Thursday, April 1, 2010

Pope Tried for Systemic Sex Crimes?

The Vatican says the pope, as a "head of state," is immune from legal action. But U.N. judge Geoffrey Robertson says the Vatican is wrong—and that the pope could be tried for systemic sex crimes.

Well may the pope defy “the petty gossip of dominant opinion.” But the Holy See can no longer ignore international law, which now counts the widespread or systematic sexual abuse of children as a crime against humanity. The anomalous claim of the Vatican to be a state—and of the pope to be a head of state, and hence immune from legal action—cannot stand up to scrutiny.

Take Him to Court

by Geoffrey Robertson