It's not about Religion

http://www.gairrhydd.com/comment/opinion/920/thou-shalt-not-touch-kids

Jack Parker, on the foolish notion that the campaign against the Vatican is motivated by a desire to bring down religion and the campaign to arrest the Pope:

“Arrest may be too far, but the Papal office must be held to account
Catholic priests being accused of sexually abusing children is not a rare occurrence. A report commissioned by the church in 2004 concluded that over 4,000 US Catholic priests had received allegations in the last 50 years, involving over 10,000 children. The recent media attention, however, surrounds the additional allegation that the current Pope, Benedict XVI, failed to act on sexual abuse cases when he previously led the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith – whose role it is to try and combat such issues.

Among exaggerated claims that the Pope should consider resigning, a group of British Human Rights lawyers are investigating the possibility of taking the decision out of The Vatican’s hands by arresting him during his journey to Britain in September. They justify this arrest attempt under allegations of the Pontiff ‘aiding and abetting sex with minors’ – which on a large scale becomes a crime against humanity, recognised by the International Criminal Court.

A particularly interesting development is the public support of this campaign by Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, two of the world’s most prominent atheists. Those backing the Pope have retaliated by accusing atheists of using the recent media attention as an excuse to attack religion. This is absolutely absurd. Believe it or not, we atheists have a level of morals comparable to those of any other human being and at the concept of abused children, the disgusted majority of us think primarily of the fight for justice rather than the possibility of an anti-theist rant. This is also true for the louder and less tolerant Mr. Dawkins.
It is these morals that stimulate me in wanting some real changes to the Catholic Church, to prevent these allegations from recurring. Realistically, the Pope is not going to be doing laps of the exercise yard at your local prison any time soon; the implications of such an arrest are culturally and politically volatile, with some suggesting that it would significantly alienate British Catholics, insinuating that their leader and therefore their views are not welcome.

A more likely hindrance is the legal implications; much debate concerns whether The Vatican is considered to be a state by international law – if it is, then the Pope, as head of state, is given diplomatic immunity.

My personal view of the Catholic Church is rarely pleasant. Its views on homosexuality and life-saving contraceptives are enough for me to hang my head in shame at our species, but arresting the leader of one of the world’s most prominent religions is not going to solve the problem. At the end of the day, the Church gains its power from its worldwide support of millions of members. More than anything, these members – along with the rest of the public, regardless of religion – should retaliate in disgust at the actions of both the responsible priests and their respective leaders. I’m sure many do, but there are still those who view his actions as being taken out of proportion and resort to denouncing Richard Dawkins rather than their own religious leaders.

Vitally, we need to pursue truth and justice with the firm mindset that the Pope is a man. It is perhaps all too easy for an atheist to sit here and argue with the views of an established religion, but we must accept that he is capable of making mistakes, regardless of any ties with God that he may or may not have. No amount of religious or political power is justification for sexually abusing children. It’s as simple as that.”

Dawkins has already he said that he doesn’t expect the Pope to end up in jail anytime soon. The point is the message the campaign sends: no one is above the law.