There is much one can write about the resignation of the Pope. It’s the first in 600 years for one thing, and the Pope is appointed to a life term by the Christian God himself as Christ’s Vicar on Earth. This alone could be worthy of a lengthy, detailed essay. One could write about the possible motivations for his unusual act, and some have already done so, indicating it is an effort to avoid traveling from the presumed isolation and safety of the Vatican out into the world where numerous governments are assembling criminal charges against him. One could write an exposé on the multiple layers of the Pope’s involvement in the coverup of a systemic plague of pedophilia throughout the world, as priests gave children their version of pastoral care.

I think I’ll write about lies, fraud and deception. At the top of every scam there are the people who know it’s a scam. Joseph Ratzinger no more thinks he’s Christ’s Vicar on Earth than I do. He’s the head of a vast empire of astonishing wealth and power right here on the planet we all live and breathe on. He is under no illusion that upon his bodily death, his invisible and undetectable “essence” will float off into a parallel dimension to sit upon a throne of gold beside other invisible cloud people for trillions upon trillions of eons. This foolish, childish fairy tale is one that carries on unsaid as lower level flunkies deliver the nonsense to young boys and girls with pliable and gullible minds, while the parents gladly fork over hard cold cash to keep the priests in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed.

The real issue is how long this insult to human reason, decency and logic will be allowed to operate with special priveleges, tax exemptions and the ability to cause the deaths of millions from AIDS by preaching that condoms are a sin against the Creator of the Universe. That we allow this crime against humanity to continue unrelentingly forward without so much as an acknowledgment of wrong doing or an apology from the Holy See is infuriating. Joseph Ratzinger will resign his demanding position as the main throne sitter to avoid traveling and facing likely criminal charges throughout the world. He will live out his years–and you’d assume he’d be excited about the end of his earthly life so he can join Jesus, Yahweh and the Holy Ghost, along with the thousands of saints and millions upon millions of heaven-bound souls in blissful eternity–inside the walls of the Vatican to protect him from criminal charges.

The question we as citizens of the world should be asking is whether we will allow a man charged of the outrageous crimes documented against Ratzinger to escape prosecution by hiding in a special building. If you or I were charged with obstruction of justice in the investigation of a broad system of child rape under our watch, you’re damned straight no hiding in our homes would prevent law enforcement from presenting a warrant for our arrest and taking us into custody. No church or other building would stop officers of the law from carrying out their civic duty. Under what authority does Joseph Ratzinger claim immunity from criminal proceedings? Who is providing this authority? Who can challenge this authority?

I see this as a stellar opportunity to blow the doors off the Vatican, march in with a warrant and handcuffs, and drag Mr. Ratzinger off to jail where he can face his accusers and hear the charges levied against him. I think it’s also an excellent opportunity to thoroughly investigate the financial operations of the Vatican to determine their compliance with international law and while we’re at it, conduct an investigation into the legitimacy of the basic principles on which the organization functions and collects money from its customer base. What services do they provide for the fees that are charged and tithe that is requested and do these services support the claims they make? After all, false or deceptive advertising is illegal and what could be more false than to advertise a reward with an invisible man in the sky, which will only be given to you after your death and no one will be able to verify that you have received said reward?

The Catholic Church, with a long and distinguished track record of torture, murder, duplicity, deceit, pedophilia and the systemic mental cruelty upon countless children by threatening them with an eternity of suffering at the hands of imaginary demons in a fantasy world of endless fires should be brought to justice and charged with every crime of which they are guilty. There is, after all, no statute of limitations on murder and while the presiding bishops, cardinals and Popes who oversaw the burning alive of women who they claimed were cavorting with the Devil are no longer with us, the same laws remain on their “holy” books. In Deuteronomy, the Creator of the Universe allegedly “revealed” to the author that witches were an abomination to Him.

There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch

And of course the punishment for being a witch, is death:

Exodus 22:18

Do not allow a sorceress to live.

For hundreds of years the Catholic Church tortured women in the most horrible manner imaginable until they at last confessed to cavorting with the Devil and turning into black cats by night. One can only imagine the degree of savagery required to bring such a confession to a woman’s lips, knowing she’d be burned alive for making it. Yet these “holy words” remain in the texts used by the Catholic Church to “sell” their product. Surely a consumer advocacy outfit can find hundreds, if not thousands of deceptive and downright evil teachings in the propaganda marketed by the Church.

I am sorry to say that none of this will happen. The Church has had thousands of years to create powerful defenses against her evil deeds and can trap would be interrogators in a web of deceit and circular logic, crying out for religious freedom in faux outrage. While the Church’s influence is diminishing, humanity can move that forward with exponential speed by prosecuting those responsible in the most public manner possible, laying their sick and twisted crimes bare for all to see.