Geoffrey Robertson may be a celebrity QC, but historian he is certainly not.
In his book The Case of the Pope and recently at Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas, he touts the notion that the Vatican is not a real state and that as a consequence Benedict XVI should not be granted immunity from prosecution. Therefore he can be put on trial for his alleged responsibility in covering up clerical sexual abuse.
While to insiders it is obvious Robertson doesn't understand how the Church works (he even cites Catholicism for Dummies as one of his reference sources), I completely concede that Catholicism has a massive problem with sexual abuse and its cover-up.
Some Catholics, of course, have been saying exactly that for years. We know Catholicism faces a massive institutional problem, exacerbated by clericalism, and needs a radically new approach to Church government. But this will be achieved by committed Catholics, not articulate QCs.
In fact Robertson's boots and all approach diverts attention from the real issues. He focuses on what he calls the 'pernicious doctrine' of sovereignty, that is the legal inhibition that prevents states from interfering in the internal affairs of other states.
But first, let's get a bit of history straight. The Holy See is the oldest state in Europe. The popes first administered Rome during the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. Then in the 680s several able popes were obliged to take political leadership in the protection of central Italy. This led to an independence movement that resulted in the formation of the respublica Sancti Petri, the forerunner of the Papal States. This was later recognised by Pepin the Short, Charlemagne's father.
The Papal States survived as a geographical and legal entity until 1870 when Rome was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy. The popes never surrendered their territorial claim and in the three Lateran Treaties, a series of agreements between Mussolini's Italy and the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Casparri, the Holy See was recognised as a sovereign entity with a tiny territory, the Vatican City State.
Australia recognises the sovereignty of the Holy See. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in its 'Holy See Country Brief' correctly defines the Holy See as 'the central government of the Catholic Church'. It says that 'The Vatican City State was established … [to provide] the Holy See with a small territorial base and consequent recognition as an independent