Appeals court lets Vatican sex-abuse case proceed

A lawsuit can continue against the Vatican alleging that top church officials should have warned the public or authorities of known or suspected sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave the go-ahead for the lawsuit filed by three men who claim priests abused them as children. They allege the Vatican orchestrated a decades-long coverup of priests sexually abusing children throughout the U.S.

Louisville attorney William McMurry is seeking class-action status, saying there are thousands of victims nationally in the scandal that haunts the Roman Catholic Church. He is seeking unspecified damages from the Vatican.

"This is an enormously huge moment," McMurry said. "We're finally going to get to the root of the problem."

Jeffrey Lena, a Berkeley, Calif.-based attorney for the Vatican, said the appeals court's decision narrows the plaintiffs' case because the court upheld dismissing several issues.

"It's gratifying to see the hard work the judges put into the opinion," Lena said.

Lena declined to say if he would appeal the decision. McMurry said he expects the case to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Good. The Church has really messed up on the boy-love sex scandal, and needs to go through the consequences for a few more years. In the timeline of religion, this time period is but a minute, and the Church will come out of it the better and assuredly will correct their alleged errors.

After hearing my brother tell me how he underwent some therapy which terminated in him “remembering” something that never happened (I was there) in his youth, although I know that some Priests are guilty and many times more Public School Teachers are guilty of the same or worse conduct, I do not buy into the theory that every grown man over the age of 18 who used to be an alter server in a Catholic Church in his youth and claims he was molested by a priest actually was molested at all.

That’s a long drawn out sentence to say that if someone “suddenly” recalls something he “thinks” happened to him when he was under age 18, I would be skeptical. It MAY have or he may have “dreamed/nightmared” it happening.

Some of the Priests admit to it, those who do not, may have been erroneously charged. I think the whole situation has to be investigated. If a number of children come forward as adults, then it probably did occur (unless the kids-now-adults are in collusion for the money). If only one person claims it occurred and the Priest says it didn’t . . . much more study needs to be done before that Priest is charged.

What did the Vatican know and when did they know it? THAT answer will need to come from Bishops, ArchBishops, and Cardinals.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.