UN slams Vatican for 'cover up' of pedophile priests in sex abuse scandal

The Vatican has been criticized publicly for the first time from a United Nations committee over allegations it protected pedophile priests, who had been sexually abusing children worldwide.

The representatives of the Holy See were questioned in public on cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy around the world at a UN hearing in Geneva, the BBC reports.

According to the report, despite learning about the crisis, the Church had not taken any action to prevent future abuse.

The Holy See is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), a legally binding instrument which commits it to protecting and nurturing the most vulnerable in society.

However, the Vatican had refused a request last month from the CRC for data on abuse, claiming that it only released such information on the request of another country as part of legal proceedings.

The Vatican insisted it is not responsible for the actions of priests, as they are not its employees, but citizens of their own countries.

Meanwhile, the victims' advocates complained that there was still "too little transparency."

Pope Francis had announced last month that a Vatican committee would be set up to fight sexual abuse of children in the Church.