Ratzingergate and the UK Papal visit
It was a headline I couldn’t resist — an homage to talentless copy editors worldwide.
But seriously, folks… why isn’t the Pope being questioned by the police? Christianity may have tortured and murdered countless people in the last 2,000 years, but they’re no longer above the law. To ignore it is to admit an unconscionable fondness for medieval theocracy.
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He’s not being questioned by police because he’s a head of state. He therefore has diplomatic immunity. The police could ask him to answer some questions but what would be the point? They can’t charge him with anything and since he’ll be head of state until his death he will never be in a position to be prosecuted.
Do heads of state automatically have international diplomatic immunity? I thought that was only when performing diplomatic tasks in a foreign country? (I don’t know the law — just speculating).
However, you raise a good point. It’s easy to forget that the Vatican is its own nation, and the Pope is therefore the legal ruler of its citizens.