Should Pope be Arrested?

I was just surfing around and came upon a Poll on lfpress which asks Should Pope Be Arrested?. The recent cases of sexual abuse and pedophilia committed by many Priests & Pope's controversial role in subduing the investigation seems to have touched the nerve of people. The result of the Poll are astonishing as you can see for yourself

There was a article few days ago which talked about few people claiming they will make citizen arrest of Pope if he visits U.K. I saw the thread on ATS and many authors claimed it was not possible but after seeing this Poll are you sure as you were before? Judging by the mood of people it looks like Pope might have some hard time ahead.

So in your view should the Pope be arrested? Do you foresee any problem or maybe a assassination attempt on Pope on his UK visit? Will the UK Govt. go with the people's choice or let the Pope go free? Just in case if Pope is actually arrested how do you expect Christians allover the world will react? Considering many die hard Christians may use violence which may create tension allover the world...could that be a possible motive behind Pope's arrest?

I think there is a thread about this floating around somewhere.

I cant see GB arresting the Pope , could you imagine ?

When is the last time a Pope actually visited England ? If I am not mistaken the Queen is the head of the Church of England , no ?

It doesn't look good for the Pope or the Catholic Church at the moment. But I don't think they can just blame the Pope, after all they voted him knowing the history of what has been going on.

I don't know what the rules are but can the Pope resign if he wanted to ?

It really beggars belief that priests could be up to such things. I can't get my head round it.

I was brought up Catholic but gave it up at a very early age..... thank goodness !

reply to post by December_Rain


The pope is a head of state and cannot be arrested by anyone.... It would be like France arresting Obama it isnt going to happen.

On what charges would he be arrested?


Eric

i think there needs to be a cleaning of the church
just like the US government needs cleaning

we're ALL guilty of something !!!

just some don't get punished for it

For the mental midgets out there, there is a little thing called "Diplomatic Immunity". The Pope is the head of a little country called The Vatican.

Sorry, try again.

reply to post by Carseller4


No need for name calling , but good point none the less .

Let us also remember the question in the OP was " Should " the Pope be arrested . I can remember many a people that would like to see Bush arrested , just to mention one world leader who has had calls to be arrested .

Here is something interesting that I found , yes far fetched but it goes to show you that some are looking into the legal aspects of the issue ....

Mr Stephens said: "The courts will examine the claim of immunity. I believe that an English court would reject it. If the Pope was here on a state visit, ordinarily a head of state would have sovereign immunity. What I believe is that because he's not a sovereign, not a head of state, he's not entitled to the defence."

He said that the Vatican was declared to be a state by Benito Mussolini, but this had no standing in international law.

Source


[edit on 14-4-2010 by Max_TO]

correct me if i am wrong but is not the pope the higest leader in the catholic church he is responsible for the priest's and nuns under him i think he should pay for there sins and go old school, crucify him

I'm not even sure who would do the investigation, but if a complaint is made against the Pope, and the police or prosecutor's office have reasonable enough grounds to launch an investigation, then he should be arrested and held for bail just like any other criminal. Unfortunately who a person is does make a difference, and lot would also depend on the arresting country, as the police forces of more than a few have well earned reputations where bribery is concerned. In a way I can't fault them, as they work under some of the most dangerous conditions, against some of the most dangerous gangs in the world, and for peanuts. Anyway, if the Pope was arrested, brought to trial and found guilty, what kind of sentence would the old guy receive? A fine? Probation? Since it would be his first conviction, he would receive no more than a slap on the wrist anyway, as in a "conditional discharge". Personally I think all convicted sex offenders should be given a good thrashing with the cat o' nine tails, for a first offence. This sure as heck would deter most from comitting a second!

Well here is the plan:
www.timesonline.co.uk...

RICHARD DAWKINS, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested during his state visit to Britain “for crimes against humanity”.

Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

And for the person above who said it couldn't happen because the pope is a head of state:

Dawkins and Hitchens believe the Pope would be unable to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, although his tour is categorised as a state visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United Nations.

I disagree with what the pope did, if the allegation are true. However, I don't think he actually broke any laws that are on the books. I think he should only be arrested if he actually broke a law, not just because people are mad. Failing to report criminal activity is not against the law. If he didn't lie to investigators or abuse anyone himself, then I don't think he broke any laws.

I believe he should be arrested...

Just watch this short video...

THE BEAST FILE: The History of the Catholic Church Sex Scandal

It only goes for 2 minutes or so, but speaks volumes...

Yes, ummmmmmmmmm anything else???

Originally posted by Max_TO
I cant see GB arresting the Pope , could you imagine ?

When is the last time a Pope actually visited England ? If I am not mistaken the Queen is the head of the Church of England , no ?

IMHO, the Church of England is in the process of reverting to its catholic roots FAST. To that end, Pope Benedict XVI re-established all Anglicans (Church of England members) to be in full communion with the Holy See. In recognition of the fact that so far 500,000 Anglicans have converted to catholicism since this development in Nov. 2009, the Pope is slated to travel to England (and visit Wales) this year.

"Full communion structure established for Anglicans"
Catholic Spirit, November 2009, In Our World


By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

www.austindiocese.org...

VATICAN-ANGLICANS (SECOND UPDATE) Oct-20-2009 (1,350 words) With photos. xxxi


"Pope establishes structure for Anglicans uniting with Rome"

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

www.catholicnews.com...


"Pope to visit Britain in 2010"
news.bbc.co.uk...

Excerpts:

It will be the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II's six-day tour drew huge crowds. Pope Benedict's visit would only be the second by a head of the Catholic Church since Henry VIII declared himself head of the church in England more than 500 years ago.

There are an estimated 4.2 million Catholics in England and Wales.

Originally posted by EricD
On what charges would he be arrested?


Eric

Withholding criminal information?
knowingly harboring predators?

Probably something like that. The question marks aren't sarcastic, im really not entirely sure.

I like the idea of a Pope being arrested.

But he wasnt the guy molesting little boys..and most of those guys are not in prison.

start at the bottom..arrest those creeps and start working the way up.

The present Pope was just obeying orders..being a coward

Charge him with being a gutless piece of ....

Originally posted by poedxsoldiervet
reply to post by December_Rain

 

The pope is a head of state and cannot be arrested by anyone.... It would be like France arresting Obama it isnt going to happen.

No he isn't.

The Vatican is NOT recognised by the UN.

They just PRETEND he is, to avoid being charged with crimes.


K.

Originally posted by Carseller4
For the mental midgets out there, there is a little thing called "Diplomatic Immunity". The Pope is the head of a little country called The Vatican.
Sorry, try again.

For the mental midget here -
Sorry, try again.

The Vatican is NOT recognised by the UN.


K.