Case against the Pope, Voice of Russia, September 15, 2011

Case against the Pope

Voice of Russia
September 15, 2011

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/15/56214790.html

The head of the Roman Catholic Church Benedict XVI may soon become a defendant at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The case against him and three other high-ranking representatives of the Catholic clergy under charges of “crimes against humanity” was filed by the SNAP human rights organisation. It unites people who at some point in their life suffered from Catholic priests’ sexual abuse.

20,000 pages of documents, such as police reports, press news, undeniable evidence, numerous examination results and many other things, are the proof of the Pontiff’s and his set’s guilt. Plaintiffs state that Benedict XVI and his subordinates knew about the crimes but shielded the pedophile priests. As a result of this policy thousands of children were sexually abused by priests. In the SNAP members’ opinion, these charges fall within the category of crimes against humanity.

Scandals associated with pedophile clergymen became a scourge for the Catholic Church a long time ago. The loudest scandal broke out in Ireland in 2009 when charges were brought against over 100 clergymen. This was followed by similar denunciations in other European countries and the USA. The scandal reached its peak with proving sex abuse of 103 Belgian children, 13 of whom could not survive the disgrace and committed suicide. When these outrageous facts became public, Bishop of Bruges Roger Vangheluwe had to resign, admitting to profligate actions with his two nephews.

Russian expert in religious studies Ivar Maksutov believes that the case against the current head of the Catholic Church in the Hague court is meant to weaken the spiritual leadership of the Catholic Church in Europe, rather than to restore justice.

"Pedophile scandals in the Roman Catholic Church have been in the focus of public attention since the middle of the 20th century. Today this problem has come to the fore due to the process of European integration and a change in the internal European policy. The project of united Europe has given rise to an anti-Catholic trend. Before the 21st century all attempts to bring public attention to pedophile scandals were severely suppressed because no one stood to gain by them and they disturbed the stability of the western world. Today’s pedophile story is a tool of secularized Europe in ousting the Catholic Church which is an important participant in the political struggle and public debates. Many forces are annoyed with the Catholic Church today."

Attacks on the Vatican have become everyday reality in the European community in recent years. Discussions of church scandals are followed by protests against the Pontiff’s visits to many countries. This happened in the UK and Spain recently. In Italy the Holy See was accused of lavish expenses amidst the European financial crisis. Ivar Maksutov is convinced that the main reason for this persecution of the Church is EU citizens’ general dissatisfaction with the political and economic situation forming in the Euro zone.

It is still not clear whether Benedict XVI will appear before the court. The Hague reports that they have already started to study the materials. It is quite likely that there will be no criminal case.