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News, Blogs & Opinion
UN Committee Against Torture criticises Vatican failures on child abuseNews | Fri, 23rd May 2014 The UN Committee Against Torture has criticised the Vatican (in its guise as The Holy See) for several failures in its handling of the child abuse scandal. The Vatican is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture and has been questioned by the Committee as part of its regular examination of those states that have ratified the treaty. The subsequent report, published on 23 May by the Committee Against Torture is critical of the Vatican's failures. Earlier this year, the Vatican was similarly scrutinised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Its report was similar in many respects, but more scathing in tone. The Torture Committee also slated the Vatican for failing to order that all abuse allegations should be reported to the police, for moving abusive clergy around from one diocese to another, enabling them to continue abusing children. It was critical of the Vatican helping abusive clergy to evade proper accountability for their actions and for failing to see that victims got adequate compensation. "Clergy … were transferred to other dioceses and institutions where they remained in contact with minors and others who are vulnerable," the Committee Against Torture charged. A leaked copy of the document had been obtained by the Boston Globe which reported:
Specific cases were referred to by the panel, including:
The panel was also "concerned by reports'' that Catholic officials "resist the principle of mandatory reporting'' of abuse allegations. It said that the Vatican should ensure that abuse allegations are pursued by independent prosecutors to ensure that there is "no hierarchical connection between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators," and also insisted that officials who fail to respond appropriately to abuse complaints are subject to "meaningful sanctions." The Committee reflected the criticism that although individual priests might be sanctioned for abuse, there was no equally strong accountability in place for bishops and other officials who fail to report abuse or who actively cover up scandals. The Boston Goble reported:
Commenting to the Boston Globe on the report, the Vatican's top envoy to the United Nations, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, expressed relief that the report was not as harsh as the previous one from the Committee on the Rights of the Child. He said the new report was "more technical and professional" and even contained some congratulation on ongoing efforts to put things right. "It takes into account the positive steps taken by [the Vatican] and the church in general," he said. He was particularly relieved that it does not accuse the Vatican of having violated the UN's 1984 convention against torture – something that could have laid the Vatican open to a whole new raft of legal challenges. Tomasi did, though, say that although the report does not directly assert that the child abuse scandal is a form of torture under international law, such a conclusion could be inferred from it. He also repeated the claim that the Vatican is not legally responsible for the actions of priests around the world – only for those within the walls of the Vatican City. The Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, the largest victims' advocacy group in the United States, said in a statement: "It has now been 12 weeks since another United Nations panel released a lengthy report about the Church's on-going clergy sexual violence and coverup crisis." "As best we can tell, every Catholic official is ignoring every one of those recommendations," the group's statement asserted. "That is shameful." The Vatican said it would give "serious consideration" to the Committee's recommendations. Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, which has been campaigning for stronger sanctions against the Vatican over its mis-handling of the Child abuse crisis, said: "The Committee should be praised for not being cowed by the Vatican's shameless threats to renounce the Convention if it was criticised. Crucially, like the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Torture Committee criticised the Vatican's refusal to instruct the Church to report credible accusations to secular authorities and its self-serving refusal to accept that its obligations under the Convention extend beyond Vatican City to the international Church, particularly on child abuse accusations. "We do not share any enthusiasm, however, for the Vatican's defrocking of thousands of abusing clerics resulting in them being released into the labour market without being subjected to secular justice, and the resultant criminal record. This will almost certainly put other children at risk from former priests reoffending." You can download the UN Committee against Torture's 'concluding observations' on the Holy See here. | |
Catholic school’s admissions policy leaves family in “turmoil”News | Thu, 22nd May 2014 Parents of a child refused a place at a state funded Catholic school have criticised the school over its admissions criteria, and say the school's policy of giving preferential treatment to worshippers has left their lives in turmoil. Oscar, aged 4, has been denied a place at St Thomas of Canterbury primary school, near Gillingham, because his parents, who live just minutes away from the school gates, don't regularly practice a religion. The family now say they will be forced to withdraw their other son from the school, which he has attended since the age of 3. The boy's father, David Patterson, a non-practising Christian, and his wife, of Hindu background, said the anger and stress caused by the school's unfair admissions policy has caused havoc to their family life. Mr Patterson said: "Being discriminated against because of your religion isn't a good feeling. What has really shocked us is the way the school has showed no regard whatsoever for the effect this is having on our children and on ourselves, who are expected to deal with the upset and stress in having to take