Posted on 11/26/2008 10:41:30 AM PST by NYer
On Monday, in what's being described as a "landmark" ruling, a Federal appeals court green-lighted a sex-abuse suit naming the Holy See among its plaintiffs:
[The] ruling, issued by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, marks the first time a court at so high a level has recognized that the Vatican could be liable for the negligence in sexual-abuse cases brought in the U.S.PHOTO: Reuters
The ruling is seen as a breakthrough by those allegedly abused by priests. Investigators and grand juries have found several instances where the church failed to report alleged abusers and covered up alleged misdeeds to protect them.
Jeffrey S. Lena, the attorney for the Holy See, said he was not "presently inclined" to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.
It remains to be seen whether the Vatican, which is a sovereign state recognized by the U.S. government, will make further arguments that it is immune from U.S. civil proceeding.
Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have paid out at least $1.5 billion to alleged abuse victims, most of this since the scandal broke open nationwide in 2002.
The appeals court found that the church government may be held liable for actions taken in the U.S. based on the Vatican's policies or directives.
"What the court has allowed us to do is proceed against the Vatican for the conduct of the U.S. bishops because of the bishops' failure to ... report child abuse," said William F. McMurry, the attorney for three men who claim they were abused as children by priests in the Louisville, Ky., archdiocese. He is seeking class-action status in the district-court case.
The ruling marks the first time that a federal appeals court recognized that the Vatican could be liable under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a 1976 law that governs when a foreign nation or its agents can be sued, said Marci Hamilton, a constitutional-law scholar who is part of the legal team in the Louisville case.
"If someone can crack that barrier of immunity, it opens the door to other claims against the Catholic church," says Jonathan Levy, a Washington, D.C., attorney who represents concentration-camp survivors in a suit against numerous parties including the Vatican bank. The Vatican, in that case, prevailed in its claim of sovereign immunity.
Mr. Lena, the lawyer for the Holy See in the Louisville case, said Monday's ruling is a small step and one that is far from establishing whether Vatican policy contributed to thousands of incidents of abuse that have been alleged over several decades. "We're miles away from liability," he said. The ruling is "very incremental."
I seriously doubt that.
Too bad students can sue public school systems. That would bankrupt every tax payer.
can = can’t
i hate it when that happens
Then you are not a Catholic. You, like Pelosi, Kennedy, et al, are a CINO, a cafeteria Catholic.
Will this be the Thanksgiving fun fest?
Doesn’t FR have spell check?
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
Church of One Alert, Church of One Alert!
Normally the State Department would be all over this. Let’s see if they are this time.
Name one person on this thread who has "let pedophiles take over our Church." And please show how a refusal to challenge Church authority accomplishes that.
Thank you, Admin Mod!!!
How many priests that you know were charged?
The Church seems to be coming under a waver of attacks each more bolder than the last recently.
What would you wear to a White House dinner?
We knew that when, back in October, you made the following absurd comments on the thread entitled:
Pope reaffirms Church opposition to contraception
This whole concept originated as a way to insure a base of Catholics for tithing.....
No, Im’ rabidly anti-abortion...but prevention is the key to reducing poverty in these countries.
(You failed to respond when questioned about this contradiction when the topic of the abortifacient nature of many artificial birth control methods, as well as the health risks to the user, was brought up.)
You need to stop claiming to be a Catholic because you've clearly and repeatedly demonstrated that you aren't.
I have my doubts about the veracity of the statement too.
Do not post to him, he has been banned from the thread.
Thank you, RM. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, AM. Happy Thanksgiving!
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