This article belongs to And That's the Way It Is column.
Well might you say, "You can't be serious making that statement" and I would then reply that I am very serious in terms of what I am saying and that I have a substantial number of very good reasons for doing so.
First of all I shall have a closer look at the status of the Vatican.
The Vatican is an independent State, which is accountable to no-one and where transparency that is demanded of other independent states simply does not exist.
The system upon which the Vatican operates in terms of its financial dealings through the Vatican Bank has been proven to be suspect on a number of occasions, in terms of mismanagement, corruption as well as a lack of transparency and accountability.
The catholic church (the Vatican) has a multitude of financial assets spread throughout the world that appear not be subject to normal and standard foreign investment review legislation and regulations in relation to any assets purchased, owned or traded in a foreign country.
The Vatican also issues edicts, such edicts to be complied with by catholics worldwide. Those on the receiving end of those edicts might well be catholics but they are not citizens of the Vatican and accordingly, the edicts of the Vatican can simply be ignored, remembering that only State law applies and that religious law has no legal status in any way, shape or form.
And finally, in relation to the Vatican's status it should be noted that the Vatican and its leaders have yet to prove that the premise upon which it exists i.e., there being a god, and that therefore any dealings the Vatican conducts, any edicts that ruling it may make are thus based on fiction and not on fact.
That being the case, I am of the view the existence of the Vatican as a viable independent entity is no longer relevant and the world could be better served by turning the Vatican into a 'fine arts museum' owned and run by the Italians.
Now we come to the status and legal predicament of a substantial number of people within the Vatican, including the Pope, and I shall deal with the most recent serious issues that have come to light in relation to the numerous sex abuse scandals worldwide, crimes that I regard as akin war crimes and human right violations.
Given that the numbers of these cases has run into the thousands and given that the Vatican has, over the centuries, kept a tight reign as to what goes on with the catholic community the following question must now be asked and answers must be demanded.
"Whom within the Vatican knew about these crimes, when they know it and what was done in relation to bringing the offenders to justice?"
I allege that many within the Vatican knew about these crimes and that, instead of bringing offenders to justice, the Vatican conspired with others to hide the offences and moved the offenders out of the way to other places often to re-offend again.
Upon the truth being revealed in a number of cases, it was the Vatican that endorsed processes as to silence the victims that either had no status in law and that were, in most countries, an offence in their own right. This being the case, I would suggest there are no exceptions in terms of the arrest, prosecuting and subsequent jailing of all sex offenders. Those within the Vatican who had knowledge of such offences and did nothing, or hindered prosecution processes, should be charged with perverting the course of justice as well as being charged with concealment of various and numerous crimes.
That would expose most of the cardinals and their hangers-on within the Vatican to criminal prosecution and it would no doubt expose the current Pope to the same processes, diplomatic immunity or not.
In my view, those who knew should now resign or sacked, as well as subject themselves to proper legal processes.
As to processes at local level, I am of the view that all financial dealings by religious organisations, including the catholic church, should be transparent and available to be viewed as per any other financial entity. Accountability processes should be totally overhauled as to make all religious organisations as well as those running these establishments totally and publicly accountable which would mean that, within the various catholic diocese, all those who knew about the numerous and did nothing should now resign and be subject to criminal and legal prosecution.
As for the catholic religion proper.
People may practice as they please in terms of their choice of religion, if any, as is their right, the only comment that I would make is that I have not yet heard any airline captain mentioning that he spotted god at 33,000ft.
And on that note I would say,
My name is Henk Luf.
And That's The way It Is.
First of all I shall have a closer look at the status of the Vatican.
The Vatican is an independent State, which is accountable to no-one and where transparency that is demanded of other independent states simply does not exist.
The system upon which the Vatican operates in terms of its financial dealings through the Vatican Bank has been proven to be suspect on a number of occasions, in terms of mismanagement, corruption as well as a lack of transparency and accountability.
The catholic church (the Vatican) has a multitude of financial assets spread throughout the world that appear not be subject to normal and standard foreign investment review legislation and regulations in relation to any assets purchased, owned or traded in a foreign country.
The Vatican also issues edicts, such edicts to be complied with by
"
The Vatican is an independent State, which is accountable to no-one and where transparency that is demanded of other independent states simply does not existAnd finally, in relation to the Vatican's status it should be noted that the Vatican and its leaders have yet to prove that the premise upon which it exists i.e., there being a god, and that therefore any dealings the Vatican conducts, any edicts that ruling it may make are thus based on fiction and not on fact.
That being the case, I am of the view the existence of the Vatican as a viable independent entity is no longer relevant and the world could be better served by turning the Vatican into a 'fine arts museum' owned and run by the Italians.
"
Whom within the Vatican knew about these crimes, when they know it and what was done in relation to bringing the offenders to justice?Given that the numbers of these cases has run into the thousands and given that the Vatican has, over the centuries, kept a tight reign as to what goes on with the catholic community the following question must now be asked and answers must be demanded.
"Whom within the Vatican knew about these crimes, when they know it and what was done in relation to bringing the offenders to justice?"
I allege that many within the Vatican knew about these crimes and that, instead of bringing offenders to justice, the Vatican conspired with others to hide the offences and moved the offenders out of the way to other places often to re-offend again.
Upon the truth being revealed in a number of cases, it was the Vatican that endorsed processes as to silence the victims that either had no status in law and that were, in most countries, an offence in their own right. This being the case, I would suggest there are no exceptions in terms of the arrest, prosecuting and subsequent jailing of all sex offenders. Those within the Vatican who had knowledge of such offences and did nothing, or hindered prosecution processes, should be charged with perverting the course of justice as well as being charged with concealment of various and numerous crimes.
That would expose most of the cardinals and their hangers-on within the Vatican to criminal prosecution and it would no doubt expose the current Pope to the same processes, diplomatic immunity or not.
In my view, those who knew should now resign or sacked, as well as subject themselves to proper legal processes.
"
Accountability processes should be totally overhauled as to make all religious organisations as well as those running these establishments totally and publicly accountable.As to processes at local level, I am of the view that all financial dealings by religious organisations, including the catholic church, should be transparent and available to be viewed as per any other financial entity. Accountability processes should be totally overhauled as to make all religious organisations as well as those running these establishments totally and publicly accountable which would mean that, within the various catholic diocese, all those who knew about the numerous and did nothing should now resign and be subject to criminal and legal prosecution.
As for the catholic religion proper.
People may practice as they please in terms of their choice of religion, if any, as is their right, the only comment that I would make is that I have not yet heard any airline captain mentioning that he spotted god at 33,000ft.
And on that note I would say,
My name is Henk Luf.
And That's The way It Is.
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