our children to two separate schools, as well as care for our young baby. It just can't be done. "This unrest and lack of care from the school has forced us to make decisions concerning removing our eldest child from St Thomas's and request a place at the same school as his younger brother." Despite being publicly funded, the school says it exists primarily to serve the Catholic community and that Catholic children will always have priority. The school's strict admissions criteria give priority to "baptised Catholic children" and children of other denominations and religions who can provide evidence of their faith. Children from non-religious or non-practising backgrounds are only admitted if additional places are available after children from faith backgrounds have been prioritised. Schools with a religious character have an exemption from the Equality Act, which prevents people from being treated worse than others on grounds of religion and belief. Mr Patterson said: "Even given the exemptions, I fail to see why a Catholic school should be permitted to give preferential treatment to children from other religious traditions over children from non-practising or atheist families." "I'd prefer our children to decide for themselves what they believe when they're old enough to make an informed decision. Parents who choose not to put a religious label on their children are treated as second class citizens", added Mr Patterson. The family say they have received support from local religious figures, including the local Catholic priest, who told them the school should have used its discretion to "keep a loving family unit together". Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, said: "This is just one example of how unfair and discriminatory admissions arrangements impact on the lives of families up and down the country. "Discrimination based on religion or belief is rooted in a bygone era and should have no place in state education. A fair and reasonable admissions policy would not turn away local children from publicly funded schools simply on the basis of their parent's beliefs or lack of religious practice." | |
Scottish local authority plans to introduce discriminatory schools admissions policyNews | Mon, 19th May 2014 Falkirk Council has announced plans to change admissions policies for all its denominational (Roman Catholic) schools to ensure baptised children are given priority over other children. Under the plans, only pupils that can demonstrate affiliation to the RC church by means of a baptismal certificate will be automatically entitled to enrol at their catchment denominational school. All other pupils will be required to submit a "placing request", and will only be accepted if places remain unfilled by children from Catholic backgrounds. Falkirk's denominational schools are currently open equally to pupils of all religious and non-religious backgrounds. However, the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 gives education authorities the right to give priority to pupils baptised as Roman Catholic where demand exceeds available places at a denominational school. The unitary authority says that despite increasing denominational provision in the area, demand for places at Roman Catholic schools can no longer be met. It says without changes to the admissions policy it will be unable to fulfil its legal duty to offer a denominational education to Roman Catholic families. Separate denominational state schools were established in Scotland as a result of the Education Act 1918, since when Roman Catholic schools have been fully funded by the Scottish Government and administered by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate. Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns manager, said: "It's incredibly sad that a mindset of 'our schools' and 'their schools' persists in modern Scotland. "Here we have a situation where integration between children of different backgrounds is naturally occurring and the Local Authority is stepping in to ensure religious division is enforced. "Surely children in Scotland being educated together, regardless of religion or belief background, is the best hope for a future free of religious bigotry." A public consultation is now open and will run until 27 June 2014. Full details of the plans can be read in the proposal document (pdf). | |
Ex-Muslims call for Islamic education charity to be classified as a “hate group”News | Fri, 23rd May 2014 A report published by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) has accused the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) of being a "soft Islamist" group, and has called for its charitable status to be withdrawn. The iERA describes itself as an international organisation "committed to educating and informing humanity about, and inviting to, the truth and noble message of Islam." The report published by CEMB, entitled "Evangelising Hate", accuses the group of using the rights language of diversity, tolerance and inter-faith dialogue to promote and normalise "Islamist values and norms". The report details specific examples of hate speech practised by iERA preachers and calls for the group to be classified as a hate group because of its persistent promotion of Islamists who preach hate against non-Muslims, women, gays, progressive Muslims and ex-Muslims. Launching the report, a CEMB spokesperson said: "Our fight is against the far-Right of all stripes and variations – be it Britain First or iERA – and in defence of the rights of all people, irrespective of their background, race, belief, gender, sexuality… to secularism, universal rights and equality." The report has been welcomed by Gita Sahgal of the Centre for Secular Space. "This excellent report lays out in gruesome and forensic detail the hate agenda of speakers associated with the iERA. They should never be legitimised as a charity or given platforms that treat their views as acceptable", said Ms Sahgal. In a statement issued on its website, iERA described the accusations as "outdated and blatantly false". It accused CEMB of "spin" and said statements contained within the report had been "deliberately taken out