America's Most Wanted

As I write this Manuel Noriega is rotting in a federal prison for participating in a conspiracy to export drugs into the U.S. At the heart of the conviction is something called RICO which basically says that if you knowingly help someone commit a crime it is the same as if you perpetrated the offense.



Enter Joseph Ratzinger aka Pope Benedict XVI. Prior to becoming pope Cardinal Ratzinger served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Think of the Perfect as Batman’s man servant Alfred , Tony Soprano’s capo Silvio or Bruce Springsteen’s saxophone player Clarence Clemmons. In his capacity as Prefect Ratzinger participated in the cover up of crimes against children perpetrated by catholic clergy. There is no difference between Ratzinger and fugitive Simon Lopez-Orozco, a man wanted in Idaho for helping his brother, a murderer sneak out of the country.

Now maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of Law and Order Special Victims Unit but in my mind crimes against children are bit more serious than drug trafficking. A drug user chooses (or at least makes the initial first choice to try drugs) to become a victim. In spite of what Bill O’Reilly may say children do not make such choice.


So my question is this. Why not arrest the pope? No man is above the law, including a guy who wears gowns and big pointy hats. While it took a couple of seal teams, some green berets and the better part of the 7th division to capture Noriega we should be able to snag the pope with a squad of boy scouts whom have earned the rifle shooting merit badge. Think about it. The Vatican Army consists of couple dozen guys, dressed like extras from the Shakespeare Festival armed with swords and pointy sticks. Sure pikes were bad ass around 900 AD but no match for the good old American Smith and Weston. Recall that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana shoots the swordsman in the bizarre with his pistol and you get the picture. How can we call ourselves a nation of laws while Pope Benedict and a good portion of the U.S. Council of Bishops are allowed to freely walk the streets?