Parliamentary questions
6 May 2010
O-0058/10
ORAL QUESTION WITH DEBATE pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure by Baroness Sarah Ludford, Renate Weber, Sophia in 't Veld, Leonidas Donskis, Gianni Vattimo, Cecilia Wikström, Ivo Vajgl, Jelko Kacin, Nathalie Griesbeck, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Sonia Alfano, Charles Goerens, Olle Schmidt, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Alexander Alvaro, Louis Michel, Kristiina Ojuland, Frédérique Ries, Marietje Schaake, Nadja Hirsch, Alexandra Thein, Antonyia Parvanova, Niccolò Rinaldi, Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Luigi de Magistris, on behalf of the ALDE Group to the Commission
Subject: Recent statements by Catholic leaders on paedophilia
The European Union and its Member States attach the greatest importance to the protection of children from abuse and violence, and notably from paedophile acts. The Commission has recently issued a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (COM(2010)0094 - 2010/0064(COD)), building upon the existing Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA(1) on the same subject. Against this background, a large number of paedophile acts by priests have been reported by victims all over the world, leading to the resignation of a number of high level representatives of the Catholic Church and to criminal inquiries in many States, while allegations of complicity and cover up by the Vatican hierarchy have been made and still have to be addressed and clarified. In the meantime, Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See, has said that there is a ‘relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia’(2), while a representative of the Church has compared criticism against the Pope to anti-Semitism(3) and others have minimized the gravity of the events(4).
Will the Commission express its unambiguous condemnation both of the paedophile acts and of these outrageous statements from senior Church figures which, on the one hand, wrongly link homosexuality and paedophilia and, on the other, compared the allegations to anti-Semitism? Will it immediately express its concern officially to the authorities of the Holy See, as well as raising the matter on the occasion of the high level meeting with religious leaders in May? Will it take initiatives to ensure that paedophile crimes, including those committed by priests, are brought to justice and that victims’ rights are protected against any cover up or any other obstacle linked to any special status of the persons involved?
(1) OJ L 13, 20.1.2004, p. 44.
(2) Statement in Spanish by Cardinal Bertone: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcxxr5_le-dichiarazioni-del-cardinale-bert_news
(3) Monsignor Giacomo Babini, Bishop Emeritus, stated that he believed a ‘Zionist attack’ was behind the criticism of the Pope; Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Pope, compared attacks on the Pope in relation to covering up paedophile acts to the ‘more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism’ in his Good Friday reflections before Pope Benedict in the Vatican.
(4) Statement by Cardinal Franc Rode, http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/hajkom-pedofilskim-aferama-katolicku-crkvu-zele-unistiti-clanak-120926
