HOUSTON (TX)
Irish Examiner
A former seminarian is seeking to bring Pope Benedict XVI before a Texas court to explain what he believes was an attempt to protect priests from the law, writes Caroline O’Doherty.
THE US has produced some intriguing courtroom spectacles, as those recovering from addiction to the Michael Jackson trial will testify.
But not even the bizarre goings-on at the playground ranch of an eccentric pop recluse measure up against the legal battle envisaged by Texas-based lawyer Daniel Shea.
Mr Shea wants a district court judge in the Houston Division of the United States Court for the Southern District of Texas to call up the Vatican and tell them she’s putting the Pope on the stand.
Understandably, the Pope is resisting the move but, if Pope Benedict XVI succeeds in claiming diplomatic immunity, Mr Shea will go after the person who grants immunity. It would give him pleasure to see George W Bush take the Bible in his right hand.