Vatican allows sex with children as young as twelve years

[Bluebell]

http://m.welt.de/article.do?id=politik%2Fdeutschland%2Farticle7319676%2FVatikan-erlaubt-Sex-mit-Kindern-ab-zwoelf-Jahren

 

translated through google:

 

The Vatican City has the lowest age of consent for children in Europe. It is 12 years, whereas in Germany at 14 and in Switzerland at 16 The age determines how old a child must have to be for adults and young people may have sexual relations with him. Wiegel By Lucas Mann

 

Under the pressure of the abuse scandal, the Catholic Church professes recently loudly to the fact that the State is responsible for the investigation of crimes.To counteract the suspected assaults could be covered up within the Church, the Vatican is always clear: In the workup of the scandal to secular law strictly observed, prosecutors should be turned on.

However, for children who live in the Vatican itself, which is actually not a reassuring message. The Vatican has namely the lowest age of consent for children throughout Europe. It is up to twelve years, whereas in Germany at the age of 14, in Switzerland even 16 years.

May have as age of consent refers to the age limit for children from the adults and young people may have sexual relations with them. Say: In Germany, everyone makes an offense of sexual activity carries on a twelve-or thirteen-year-old child - regardless of whether it agrees or not.

In the Vatican State that would be exempt from punishment under certain circumstances, such as when no Abhängigskeitsverhältnis between partners exists. Reason is a legal relic of the 19th century. At that time was the Italian criminal law, the age limit for sex at twelve years.

As the Vatican was founded in 1929 in its present form, he took over the Italian Penal Code with this regulation. It is still the secular law for Vatican citizens, so true parallel to the Canon Law for Church members.

Meanwhile, although different things have changed, for example, the death penalty was abolished. But the age of consent remained - unlike in Italy, where the minimum age was raised decades ago to 14.

Some legal scholars argue that it is only a curiosity without practical significance: Although there are children in the Vatican, because there are not only living priest, but also families of Vatican employees or officers of the Swiss Guard.

But there should be very few, the smallest country in the world has a total of just under 1,000 residents. It is not known whether the relevant criminal Articles 331 and 333 of the Codice Penale were ever used before in a Vatican case.

But critics doubt that TOMS is really maintained only for carelessness or indifference. Lawyers such as the Wiener Professor Manfred Nowak assume that the Catholic Church has chosen the age of deliberately low.

Nowak refers to Malta and Spain. Malta is the only European country an equally low age of consent as the Vatican. Spain had the same rule nor until seven years ago, now the age limit was increased to 13 years. No country in Europe is so strong catholic marked as Malta and Spain - and the Vatican.

 

[carlos]

There's now a law being redacted in Spain that will raise the age of consent from 13 to 16. But that doesn't mean an adult can have sexual relations with a child of 13 or 16, which would be very likely considered abuse. It refers to sexual relations with other minors.

 

Anyway, I think this article is just splitting hairs to attack the Catholic church. They make it seem the Vatican made this law so their priests can freely have sexual relations with minors, which is not true. The Vatican took the Italian civil code and used it where applicable. The article on age of consent wasn't changed probably because there were no children living there so it was not a priority. When you search deeply the laws of any country there are always obsolete laws that sound stupid but were never derogated.

 

The Swiss Guards are required to be unmarried, and lay workers don't live inside the Vatican, only work there. So despite what the article states, I don't think there are any children living in the Vatican.Which I guess is something good!

[GStorrs46]

Carlos,

 

   I agree with you. We want to be careful in our criticisms of the Catholic Church, or any other church for

that matter. While we recognize they have been guilty of teaching false doctrines and practices for centuries,

fairness and the Golden Rule require us to be accurate, especially when describing any wrong. How else

can we appeal to the hearts of honest hearted ones ? Also how can we deflect criticisms they make of us

if we are inaccurate or perhaps petty in what we say about them ?

 

                                                                                                                                       GStorrs46