Legal defence of the Pope in the US

Vatican offers 3 reasons it's not liable for abuse| ajc.com



VATICAN CITY — Dragged deeper than ever into the clerical sex abuse scandal, the Vatican is launching a legal defense that the church hopes will shield the pope from a lawsuit in Kentucky seeking to have him deposed.
The case was filed in 2004 in Kentucky by three men who claim they were abused by priests and claim negligence by the Vatican. Their attorney, William McMurry, is seeking class-action status for the case, saying there are thousands of victims across the country.Court documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press show that Vatican lawyers plan to argue that the pope has immunity as head of state, that American bishops who oversaw abusive priests weren't employees of the Vatican, and that a 1962 document is not the "smoking gun" that provides proof of a cover-up.
The Holy See is trying to fend off the first U.S. case to reach the stage of determining whether victims actually have a claim against the Vatican itself for negligence for allegedly failing to alert police or the public about Roman Catholic priests who molested children.
Pope Pius VII, the last Pope to be placed under actual duress by the secular authorities.   Pope Pius IX was a self-imposed prisoner in the Vatican after the fall of the Papal States. 
"This case is the only case that has been ever been filed against the Vatican which has as its sole objective to hold the Vatican accountable for all the priest sex abuse ever committed in this country," he said in a phone interview. "There is no other defendant. There's no bishop, no priest."
The Vatican is seeking to dismiss the suit before Benedict XVI can be questioned or secret documents subpoenaed.


Comments

vexilla regis said…
This "report"is rubbish.Where to start? Pius VII was not involved in any Civil Law case. He was kidnapped in effect by Napoleon'Army for not bowing to the Little Corporal's will regardind control of the Church."The Vatican"is not a legal entity, but a place. At law The Holy Father is the Sovereign of the Vatican City State. Further it has been established in Law for over a century that clergy are not employees of their Religious Superiors.
Only in America could such a media beat up get any attention.
Andrew said…
I just dont get why the Vatican would waste money fighting this. I say we LET the court tell the Vatican it has to pay money, or is legally responsible, or that the pope is deposed. We don't need to waste time defending it because it CANT HAPPEN. We actually legitimize their silly lawsuits by fighting them. Just let the court say the Vatican must do this, the Vatican must do that. And then the Vatican WONT. What are they going to do, invade the Vatican? I'd love to see them try that.
Anonymous said…
Pedophilia is just the latest and most visible in a long list of transgressions from the Catholic Church. These days the Vatican is facing legal action in Kentucky for child abuse cases by Catholic priests, and the ensuing cover up from the Catholic hierarchy including, allegedly, by Cardinal Ratzinger (today’s Pope Benedict).

I believe enterprising attorneys could and should widen the scope to include previous transgressions, particularly those that lead to the commitment of heinous crimes during the Holocaust. In my book “Six Million Crucifixions” I make a legal analysis of the various counts a potential indictment against the Church, the Vatican and members of the clergy might have looked like, had the Allies set up an international trial styled after Nuremberg and put any clergy guilty of crimes on the dock. In particular, an indictment might have included the following charges:

* Defamation
* Incitement
* Complicity in human rights violations
* Accessory or complicity in crimes against humanity
* Failure to warn/act
* Obstruction of Justice
* Profiting from stolen property
* Abuse of diplomatic privileges
* Crimes against humanity

I think it’s time to revisit the role of the Church in the Holocaust and its aftermath, and do it quickly as Pope Benedict is attempting to whitewash history by canonizing Pope Pius XII, while the Vatican Secret Archives covering the Nazi era remain closed and will continue to remain closed for another five years.

Gabriel Wilensky

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author
Six Million Crucifixions:
How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust
http://www.SixMillionCrucifixions.com
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sixmillionbook
Become a Fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SixMillionCrucifixions
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------