Clergy Sex Abuse Victims Ask International Criminal Court to Investigate Pope
A long-shot complaint asks the International Criminal Court to investigate Pope Benedict XVI and other Vatican officials for allegedly tolerating and covering up clergy sex abuse.
The Center for Constitutional Rights filed the petition on behalf of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, according to the New York Times, the Associated Press and a press release. The complaint says the officials should be investigated for crimes against humanity.
Florence Olara, a prosecution spokesperson, told the Times that the first step will be to analyze whether the court has jurisdiction.
Lawyers told the Times that it is unlikely the request will result in prosecution under the court’s mandate to decide cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association, told the newspaper that crimes against humanity are usually defined as acts that are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
According to AP, “The odds against the court opening an investigation are enormous.”
