Essay On Should The Pope Be Arrested

Pope Benedict XVI has been under great scrutiny since the allegations emerged of paedophiles working within the catholic priesthood, and of the Pope covering for their crimes. The Pope has behaved abhorrently and should be arrested, but is unlikely that the British government will allow it.
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are campaigning to arrest the Pope when he visits the United Kingdom this autumn, for crimes against humanity.
Whilst some people may argue that the Pope did not molest any children, and therefore should not be punished, he did attempt to cover a series of child abuse incidents, and that is a crime in itself. As the Pope was aware of a number of priests who had committed indecent acts against children, he should have reported them to the police and cooperated entirely with any investigations. Instead, what he appears to have done, is transferred the accused men to other churches and written a letter telling the catholic church to keep the abuse cases a secret. His main reason for this decision seems to be that he was worried about the reputation of the church being damaged. This is ironic, as if the Pope had acted honestly, it is possible that the world would not be quite as angry as it is now.
There were a number of priests who were accused of abusing children, and these priests should have been arrested and removed as being a threat to the public. Instead, the Pope’s actions have meant that such paedophiles were free and able to abuse even more children. This is a horrific outcome, and one that should never have happened.
The question of whether or not the Pope should be arrested seems a simple one to answer, given the evidence. He failed to report cases of child abuse to the police, and even attempted to cover them up entirely. Therefore, he should be arrested and put on trial for his crimes. Once on trial, the Pope can be judged just like any other person.
However, although the Pope should be arrested, it is unlikely that he will be. When her visits the United Kingdom in September, his reception is likely to be mixed. However, he will be surrounded by security, and it is doubtful that the British government will allow the country’s reputation to be tarnished with Catholics around the world. This is yet another irony in the whole situation, as the reason that the Pope covered up the awful crimes of the other priests was to uphold a reputation. Now, if other countries and organisations avoid confronting the issue, again because of reputation, this could never end. For the victims of the child abuse within the catholic church, this reluctance to face the problem head on must seem even more abhorrent than for the rest of us.
Pope Benedict should never have covered for the crimes within the church. Each and every priest accused of molesting children should have been both discharged and reported to the police immediately. The Pope’s decision to send a letter out, requesting that the catholic church cover up the abuse, was an immoral and terrible one. On a personal level, the Pope has lost a great deal of respect around the world. However, this is not enough; he should face true justice for what he has done, just as any other person would. The chances of the Pope actually being arrested in the UK this September are small, but at some point the man will have to face judgement.