Violence Against Clergy of the Catholic Church
Summary Minutes of 05.04.2001 – Provisional Edition
Violence Against Clergy of the Catholic Church
B5-0261, 0272, 0280 and 0298/2001
Resolution of the European Parliament on Sexual Violence Against Women, Particularly Against Catholic Nuns
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights,
– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
– having regard to its resolution of 16 September 1997 on the need for an EU campaign on zero tolerance of violence against women,(1),
– having regard to its resolution of 10 March 1999 on violence against women,(2),
– having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
A. recalling that, like the other Community institutions, it strongly condemns all forms of violence against women, particularly sexual abuse,
B. expressing its deep concern regarding the content of a report published in the American magazine “National Catholic Reporter,” which highlights that a high number of rapes by priests against Catholic nuns has occurred in at least 23 countries,
C. taking into account that the Holy See has confirmed its awareness of cases of rape and sexual abuse against women, including nuns, by Catholic priests, particularly due to the fact that at least five reports on this issue have been submitted to the Vatican since 1994,
D. taking into account that while the responsible officials were fully aware of these human rights violations, they did not respond with appropriate measures,
E. underlining that according to these reports many nuns who were raped were subsequently forced to have an abortion or to resign or in some cases were infected with AIDS,
F. acknowledging the statements of Vatican representative Joaquín Navarro-Valls, who emphasized that “the problem is known, but it is geographically limited,” and highlighting that, on the contrary, this phenomenon extends beyond the borders of Africa,
G. recalling that sexual abuse constitutes a crime against humanity and that the perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice,
1. Condemns all violations of women’s rights as well as acts of sexual violence, particularly against Catholic nuns, and expresses its solidarity with the victims;
2. Calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes; urges the judicial authorities of the 23 countries mentioned in the reports to ensure a thorough judicial investigation of these cases of violence against women;
3. Calls on the Holy See to take all allegations of sexual abuse committed within its organizations seriously, to cooperate with judicial authorities, and to strip the perpetrators of any official position;
4. Calls on the Holy See to restore the women who were dismissed from their positions for drawing their superiors’ attention to these abuses and to provide the victims with necessary protection and compensation for any discrimination they may have subsequently faced;
5. Calls for the publication of the full content of the five reports referenced in the magazine “National Catholic Reporter”;
6. Entrusts its President with the task of forwarding this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the authorities of the Holy See, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, as well as to the governments of Botswana, Burundi, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania, Togo, the USA, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe.
(1) EU C 304 of 6.10.1997, p. 55.
(2) ΕU C 175 of 21.6.1999, p. 133.