Allegations of involvement in covering up child abuse have dogged Pope Benedict VXI, and now senior figures in Scotland say there is a criminal case to answer under Scots law. Steven Raeburn investigates whether the Pope could face prosecution when he visits Scotland in September

However, with typical anglocentricity, the coverage totally omitted any reference to Pope Benedict’s trip across the Hadrianic divide into our jurisdiction, which not only has a completely different criminal justice system and process, it also has its own priorities which have -post Operation Algebra and the Strachan & Rennie case- set new benchmarks and standards of evidence for securing convictions not only for sex offenders, but for those who assist in conspiring to cover them up. Dawkins, even if he was minded to, couldn’t get near the Pope during the English leg of his trip, but the prospect of Strathclyde or Lothian and Borders Police slapping the handcuffs on the Pontiff just as soon as he has kissed the tarmac may yet be such a sufficiently real prospect that the visit may be cancelled. The Crown Office have not ruled out the possibility of a prosecution, and a recent papal excursion to Malta was marred by fresh allegations of his involvement in covering up for paedophile priests. The defining event of his tenure as Pontiff could see Benedict XVI escorted from the tarmac to a Reliance van and into the dock in Glasgow’s High Court, and off to Barlinnie thereafter, which would make for quite a photograph.

The scenario is not far fetched, according to civil and criminal specialists in Scotland.

Solicitor advocate John Scott:

From some reports it seems to me that there would certainly be a basis for a police investigation into either an attempt to pervert the course of justice or even a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

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