When one thinks of crimes against humanity, certain images come to mind.
We think of things like genocide, torture and rape — all performed by some evil authoritarian power. However, a group recently came forward and attempted to attach the “crimes against humanity” label to something many people would never associate it with: the pope.
The American-based group SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has approached the International Criminal Court in an attempt to have Pope Benedict XVI and the heads of the Catholic Church tried for attempting to cover up numerous sexual-assault charges.
As the largest and oldest support group for victims of priest abuse, it seems there would be none better suited for bringing this case forward. Started in 1988, SNAP was created to help abuse victims deal with what they went through. Whether it’s in person ,at group meetings, on the phone or over the Internet, SNAP has undoubtedly collected hundreds of cases of abuse by priests and other members of the church.
And while they have succeeded in helping with more local trials, these efforts do not seem to deal with the greater issue of how all of this can occur.
To do that, SNAP went to the International Courts in The Hague to try and take out the head of the beast itself. To help bolster their position, SNAP presented the court with an 80-page document, illustrating how the church has “tolerated and made possible the systematic and widespread cover up of rapes and sexual crimes against children across the