CovOps
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| Subject: Immoral White House Backs Corrupt Vatican Immunity Tue May 25, 2010 4:10 am | |
| The Vatican should not be held liable in civil lawsuits over clergy abuse cases because it's a sovereign nation, according to Obama administration lawyers. The solicitor general has urged the Supreme Court to set aside a ruling from a lower court allowing that an Oregon man who says he was abused by a priest in the 60s to sue the Holy See, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision is unlikely to affect other suits against the Vatican.
The solicitor general's office argued that the lower court had misapplied the law setting out the standards under which foreign governments can be sued. The man's lawyer says he is "perplexed" by the brief—which the Supreme Court isn't required to follow—but he's heartened that the solicitor general didn't recommend dropping the case altogether. Vatican lawyers argue that for legal purposes, bishops should be considered independent contractors instead of direct employees of the Holy See.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704792104575264870548467794.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_MIDDLESecondStories |
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