Pope Benedict XVI charged with crimes against humanity
Pope Benedict XVI - guilty of crimes against humanity?
Charges against Pope Benedict XVI alleging crimes against humanity have been initiated at the International Criminal Court. Two German lawyers, Christian Sailer and Gert-Joachim Hetzel from the Pope's home state of Bavaria, have submitted a 16,500-word document indicting the Pope for various crimes against humanity.
Wednesday the Irish Times broke this potentially explosive story, detailing charges initiated against the Pope for crimes against humanity.
The charges were submitted to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Dr Luis Moreno Ocampo. The charges allege that Pope Benedict preserved and directed an institution responsible for the coercion, extortion and subjugation of its members.
Specific charges include endangering members health by forbidding the use of condoms, as well as enabling and promoting the sexual abuse of children by clergy.
Pope Benedict is charged with the "establishment and maintenance of a worldwide system of cover-up of the sexual crimes committed by Catholic priests and their preferential treatment, which aids and abets ever new crimes.” The allegation goes on:
Dr Joseph Ratzinger, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of his church and as Pope, has up to the present day systematically covered up the sexual abuse of children and youths and protected the perpetrators, thereby aiding and abetting further sexual violence toward young people.
It remains to be seen whether or not the International Criminal Court will address the charges.
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