Following the sex abuse scandal here in the U.S., there has been an attempt by civil lawyers prosecuting sex abuse cases to try to name the Vatican as a defendant in these cases, which would mean that it could be slapped with millions and millions of dollars in special, general, and punitive damages.
There are a number of legal barriers that have thus far prevented this from happening to the Holy See, but recently a judge in Oregon expressed openness to naming the Vatican as a defendant.
Other legal barriers could still prevent that from happening, though the fact that Oregon is located in the ever-crazy 9th Circuit could help facilitate the matter.
My guess is that one or another factor will intervene to prevent the Holy See from being soaked in this case, but only time will tell.
In the meanwhile,
JOHN ALLEN HAS A GOOD GUIDE TO THE INS-AND-OUTS OF THE SITUATION.
I hope justice is done, rather than agendas being pushed. I just can’t imagine the Vatican being negligent here, and not make reparation as that is what we are taught is the right thing to do.
By reparation, I assume you mean money. The Vatican is a state, not an individual. One couldn’t prove that the Vatican was complicit in the sex abuse cases, because some of the U.S. bishops were hiding the truth even from the Holy Father.
With post-Vatican II collegiality, I could see all of the member dioceses of the USCCB being sued together.
What the Know-Nothings and KKK couldn’t do, the federal courts could. Imagine every church, school, hospital and monastery being put up on the block for sale.
I guess that is why they call this “soft” totalitarianism: this would have the same effect as Henry VIII, but done in a “nice” way.
Who was that guy who dared some judge to enforce his ruling?
Other chuches had better take note, because there are parallels to the priest sex abuse scandal in every major denomination in the world, they just haven’t had the attention of the press (yet). Slamming the Catholic Church sells more newspapers.
Who will be next, I wonder?
Keep in mind the epidemic of sexual abuse by public school teachers. Entire school systems could be bankrupted following the logic of this judge.
Could the APA (American Psychiatric Association) be sued for telling us for decades that the abusers could be reformed?
This is certainly not to excuse the abuse that took place, or the disgusting cover-ups, but this sue-happy culture would make us all both victims and perpetrators.
Good informative news article. JA does not mention a huge problem with judgments against foreign sovereigns, namely, execution of judgment. Just how does a US court force the Vatican City State to turn over some of its assets?
With all due deference Ed, of course; but are you saying that an Oregon judge doesn’t have a universally recognized power of judgement? ha ha.
Jokes aside, you make a good point.
I’m with Tim in bringing the APA to justice (bankruptcy) for aiding and encouraging the relocation of the offenders. Not to mention any other cases of abuse by mental health practitioners during the last fifty years…
Why is this such a bad idea? Considering that most dioceses did nothing about pedophile priests, it is at least possible that this was on orders from Rome.
And if you look at what happened when bishops testified and perjured themselves about their alleged lack of knowledge, Rome refused to remove them.
Jeb Protestant:
scroll up and read what Tim J had to say about other churches and perhaps you might think again.
Jeb,
Concerning the vast cover-up,
Can you back up your assertions with cold, hard facts from reliable sources? If not, then I would suggest you don’t drag JPII and the rest of them through the mud.
Jeb, which “most dioceses” are you talking about? And who is “Rome”? And who do you think makes up dioceses, just a couple of priests and a bishop?
I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but this reminds me of a father whose child was molested by a teacher. He thinks that he should be able to sue the State of Michigan for issuing a teaching certificate to the molester. He wants the administrators who hired the monsterm to be fired. He wants the school board members to step down because they approved the hiring. He also thinks that the teachers in the nearby rooms are also culpable, particularly the one who finally noticed that his daughter was being held in from recess a lot. They’re all to blame, no?
I believe a few years ago a Dallas newspaper did a study and found that the policy in most diocese was to ignore the conduct or send the priest someplace else.
As I said, I don’t know what the Vatican said. But in the last 50 years the Vatican must have been contacted concerning pedophile priests. What advice/orders did the Vatican give? I don’t know, but it is a fair question.
Jeb:
while soaking the Vatican might seem like a good idea to a Protestant, you really must not believe everything you read in the main stream media. They are notoriously hostile to the Catholic Church.
Jail is the only just punishment, for both the perpetrators, and those who conspire with them Forcing parishioners to pay for abuse done decades ago is unjust.