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	Failure of Diplomacy: Pope May Soon Face Justice in Crimes against Humanity By Zachary Davis Daily Isureveille September 21, 2011 http://www.lsureveille.com/opinion/failure-of-diplomacy-pope-may-soon-face-justice-in-crimes-against-humanity-1.2634682 When one thinks of crimes against humanity, certain images come to mind. We think of things like genocide, torture and rape — all performed by some evil authoritarian power. However, a group recently came forward and attempted to attach the "crimes against humanity" label to something many people would never associate it with: the pope. The American-based group SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has approached the International Criminal Court in an attempt to have Pope Benedict XVI and the heads of the Catholic Church tried for attempting to cover up numerous sexual-assault charges. As the largest and oldest support group for victims of priest abuse, it seems there would be none better suited for bringing this case forward. Started in 1988, SNAP was created to help abuse victims deal with what they went through. Whether it's in person ,at group meetings, on the phone or over the Internet, SNAP has undoubtedly collected hundreds of cases of abuse by priests and other members of the church. And while they have succeeded in helping with more local trials, these efforts do not seem to deal with the greater issue of how all of this can occur. To do that, SNAP went to the International Courts in The Hague to try and take out the head of the beast itself. To help bolster their position, SNAP presented the court with an 80-page document, illustrating how the church has "tolerated and made possible the systematic and widespread cover up of rapes and sexual crimes against children across the world." What gives these claims credit and would classify these transgressions as crimes against humanity is the widespread and systematic attempts at covering up the abuse and continuing to foster a climate that makes it possible. However, this isn't the first time there have been calls to charge the pope. In April of last year, both Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens argued the pope should be arrested for similar reasons while he was touring England later in September. Both prominent atheists — Dawkins wrote the book "The God Delusion," and Hitchens wrote "God is Not Great" — believed it possible to have him charged for the same reason SNAP wishes: allowing the abuse to continue by simply covering it up. "This man is not above or outside the law," Hitchens said. "The institutionalized concealment of child rape is a crime under any law and demands not private ceremonies of repentance or church-funded payoffs, but justice and punishment." I couldn't agree more. Those who know me may think this is just my general dislike of organized religion coming through. While I can't deny that I do like seeing it take a hit, anyone should be able to see how important something like this is. We have a worldwide organization that has been using its power to abuse — and then cover up said abuse — for far too long. If a country were behind these actions, there would be far more outcry than there is currently. However, just because it's a religion, it seems to get a pass from most people. Currently, SNAP and the rest of the world will have to wait to see if Louis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court's director of public prosecution, will accept the appeal. If he does, it could open up investigations against the pope and several other high-ranked Vatican officials. Perhaps soon, then, we could see some justice served to those who have had to live with the abuse. Just because the church may have lost its morals, it doesn't mean the rest of us have.
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