[Mariner]

“I don’t think the U.S. can subpoena the Pope.”

The US can subpoena, but getting our hands on him is another matter.

Could a Pope survive in office if he was under a US subpoena for criminal charges?

There are other things that could be done to bring pressure. State RICO suits against dioceses. Congressional hearings for the world to see. More arrests of individuals.

For instance: Can a diocese maintain the IRS religious exemption if it is declared a criminal enterprise under RICO?

Secular law can be applied. It is another pressure point. And it may cause many to ask...How much longer can we suffer this Pope and these Cardinals?

[Mrs. Don-o]

Anything that attacks any structure of "The Church" per se --- and I mean assets of religious orders, dioceses, USCCB --- would end up like Henry VIII's suppression of the Monasteries: plundering every innocent Catholic and all our children and grandchildren.

This is why I favor severe measures taken against actual offenders (both perps and their protectors) rather than the liquidation or forfeiture of the whole Catholic People's material patrimony.

If St. Brigid's ends up sold for a restaurant, Sacred Heart a condominium, and Holy Cross --- with all its crosses smashed --- a mosque, that would not actually make individual criminal prelates suffer.

They would pay it all off by fleecing, skinning, and butchering us: the flock. And I'm betting their retirement investments would mysteriously survive.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Can the Catholic Church be singled out for rigorous investigation if no other denominations are exposed to similar scrutiny?