A Stitch in Haste

As expected, the federal government has told a Texas court that Pope Benedict XVI is entitled to immunity from liability in a child molestation lawsuit:

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler said in Monday's filing that, as pope, Benedict enjoys immunity as the head of a state — the Vatican. He said allowing the lawsuit to proceed would be "incompatible with the United States' foreign policy interests."
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Many lawsuits stemming from the U.S. church sex abuse crisis have named the pope, the Vatican and other high-ranking church officials, but they failed because the officials could never be served with the papers. This case got further than most recent ones because Ratzinger was served with the documents.

For background on then-Cardinal Ratzinger's alleged role in the cover-up conspiracy in this particular case, see my previous post.

This is of the course the correct outcome — heads of state get immunity, deal with it. But any headline that keeps the scandalous behavior of the Vatican and other leaders within the Catholic Church in the news and reminds people of their complicity in the Great American Boy-Rape Crisis is beneficial.

Pope Benedict and his co-conspirators may not be liable in U.S. courts, but they are despicable nonetheless. And it doesn't hurt to keep reminding people of that.

Other thoughts at Conglomerate.