Vatican Seeks Limited Sex-Abuse Duty

The Vatican’s ambassador to the United Nations did his best to help the Catholic Church shirk responsibility for sexual abuse by its clergy. On Monday, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi spoke before the UN, claiming that the Vatican is only responsible for enforcing the standards of the UN Convention Against Torture within Vatican City, not the globe. He did admit that there was a difference between “the line of legal and moral responsibility,” but reasoned that the church should not be held responsible by the UN. If the UN does find that the sexual abuse by clergymen amounts to torture, the Vatican could face many, many more lawsuits, as there is no statute of limitations on torture cases.