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A UN rights watchdog lambasted the Vatican for adopting policies that allowed priests to rape tens of thousands of children over decades.
The UN committee on the rights of the child demanded that the papacy "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers" from the clergy and hand them over to local law enforcement.
Committee members also made unprecedented attacks on the Vatican for its attitudes toward homosexuality, contraception and abortion and said it should review policy to ensure children's rights and access to healthcare are guaranteed.
MAT COWARD explains how in the 17th century a row over whether to kneel at communion became a battle over religion, class and royal power
As peers prepare to debate reform of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi leads a bid to end the criminalisation of women who end pregnancies at home. LYNNE WALSH reports
