Representative of the Vatican came in for some intense questioning at a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child focusing on child abuse committed by clergy, and related cover-ups by officials within the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.

“The Holy See gets it, that certain things have to be done differently,” Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's former top prosecutor told the committee.

“It's not words, it has to be commitment on the ground, on the level of the local churches,” he added.

The faithful have been disgusted and law enforcers stymied by case after case of Catholic officials covering up abuse by transferring molester priests and monks away from the scenes of their crimes, sometimes across national borders.

Members of the committee insisted the Vatican’s words must be turned into reality.  They sought specific details in the case of Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a papal envoy who was recalled to Rome from his post in the Dominican Republic amid claims of child abuse.

Without using Wesoloski’s name, Catholic officials said the case is under investigation.  This angered children’s advocates.

“These are just yet more empty words,” Polish campaigner Marek Lisinki said at the hearing in Geneva.  “They keep telling us what they're doing, but there's a lack of concrete answers.”