Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Vatican officials were displeased by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow a lawsuit to proceed in district court that seeks to prove the Catholic Church’s senior hierarchy was partly responsible for allowing American priests to molest young boys.
The case, originally filed in 2002, was brought by an unidentified man from Seattle who claims he was sexually abused in the 1960s by Reverend Andrew Ronan, who is now deceased. The plaintiff’s attorney plans to depose Vatican leaders for the trial. A lawyer for the Holy See contends the Pope and other senior leaders are immune from civil actions under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act.
“The Holy See does not pay the salary of the priest, or benefits of the priest, or exercise day-to-day control over the priest, and any of the other factors indicating the presence of an employment relationship,” said Jeffrey Lena, an attorney representing the Vatican in the U.S. The administrations of both President George W. Bush and Barack Obama sided with the Vatican.
On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected this argument and refused to hear an appeal by the Vatican.
The lawsuit is not the only one targeting the Vatican. Another civil case filed in Kentucky argues the papacy is responsible for American bishops who failed to stop priests from molesting children.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Vatican-Sex Abuse Lawsuit Moves Forward (by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press)
John Doe v. Holy See (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit) (pdf)
Comments