VATICAN CITY — Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican representative to U.N. agencies based in Geneva, appeared yesterday before the U.N. Committee Against Torture to reply to members’ questions.

The session was part of the committee’s normal review of reports submitted by the Holy See and other countries that had ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.

The committee had requested statistics on cases of clerical sexual abuse against children reported to and investigated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Archbishop Tomasi told the committee that between 2004 and 2013, the congregation had received ”credible accusations” against 3,420 priests. Of those accused, he said, 848 have been dismissed from the priesthood and 2,572 have received other penalties always involving a ban on contact with children and usually including a ban on public ministry.

In providing the statistics, the archbishop also gave numbers…