Monday, April 12, 2010

Arrest the pope?

The cries are getting shriller; the arguments, sillier. National Post. This is supposedly why the pope is not entitled to the diplomatic immunity granted to heads of state:  


In a recent Los Angeles Times article, two law professors evaluated the Vatican's claim to statehood based on four criteria in international law. They argue that it has neither significant territory nor a permanent population. It has a functioning government, but no justice or education system, and only ceremonial defence.
How exactly does that make it different from most Western European nations, to say nothing of Canada and the U.S.? Oh right, the "functioning government" part. Which gives the Vatican 1 out of 4. The rest of the world's nations are pretty much 0 for 4.

God help us all.

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