ADNkronos
September 13, 2011
http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Religion/Vatican-Groups-ask-Hague-court-to-prosecute-pope-over-sex-abuse_312445393630.html
 |
The Hague, 13 Sept. (AKI) - Two groups have jointly asked the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Pope Benedict XVI and three top Vatican officials accusing them of acts that "tolerate and enable the systematic and widespread concealing of rape and child sex crimes throughout the world."
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and lawyers from the human rights organization the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) have submitted to the the court in the Hague an 80 page complaint as well as more than 20,000 pages of supporting materials to back up their case, the groups said on Tuesday.
"Crimes against tens of thousands of victims, most of them children, are being covered up by officials at the highest level of the Vatican. In this case, all roads really do lead to Rome, ” said CCR senior staff Attorney Pam Spees in a statement.
The complaint names Benedict in his current job as pontiff, as well as in the capacity of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was led the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith- the Vatican watchdog responsible for tackling sexual abuse by priests. He led the Congregation for around 25 years starting in 1981.
Also named are the former and current Vatican secretaries of state, Angelo Sodano, who held the office from 1991 to 2006, Tarcisio Bertone, who was appointed Sodano’s successor; and former archbishop of San Francisco,Cardinal William Levada who was appointed by Benedict to succeed him as Vatican Congregation prefect.
Lawyers familiar with the ICC said it was unlikely that the case would fit into its mandate of going after war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. But even an examination of the issue by the prosecution office would appear to serve the plaintiffs’ goal of getting international attention for the case, the New York Times reported.
The Vatican - which didn't immediately comment on the case - has made historical apologies for acts of priests but defended itself by saying it could not take responsibility for such a large and decentralized global organization that relies on the decisions of local bishops for much of its administration.
The Church has been accused of covering up sex abuse by moving priests to different dioceses.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.