Pope Allegedly Sought Immunity For Abuse Crimes Just Before Resigning update

[Angrboda]

I'm not particularly knowledgable about the subject, but Ratzo's rolling back the reforms of Vatican II disturb me far more than the complicity in child abuse. In the latter, he's largely just another cog in a machine, no more particularly worthy of individual prosecution than any of the manyfold generals ignored in the trial of leaders of the defeated German Reich. At the end of the day, I suspect he was little more than an ecclesiastical paper pusher, shuffling lives from his in basket to his out basket. Vatican II on the other hand, was a cog reversing its direction and setting time back a few notches.

The other problem is that the authority of bodies like the ICC to try people for crimes against humanity exists as a web of international treaties, among which, significant links are missing. (To my recollection, the U.S. agreed to the necessary treaty, but its force was disavowed under the Bush administration. There are similar stories to be told for other significant players.) In the main, the effective ability of bodies like the League of Nations, the U.N., and the ICC exists more symbolically than in actual reality. And then there's the hypocrisy element, as such crimes have usually only been prosecuted against the losers of wars or other military action, making such proceedings appear to be a shameless example of the victors writing the history on the backs of the losers, when the only real distinction between them and other equally deserving candidates is that they didn't lose a war.

The other important point is that these calls for major political leaders to be tried for crimes against humanity are all show and no go. Anyone with a lick of sense (imo) knows that these movements are little more than PR campaigns which consume time, resources, and attention when steps which might actually have a chance of producing constructive change are thus shunted and ignored.