Judiciary is above Belgian archbishop

Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the search of the premises of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mecheln as a desecration of the church. The public prosecutor's office also searched the church and crypt on Thursday looking for evidence that the church may have attempted to conceal in connection with the scandal about sexual abuse. The intervention by the justice authorities is justified, the daily De Morgen believes: "When priests or bishops are subject to legal investigations, then the church decides to engage in internal disciplinary proceedings, for example with the Adriaenssens Commission (on sexual abuse). But now the Bishops' Conference has been considering the question of whether this commission should really be able to look into 'files that come under the statute of limitations'. This point already reveals the church's dual agenda. ... Of course, the court is not infallible. ... But the court is the court. The final and ultimately the only authority that can punish, acquit, that is pass judgement. In a democracy the Last Judgement is not a fresco on the wall of the Sistine Chapel but an absolute privilege of judiciary power."

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