Catholic Church tells torture panel of ousted priests, compensation paid

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 7 (UPI) -- Catholic Church officials told a Geneva, Switzerland, panel it had discharged over 800 priests and paid billions in compensation over worldwide sexual abuse of children.

The claims came at a meeting of a United Nations panel reviewing the Vatican’s compliance with an international treaty prohibiting torture. The Vatican was a treaty signatory in 2012 but Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s Geneva representative, adhered to the Holy See’s narrow interpretation of its treaty obligations, saying they covered only the several hundred residents of Vatican City and not priests worldwide. Tomasi told the panel 848 priests were dismissed between 2004 and 2013, and 2,572 other clergy members were disciplined for sexual abuse. He added the Church has paid $2.5 billion in compensation costs to sexual abuse victims since 1950, as well as about $125 million for victims’ therapy and other expenses related to investigations and litigation, as well as $260 million in the past decade on background checks of priests.

At the hearings, in their second day Wednesday, Vatican officials attempted to portray the Church as reform-minded and progressive, but is still receiving criticism from victims’ rights groups for avoiding responsibility for continued harm by priests.

A panel member, George Tugushi, said he found the compensation numbers “impressive,” but “we received many reports of people that did not receive redress (from the Church).”

A report by the panel is expected to be released May 23.