Popemobile in Freiburg (photo: Thomas Niedermüller, Getty Images)
No man is above the law in Germany, where even the German-born pope can get in trouble for not wearing his seat belt.
Uwe Hilsmann, a German citizen from Dortmund, hired a lawyer, Johannes Sundermann, who filed charges against Pope Benedict XVI for not using a seat belt in his Popemobile during a recent visit to his homeland. The complaint was filed in Freiburg, the southern German city where Benedict‘s violation occurred.
No one denies that Benedict was riding without a seatbelt, but it is unclear whether the pope (born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927) can be subject to German law, or whether his diplomatic immunity as the head of a foreign state leaves him in the clear.
If found guilty, the pope could be fined between $40 and $3,340.
-Noel Brinekrhoff
Pope Benedict XVI Slapped with Charges for Not Wearing Seat Belt (by Niels Sorrells, Religion News Service)
Der Verkehrssündenfall (by Von Benjamin Schulz, Spiegel Online)