of context". Saleem Chagtai, Head of Public Relations at iERA, said it had rolled out a policy and procedure on extremism in line with the Charity Commission's recommendations. A statement also accused the report of failing to recognise "the tremendous amount of community work that iERA embraces as part of its core ethos." A response to iERA's rebuttal of the report has been posted by CEMB spokesperson Maryam Namazie. In 2013 iERA were banned from hosting events by University College London (UCL) after the group attempted to enforce a policy of gender segregation on attendees at a debate entitled "Islam vs Atheism". One of the speakers at the debate was Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, a founder and leading speaker of iERA and a former member of the Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir. Student Chris Moos, who attended the event, said he hoped the report would "serve as a wake-up call for both university and student representatives". "Hopefully it will lead to a classification of the iERA as what they are – a fascist hate group on a par with the likes of Hizb-ut Tahrir, BNP and EDL", added Mr Moos. The report is published just as the Charity Commission is investigating iERA over concerns about the charity's governance. Read the report: Evangelising Hate – Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) | |
EU publishes guidelines on protecting free expression abroadNews | Tue, 20th May 2014 The Council of the European Union has adopted human rights guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline. The new guidelines seek to help the EU protect and promote freedom of expression and opinion outside the EU arena and set out a number of preventative and reactive tools to enable it to do so. They are aimed at helping EU staff and representatives contribute to preventing potential violations of freedom of opinion and expression, and are guided by "the universality, indivisibility, interrelatedness and interdependence of all human rights". The guidelines come as part of a consultation undertaken by the EU last year, to which the NSS submitted evidence, and emphasise freedom of the media and combating violence, persecution, harassment and intimidation of journalists and other media actors. Notably, the guidelines also observe that restricting freedom of opinion and expression, "solely in order to protect notions such as religions, cultures, schools of thought, ideologies or political doctrines" is not permitted by international human rights law. They note that freedom of opinion and expression can only be limited in strictly prescribed circumstances – such as those delineated by Rabat Plan of Action. They also highlight the situation for a number of women's rights groups who have publicly criticized discriminatory religious tenets, and as a consequence have suffered severe harassment and intimidation, both by state and non-state actors. As with the guidelines on freedom of religion or belief adopted by the Council just under a year ago, the EU recommends the repealing of blasphemy laws around the world, noting that, blasphemy laws "are often applied so as to persecute, mistreat or intimidate persons belonging to religious or other minorities and they can have a serious inhibiting effect on freedom of expression and on freedom of religion or belief". The guidelines, to be applied in terms of non-EU member states, make no mention of the fact that blasphemy is still outlawed within a number of EU member states, such as Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland. Likewise, whilst there is an emphasis on the protection of freedom of expression online, legitimate criticism could be directed at member states such as the UK, which has in the past been seen to treat individuals severely for their free expression via social media. For example, amongst others, charging Paul Chambers for tweeting a tongue-in-cheek message about blowing up Robin Hood airport in 2010 and arresting Reece Messer in 2012 for posting tasteless messages about British Olympic diver Tom Daley (notably however, last year the Crown Prosecution published guidelines seeking to limit the prosecutions for online communication via social media). |
NSS Speaks Out
NSS President Terry Sanderson defended a church's right to freedom of expression in the Daily Mail after a Baptist church became the subject of the police investigation for displaying a poster suggesting non-Christians would 'burn in hell'.
Terry also discussed the role of religion in schools on BBC 3 Counties after an independent Muslim school in Luton was heavily criticised by Ofsted inspectors for promoting Salafi fundamentalist beliefs.
NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans appeared on the Islam Channel to discuss the influence of religion in schools following allegations that community schools in Birmingham have being taken over in an alleged "Trojan Horse' plot and run on "Islamic principles".
Quotes of the Week
"Can it really be right that we have to accept a homophobic established church trying to vote down progressive legislation just because that might upset its really homophobic members overseas?"
(Deborah Orr, Guardian)
"Gender inequality permeates Islam - we permit it even here in the UK, where gender segregation is pouring out of the mosques and into our university campuses. Some brave Muslim women are embracing feminism in order to defend their rights, but there is no political will to support their quest. Bizarrely, we tolerate their subjection in the name of religious equality."
(Archbishop Cranmer blog)
Essays of the Week
When will the West wake up to the grotesque Islamist war on women's rights?
(Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wall Street Journal)
The religious right is using hatred to fundamentally to try to transform America
(Rmuse, Politicus USA)
Upcoming Events
Law, Religion and Homosexuality: book launch and talk
Wed, 18th Jun 2014
How The Light Gets In 2014
Thu, 22nd May 2014
The Sea of Faith Network Conference 2014 "Making Connections"
Fri, 18th Jul 2014
International conference on the Religious-Right, Secularism and Civil Rights
Sat, 11th Oct 2014
