UNITED KINGDOM
Church and State
Exclusive excerpt from Geoffrey Robertson’s book, The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse (published by Penguin Books in 2010). This book delivers a devastating indictment of the way the Vatican has run a secret legal system that shields paedophile priests from criminal trial around the world.
Is the Pope morally or legally responsible for the negligence that has allowed so many terrible crimes to go unpunished? Should he and his seat of power, the Holy See, continue to enjoy an immunity that places them above the law?
Geoffrey Robertson QC, a distinguished human rights lawyer and judge, evinces a deep respect for the good works of Catholics and their church. But, he argues, unless Pope Benedict XVI can divest himself of the beguilements of statehood and devotion to obsolescent Canon law, the Vatican will remain a serious enemy to the advance of human rights.
In the exclusive excerpt below – the first six pages of Chapter 10, “Can the Pope be Sued?” – Robertson reveals that unless the Vatican confronts its history of protecting paedophile priests and abandons its claim to deal with them under Canon Law, then its leader might well be sued for damages or end up as the subject of investigation by the prosecutor at an international court.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.