Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican's Secretary of State called on the United States to close the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp as the torture practices widely used at the facility violate the teachings of the Catholic Church.

MOSCOW, December 15 (Sputnik) – The Vatican's Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin called on the United States Monday to close the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp as the torture practices widely used at the facility violate the teachings of the Catholic Church, the National Catholic Reporter reported Monday.

The request was made as US Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Vatican earlier in the day.

During Kerry's visit to the Vatican, the sides discussed "the commitment of the United States to close the Guantanamo prison and the desire for a favorable attention of the Holy See in search of adequate humanitarian solutions to the current detainees", Vatican's spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The closure of notorious detention center at Guantanamo Bay has also been called for by US bishops. On December 9 they sent an open letter to the US Department of State demanding the closure of the prison. US bishops expressed their support for the transfer of detainees out of Guantanamo, considering it as a first step toward the closure of the facility.

Despite US President Barack Obama's promises to close down the detention facility, US congress passed a defense bill last week, prohibiting the Defense Department from transferring prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The bill is now pending the president's approval.

The detention camp, located in Cuba, has been the subject of harsh criticism since its establishment in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Health workers, inspectors and former detainees have described cruel and inhumane conditions at the camp, including the use of torture.

Obama signed an order for the closure of Guantanamo Bay in 2009, describing it as a "sad chapter in American history". The closure has not yet taken place.