Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins want to make a citizens' arrest of Pope Benedict XVI, in essence.
They hope he can be brought low just like acclaimed Spanish magistrate Balthsar Garzon had one-time Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet arrested.
That said, their clock is tikcing. As the story, notes Benedict will be in Britain between September 16 and 19, visiting London, Glasgow and Coventry, where he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian. The pair has already retained two lawyers, who believe they can ask the Crown Prosecution Service to initiate criminal proceedings against Benedict, start their own civil action against him or refer his case to the International Criminal Court.
Can we have the International Criminal Court try him in ... Nuremburg? Oh, the irony.
Oh, and while we're at it, can we dig up John Paul II and try him posthumously?
And why not? John Wilkes Booth was put on trial posthumously.
As for why, JPII's top fundraiser was a notorious pedophile, as well as a well-protected one.
2 comments:
There's even a bizarre papal precedent for posthumous trial, the Cadaver Synod, where Pope Formosus’ successor put the corpse on trial.
(Noticed your blogwhoring post over at Pharyngula ;-)
Yeah, blogwhored a little... i try not to overdo it.
Forgot all about the cadaver synod. Been a long time since I'd read about that. The Booth in chains popped into mind in part from being a Civil War buff.
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