Consistently holding the Catholic Church to account as well

“All representatives of German politics should be aware that the protection of children’s rights is one of their responsibilities.” This was emphasized by the President of the Humanist Association of Germany, Frieder Otto Wolf, on Friday in Berlin on the occasion of a current investigation report by the UN Commission on the Rights of the Child. A final report on the review of measures against child abuse presented by the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child last Wednesday in Geneva names numerous failures by the Church in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Among other things, the Vatican had refused to provide information on the true extent of the abuse cases. The report found that the Church has failed in numerous areas to take effective action against sexual violence by priests against children and, for example, to remove clergy who have committed crimes from the Church’s ministry. The findings and demands contained in the report were immediately rejected or relativized by the church. Wolf expressed his regret that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child was in a weaker position in the efforts to secure the rights of children. Moreover, the Committee’s demands are not legally binding and there are no sanctions for violations of the Convention. Nevertheless, there are also good starting points in this country to push for the further implementation of all requirements, said Wolf. “As far as they are able, all representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany should also consistently hold the Catholic Church to account in order to improve the protection of children’s rights worldwide. In my view, there is no good reason to leave it to negotiations in international bodies or on the media stage to deal with the numerous abuses and misconduct.” However, this is by no means just about the church. Wolf said that even the institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany repeatedly show a lack of understanding and that there are failures in the prevention and criminal prosecution of child abuse as well as in the payment of necessary assistance to people affected by sexual violence in childhood. The necessary focus on the Catholic Church should therefore not serve to “distract from the fact that many state and other social authorities also have a duty to act, which they have not yet translated into action with the necessary determination.” As a signatory state to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Germany is called upon to advocate for the realization and protection of children’s rights at all political levels, Wolf emphasized. “And if the Vatican is unable or unwilling to act in this area, the members of this committee may have to accept that. On the other hand, there are always concrete opportunities for people acting on the ground to continuously urge the Church in particular to take the necessary steps. Because we must not get to the point again where the image or wishful thinking of the institution is given higher priority than the protection of the rights of the weakest among us.”