Vatican ordered worldwide cover-up of sexual abuse
It's being reported that the Vatican told Catholic bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse.
A report in the Observer newspaper this morning quotes a 69-page document, written in 1962 and sent to every bishop in the world, which has been obtained by a lawyer acting for alleged victims of abuse by Catholic priests.
The document bears the seal of Pope John the 23rd, and calls for "strictest" of secrecy in dealing with abuse allegations within the Church.
The Vatican also reportedly called for the victim to take an oath of secrecy at the time of making a complaint to Church officials.
It states that the instructions are to "be diligently stored in the secret archives of the Curia [Vatican] as strictly confidential".
The document, which has been confirmed as genuine by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, is called "Crimine solicitationies", which translates as "instruction on proceeding in cases of solicitation".
