UN CONFRONTS VATICAN ON CHILD ABUSE

The Vatican has been confronted publicly for the first time over the
sexual abuse of children by clergy, at a UN hearing in Geneva.
Officials faced a barrage of hard questions covering why they would
not release data and what they were doing to prevent future abuse.
They insisted the Church had learnt from the crisis and had taken
action to prevent future abuse.
Victims' advocates complained there was still too little transparency.
Last month, the Vatican refused a request from the UN's Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) for data on abuse, on the grounds that
it only released such information if requested to do so by another
country as part of legal proceedings.
The Vatican came to Geneva expecting a rough ride and it got one, the
BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports.
Victims say they hope the hearing, which is being broadcast live, will
prompt the Church to end its "secrecy".
Pope Francis announced last month that a Vatican committee would be
set up to fight sexual abuse of children in the Church.
The Holy See is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child, a legally binding instrument which commits it to protecting and
nurturing the most vulnerable in society.