The Secular Inquisition

[John Dibble]

The problem isn't with the Pope's religious beliefs - that is NOT the reason they are calling for his arrest. The problem has to do with the use of his status as a religious leader to not arrest him. If the leader of pretty much any other organization had attempted to cover up sexual abuse of minors in his or her organization, you can damn well bet that he or she would be arrested. If the CEO of a major corporation covered up sexual abuse by his employees, he'd be arrested and the board of directors would remove him from his position. I'm pretty sure even the President of the United States would at least be impeached for covering up such an action. So why not the Pope? What makes him so special?

And hey, if you think that the evidence of the Pope's involvement in the cover-up scandal (and there is at least some) isn't enough for him to be arrested over, much less convicted, then you shouldn't have any reason to worry about it.

[John Dibble]

I think you are all forgetting one legal detail.  The Pope is a head of state.

Part of the strategy that the parties attempting to get the Pope arrested is to question whether or not that is the case, and thus whether or not he has diplomatic immunity. They claim that he is not the head of a nation state recognized by the United Nations. I have significant doubts at to whether or not they'll succeed, but we'll see.

[John Dibble]

I think you are all forgetting one legal detail.  The Pope is a head of state.

Part of the strategy that the parties attempting to get the Pope arrested is to question whether or not that is the case, and thus whether or not he has diplomatic immunity. They claim that he is not the head of a nation state recognized by the United Nations. I have significant doubts at to whether or not they'll succeed, but we'll see.

The UK has recognized the Vatican City State since 1982.  UN recognition is not required.

Like I said, I have significant doubts about their success.

[John Dibble]

And of course this is motivated by religion. Atheists seethe with hatred at the pope and any other religious figures who defy their world view.

Yes, yes, the scary atheists are evil bigots and want to persecute you. They couldn't possibly have legitimate concerns, such a notion is just silly.

[John Dibble]

And of course this is motivated by religion. Atheists seethe with hatred at the pope and any other religious figures who defy their world view.

Yes, yes, the scary atheists are evil bigots and want to persecute you. They couldn't possibly have legitimate concerns, such a notion is just silly.

Yes, there were no sexual crimes committed by Catholic clergy that the Catholic leadership covered up.  It was all a huge lie created by those god hating bigoted atheists who hate all religion because everyone knows that atheists are hateful people intolerant of religion.

No, it was just an incredibly small proportion of clergy committing sexual crimes, being committed at an even smaller rate than the general population commits them.

Which would be fine if the Church leadership didn't try to cover it up, worked with authorities to ensure that investigations were conducted lawfully and objectively, and defrocked any clergy found guilty of committing crimes. But that apparently is not what happened.

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Are you seriously implying he's a pedophile? Is ad hominem really the best you can do?