Pope Allegedly Sought Immunity For Abuse Crimes Just Before Resigning
2013/02/14
By Shannon Barber
We knew something had to be up with the resignation of Pope Benedict. After all, Popes don’t just resign; in fact, this is the first time a Pope has resigned in 600 years. Therefore, the hoopla surrounding this is more than understandable. However, as per usual with the Catholic Church, there seems to be a catch, and, lo and behold, it likely surrounds the infamous abuse scandals that have plagued the church’s image for so long.
It seems that with his resignation announced, the Pope, whose given name is Joseph Ratzinger, has a meeting with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano on February 23 to beg for immunity against prosecution for allegations of child sex crimes. Apparently, this hastily arranged meeting, and likely the resignation as well, are the result of a supposed note received by the Vatican from an undisclosed European government that stated that there are plans to issue a warrant for the Pope’s arrest. This letter was allegedly received on February 4, and Ratzinger resigned a week later. Now, there’s no way people can ignore how fishy this is. The first Pope to resign in 600 years does so after panicking about an impending arrest and in the midst of a hastily arranged meeting begging for protection from the Italian government? How they will keep people from connecting the two is beyond me. Chances are, the world will be popping popcorn and steadily watching.
Well, for once, the guy might not get off easy. The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and state calls upon the Italian President to deny help to Ratzinger, and to “not collude in criminality. Let’s just hope that Napolitano does not cave. However, there may be another avenue to make sure the Pope is brought to justice if the Italian President does cave.
It seems that in addition to these alleged attempts by this European government to prosecute, a New York based organization, The Centre for Constitutional Rights, has accused the Pope and his Cardinals of possible crimes against humanity for sheltering pedophile priests. The non-profit legal group has requested an ICC inquiry on behalf of the Survivor’s Network, citing the church’s “long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence.”
Apparently, the Vatican has no comment. Well, of course it doesn’t. It knows that Ratzinger and his henchmen are guilty, and now they are just scrambling to save face and save his keister from jail. Shame, since that is exactly where he belongs.
The thing is, this institution knows no bounds when it comes to protecting their own, no matter how heinous the crimes. Anyone not living under a rock knows that the Pope and his cronies have abusing children for decades, and likely centuries. The thing is, they are just the biggest example of religion getting people passes. Shameful, but true. All those of us with a sense of justice and conscience can do is hope that one, if not both, of these attempts at legal action is successful.
於是.我們跑去買來一支簽字筆,把一塊隨身攜帶的草蓆用英文給寫上 "政治宣傳不等於藝術" 的大紅字,當成抗議布條. 隔天,守候在坎城會場門口,就在那部無聊惡心大爛片的導演 Michael Moore 準備入場領獎時,擠到大門前方揭開 "布條",警察迅即圍攏上來,帶頭的警官看了布條,也許懂點英文,知道我們不是恐怖份子,於是使了眼色要那些把我們團團圍住的警察們收兵,任由我們舉布條抗議.
拍永生樹的 Terrence Malick也是以慢聞名,拍完永生樹後,他說準備要拍另一部片,很多西方媒體都笑了,導演這意思是說 10年或20年後電影院再見嗎? 我本來也是抱著好笑的心情,但沒想到永生樹之後的另一部新片 To the wonder 竟然已經準備要上映了.
更不可思議的是,剛剛去查上映日期,竟然看到底下這些字,不只 To the wonder, 竟然同時拍了四部片!! 我真不敢相信我的眼睛. Terrence Malick 是怎麼了? 受到什麼刺激嗎?
Terrence Malick作品表
聖杯騎士 Knight of Cups（2013）
非法之事 Lawless [2013]（2013）
時間旅程 Voyage of Time（2013）
愛‧穹蒼 To the Wonder（2012）
永生樹 The Tree of Life（2011）
新世界 The New World（2005）
紅色警戒 The Thin Red Line（1998）
天堂之日 Days of Heaven（1978）
窮山惡水 Badlands（1973）
