by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

VATICAN CITY–

Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, a senior priest at the Vatican, revealed he is gay on the eve of a synod on the Church’s family teachings. Monsignor Charamsa said he came out to challenge the Catholic Church’s “backwards” attitudes and traditions towards homosexuality. He also revealed that he was in a relationship, and was happy and proud of his decision. In reponse, the Vatican called his actions “very serious and irresponsible,” and subsequently stripped him of all responsibilities.

The official subject under discussion at the three- week synod is how to make sure that Catholic families will follow Church teachings. However, Monsignor Charamsa’s announcement all but confirms the existence of a “gay lobby” in the Catholic Church, and threatens to derail the synod. The undertone of the conference, nonetheless, remains whether the Church can relax its abhorrence to same-sex relationships and marriage while the Pope comments, “Who am I to judge?”

Monsignor Charamsa has not yet submitted his resignation to the Vatican, but hopes that his coming out will encourage others to push for change within the Church. During the press conference, he presented a ten-point “liberation manifesto” against “institutionalized homophobia within the Church,” which Monsignor Charamsa claims oppresses gay men in the Church, who allegedly make up a majority of the priesthood.

“I dedicate my coming out to all gay priests,” Charamsa said. “I wish them happiness even if I know that most of them will not have the courage to make the gesture I have made today. To my Church, I want to say that I reject and I denounce the current atmosphere of exasperating homophobia. Open your eyes to the suffering of gay people, to their desire for love.”

Monsignor Charamsa has been a member of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith since 2003. While his fate as a priest is up to the local bishop in his home country of Poland, the Vatican has said he will no longer be a member of the Congregation.

For more information, please see—

Al-Jazeera–Vatican fires senior priest who declares homosexuality on eve of synod— 3 October 2015

BBC–Vatican acts after Polish priest reveals homosexuality— 3 October 2015

DNA–Vatican sacks gay priest after highly public coming out— 3 October 2015

Irish Times– Holy See rocked as senior Vatican priest comes out as gay— 3 October 2015

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France–

Last week, France opened the first criminal inquiry into allegations of torture under the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Based upon tens of thousands of photographs taken by Syrian defectors, the evidence of torture is quite convincing. However, the investigation is still in the early stages, as a French torture victim or the arrest of a Syrian official will be necessary to move the charges forward.

International human rights advocates have hailed the measure as necessary, despite the move being largely symbolic in nature. The problem, advocates state, is not the evidence, but rather the ability to get a live witness in front of a French courtroom.

“Faced with these crimes that offend the human conscience, this bureaucracy of horror, faced with this denial of the values of humanity, it is our responsibility to act against the impunity of the killers,” the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said while announcing the investigation to international press. Mr. Fabius asked prosecutors to move forward with the investigation on September 10^th, immediately after the French government authenticated the photographs taken by the defectors. A unit in the prosecutor’s office that specializes in mass crimes will be in charge of the investigation.

France, along with the United States, believes that Assad is part of the problem in Syria, and that he cannot be part of the solution in the Middle East. The French insistence on this is based on the photographs depicting mass torture taken by the defectors. These photographs, taken between 2011 and 2013, portray victims with eyes gouged out, starved, beaten and maimed, as well as corpses piled up by the thousands. The scale of the problem is believed to have grown, as more people have been killed by the Assad regime than by ISIS since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Earlier in the week, the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, called for the Syrian civil war to be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation. France is the first country to act since this call has been made, and has since stated that their probe should not prevent other countries from acting, nor should the U.N. feel discouraged from beginning their own investigations.

For more information, please see—

The Telegraph–France ‘opens war crimes inquiry against Assad regime’ in Syria: UN debate— 29 September 2015

Economic Times– France opens probe into Assad regime for ‘crimes against humanity’: Judicial source— 30 September 2015

New York Times– France Opens Criminal Investigation of Torture in Syria Under Assad— 30 September 2015

Toronto Metro– France opens investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by Syria— 30 September 2015

Yahoo! News– France opens probe into Assad regime for crimes against humanity— 30 September 2015