The fictions of Geoffrey Robertson

A letter from Neil Addison in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Geoffrey Robertson is disingenuous in claiming he does not want the Pope arrested and blaming the media (''Holding Pope responsible for abuses is not too dangerous'', September 29).

In the British newspaper The Guardian on April 2, Robertson specifically accused the Pope of a ''crime against humanity'' contrary to the rules of the International Criminal Court. It is only the realisation that this suggestion has made him look ridiculous in the eyes of other lawyers that has caused him to backtrack.

As far as the legal status of the Vatican is concerned, Robertson is presenting his personal opinion that the Vatican should not be a state and pretending that he is putting forward a legal argument.

More importantly, Robertson is pretending that the legal status of the Vatican is protecting abusive priests, but the reality is that Catholic priests and bishops throughout the world are citizens of their individual countries and not the Vatican and they are answerable to national law.

No country has ever suggested that the legal status of the Vatican has prevented the proper investigation of any allegations of abuse by any Catholic priest.

Neil Addison national director, Thomas More Legal Centre, Warrington (England)

A statement from the Foreign Office

Further to the previous post on Geoffrey Robertson, the FCO has confirmed in "comments attributable to a spokesman" that, "Contrary to some assertions, the Lateran Treaty in 1929 was not essential to allow the diplomatic recognition of the Holy See. The UK first established diplomatic bilateral relations with the Holy See in 1479. Relations were ruptued in 1559 but were restored in 1914, 15 years prior to that treaty".

The case against Geoffrey Robertson

Over at America magazine, CV coordinator Austen Ivereigh challenges Robertson's wild claims.

The hidden hand of the Vatican

With Geoffrey Robertson QC planning on Wednesday to mount an absurd legal argument for the Pope to be denied Vatican sovereign immunity, there will be no shortage of discussion this week about the Holy See and its international status.

Worth pondering, then, this example from the New York Daily News of the Vatican taking advantage of its remarkable global diplomatic ties to help prevent a woman in Iran from being stoned to death. And not for the first time. Britain, which finds it hard to bring any influence to bear on Iran, has often relied on the Holy See's good offices -- not least to help with releasing 15 British sailors there in 2007. The Holy See, we understand, played a major role in that success.