While the Vatican has a poor reputation when it comes to pursuing allegations of clerical abuse, experts say that in Figari's case, the church's hands are tied.
The results of the twin elections for parliament and the clerical assembly of experts have been a significant boost for the president and vindicated the policy of engagement he has pursued since 2013.
A review of the literature and anecdotal evidence suggest this predicament to be due to (i) a lack of knowledge on the part of parents, which is compounded by guilty consciousness; (ii) a delay in the early and rapid diagnosis of foetal anomalies due to a flawed or inefficient referral system; and (iii) the lack of expert clerical opinions.
He has been compelled to give up his post as head of the Council of Experts, the clerical body which chooses the Supreme Leader.
He leads the powerful Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that has the power to appoint and remove the supreme leader.
As many as 100,000 U.S. children may have been the victims of clerical sex abuse, insurance experts said in a paper presented at a Vatican conference in 2012.
A parallel contest is taking place for the assembly of experts, a clerical body whose 88 members have to choose the supreme leader.
Rafsanjani revealed in a newspaper interview in June that two people had been shortlisted by the assembly of experts, the clerical body in charge of choosing the next supreme leader, although there has been no official confirmation.
Opponents in Iran of the nuclear agreement fared badly in elections on 26 February for both parliament and the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader.
The process of administering that one dose of chemotherapy relies on tasks performed correctly and promptly by receptionists, nurses, technicians, porters, pathologists, pharmacists, clerical assistants, cleaners, IT experts, supplies managers – not to mention doctors.
