VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has accused a U.N. human rights committee of sowing confusion, violating its own norms and the church’s religious freedom with a controversial report into the Holy See’s record on child sexual abuse.

The Vatican on Friday released its formal response to a February report by the U.N. committee on the rights of the child, which among other things accused the Vatican of maintaining a “code of silence” that enabled priests to sexually abuse tens of thousands of children worldwide over decades with impunity.