist and separatist parties called for a new “rights march” for Saturday. They had originally called for a silent demonstration, but shouts and cries were audible when family members of the prisoners marched. Shouts such as “Basque prisoners home!” could be heard.

The conservative Basque National Party, which governs Spain’s northern region, and a left-wing pro-independence party combined forces for Saturday’s march. Between them they accounted for more than half of the votes in the last regional elections, as pro-independence Basques set their sights on a political solution.

“Parties and unions that represent the political majority of this land decided they had to call this demonstration to defend the right to freedom of expression,” Pernando Barrena, spokesman for the left-wing party, stated.

The spokesman for the Basque National Party, Josu Erkoreka, stated that the original ban on the first planned demonstration was “incomprehensible to the Basque people.”

On Saturday, an additional judge ruled that the new gathering called by the parties was not illegal.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Thousands March in Bilbao in Support of ETA – 12 January 2014

Fox News – Large March in North Spain Calls for ETA Prisoners to be Allowed to Serve Jail Terms Near Home – 12 January 2014

The Washington Post – March in North Spain Backs Return of ETA Prisoners – 12 January 2014

BBC News – Huge March in Spain After Ban on ETA Prisoner Rally – 11 January 2014