12 April 2010

It seems to be okay for some to ignore the law

You may have heard that certain lawyers - with a huge financial stake in the scandal of clerical sexual abuse - are seeking to bring Pope Benedict XVI to trial, in flagrant violation of international law; as head of a sovereign nation, he has diplomatic immunity.

What I find particularly curious is not so much that they want to ignore international law, but that the same desire to violate the law in the case of the Pope is not present in the case of the Qatari diplomat who caused serious concern on the airplane last week by smoking on board.

Today Patrick Archbold passes on the unsurprising news that Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hithens - perhaps the two most hateful atheists around - want the Pope arrested and are willing to do so themselves, in violation of international law.

Notice the irony here. They want him arrested "for his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church" though all of the evidence vindicates Pope Benedict XVI of such charges. But who needs facts these days when you have unreasonable hate instead?

Now, then, the irony: they want the Pope arrested because they have convinced themselves - contrary to reality - that the Holy Father ignored various laws at some point. To do so, Dawkins, Hitchens, the lawyers and company would absolutely be in violation of international law, but somehow it's okay for them to do so.

Why is no their pressure to have the Qatari diplomat arrested? He admits to having violated laws, resulting in a great scare and yet no anger is directed against him. The logic does not connect.

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