Analysis of the Criticism By the United Nations of the Vatican Over Child Abuse - And the Vatican's Reaction to It

For an interesting Analysis of the Criticism By the United Nations of the Vatican Over Child Abuse - And the Vatican's Reaction to It, see http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/keith-porteous-wood/vatican-child-abuse_b_4774147.html

The English Catholic Church and the Sex Abuse Crisis

The English Catholic Church and the Sex Abuse Crisis

BETRAYED

The English Catholic Church and the Sex Abuse Crisis

RICHARD SCORER

PUBLICATION DATE: 11^th MARCH 2014

PRICE: £16.99

Since the late 1980s, the Catholic Church has been embroiled in a profound crisis of clerical sexual abuse. In many Western countries, paedophile priests have been exposed and convicted, and the Church’s moral and social standing has suffered deeply.  Scandals in Ireland and America have been extensively documented and much debated. The English Catholic Church has also been shaken to its roots by allegations of abuse; but until now the situation in England has not been properly examined, and nor have its causes and possible solutions been fully considered.  

The author, one of the UK’s leading lawyers in the field, considers the prevalence and causes of abuse, the influence of wider society upon the Church’s response, allegations of cover-ups, campaigns led by victims, battles within the Church, the legal dimensions and the debate around the laicisation (“defrocking”) of individual priests. He attempts to answer the following questions: How serious has the problem been in the English Catholic Church? How effectively has the Church responded? Can it hope to recover from this scandal, and deal credibly and effectively with allegations of abuse that may be directed at it in the future?

The shocking true story of the extent of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in England is exposed here for the first time.

AUTHOR

Richard Scorer is a lawyer who is widely reputed for his work on child abuse and human rights issues. He was described by the Independent on Sunday as ‘one of Britain’s leading specialists in child abuse litigation’ and is rated as a Band 1 ‘Leader in the Field’ in serious injury law by Chambers Legal Guide. Since 1996 Richard has represented hundreds of child abuse victims including the cases involving Father Michael Hill which, in 2001, led directly to sweeping reforms of child protection policy in the Catholic Church.

Richard Scorer is available for interview

For more information please contact

 Suzanne.sangster@bitebackpublishing.com or call 020 7091 1260

CRC observations on the Vatican - Read the report

The concluding observations by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the second periodic report of the Holy See are available at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/VAT/CRC_C_VAT_CO_2_16302_E.pdf 

 

 The observations include:

 

"The Committee expresses serious concern that in dealing with child victims of different forms of abuse, the Holy See has systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the Church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims. The Committee is particularly concerned that while the Holy See recognized in its written responses and during the interactive dialogue the primary competence of judicial authorities, it has continued to address these cases through Canon Law proceedings which contain no provision for the protection, support, rehabilitation and compensation of child victims."