The Center for Constitutional Rights, a far-left advocacy group for Islamic terrorists, has now chosen to go after the Catholic Church. It is bringing a complaint on behalf of an organization known as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The intent is to press for an investigation of Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican cardinals for alleged crimes against humanity.

The Center accuses the Catholic Church of a “long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence.”

Like just about everything else the Center for Constitutional Rights does, it is engaging in pure political grandstanding to embarrass a traditional organization that does immense good in the world. In a Church of over one billion members, the percentage of abuse cases is infinitesimal, and most of these are old closed cases. That is not to excuse the abuses that did happen, as the Church itself has recognized. But to accuse the Pope and cardinals of crimes against humanity evidences an anti-Catholic bias that, for lack of a better term, constitutes Catholic-phobia.

It is highly doubtful that the ICC will take this case, for a number of reasons. First, the ICC does not investigate crimes that occurred before its 2002 creation, which was when the bulk of the molestation claims originated.

Second, national courts with jurisdiction are already addressing the issues raised by the alleged sexual abuses, which normally would be enough to deter the ICC from intervening, since it was established as a court of last resort.

Third, the ICC does not usually get involved in this type of case. “This requires a government policy, a plan, a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population,” the executive director of the International Bar Association, Mark Ellis, said. “Not to suggest that victims were not harmed, but to meet the level of crimes against humanity you really have to show that there is a policy or a plan to initiate this.”

Fourth, and most importantly, it is difficult to conceive that the ICC would choose to expend whatever political capital it may have to go after the Pope, particularly for simply not being attentive enough to what was happening before he even became the Pope.

If the Center for Constitutional Rights were truly concerned about a gross pattern of sexual abuse, it would be looking at Sharia-governed countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran where flagrant crimes against humanity are pervasive. Women and girls today are being sexually abused, mutilated and killed with impunity in the Muslim world under the cover of Sharia law, without any judicial recourse.

One of the most revered Muslim theologians of all time, Imam al-Ghazali (1058-1111), defined marriage in words that justify such abuse: “Marriage is a form of slavery. The woman is man’s slave, and her duty therefore is absolute obedience to the husband in all that he asks of her person.”

Consider just a few examples of the sexual abuse and degradation suffered by females living under the yoke of Sharia law today:

• The husband is free to beat any of his wives (he is allowed up to four wives) if they are disobedient.

• The husband can divorce his wives at will, but the wives are essentially stuck in loveless marriages at the pleasure of the husband they share. The wives’ shared husband is also favored in cases of custody of the children after the early years of childhood are over.

• Men are granted the privilege to seek sexual gratification with children.

Even disregarding female genital mutilation, sexual slavery and honor killings, which still occur in parts of the Islam world, Islamic law stipulates a gender-segregated, patriarchal society in which women are treated as inferior beings and regularly abused. But the Center for Constitutional Rights ignores a truly “long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence” and goes after the Catholic Church instead.

This should come as no surprise. The Center regularly advocates for Islamic terrorist detainees. As it boasts on its website:

CCR’s advocacy on behalf of Guantánamo detainees spans district and appellate court litigation, international advocacy, resettlement assistance, and legislative and media advocacy to secure the best possible resolution for our clients.

The Center laments the fact that the United States has refused to allow any of these detainees to be released onto U.S. territory.

The Center also supports the so-called Gaza “Freedom Flotilla,” which even a recent United Nations report said “acted recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade” that had been imposed lawfully by Israel.

As its latest attack against the Catholic church illustrates, the Center for Constitutional Rights shares with the Islamist extremists it represents a visceral hatred of the Judeo-Christian tradition and Western democratic values.