And in other news, some in Turkey want to have the Pope arrested.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Turkish Moslems want Pope arrested.

Um… ok. Apparently they’ve tried this stuff before, and nobody has ever been arrested. I have to admit, the headline and implication is rather gripping. And it is a very sharp reminder of something that many folks forget- no matter what country you are a citizen ( or leader ) of, when you are standing on someone else’s soil, you are bound by their laws.

If the Pope WERE to be arrested, I wonder how they would go about prosecuting him. How high would they have to set bail to insure that he wouldn’t flee. Would any major dignitary allow him/her self to be kept under arrest for such a crime?

Cartooniverse

2

As the head of a state, doesn’t the Pope have diplomatic immunity?

3

And has he seen Midnight Express?

4

Yes he does, but so does Bush but I don’t think it would stop all governments from doing their best to arrest him (or more).

5

Keep in mind Turkey keeps trying to join the EU, arresting the Pope would destroy any chance of that. Also it might trigger an invasion.

6

I was surprised that the Turkish office of religious affairs (the Diyanet) controlled all the Imams and wrote the Friday sermons. Since the Diyanet welcomed the Pope’s apology I would say it was officially put to bed. That of course doesn’t mean there won’t be thousands of rock-throwing extremists lining the roads.

7

I welcome the Diyanet’s efforts to defuse this situation, but at the same time, the idea that some government bureaucrat can write the weekly sermon for the country’s clerics is pretty damn frightening.