The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: "The Vatican reportedly has asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to intervene in a Louisville lawsuit that seeks damages for sexual abuse committed by Roman Catholic priests across the United States over more than seven decades. The request reportedly occurred when Rice met last month with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's secretary of state, as part of her tour of Europe. The American-based National Catholic Reporter, a weekly newspaper, reported from unnamed sources that Sodano asked Rice to support the church's argument that the lawsuit should be dismissed. The Vatican contends that, as a sovereign nation, it is protected under U.S. law from lawsuits such as the Louisville case attorney William McMurry filed last year."

The Washington Times reports: "The Kentucky case that prompted Sodano's request for help is different than most lawsuits working their way through the American court system in that it is the only one in which the Vatican is the lone defendant and the only one directly related to the recent series of sex abuse scandals that have stained the reputation of the Catholic Church in the United States. The class action was filed in June 2004 in a Louisville district court alleging sexual abuse centered on three men in northern Kentucky dating back to 1928. It named the Holy See as the only defendant in the case, with attorney William McMurry issuing a statement reading that 'the financial responsibility should be shared, if not borne entirely, by the Vatican' because the Vatican created the climate that allowed the alleged abuse to take place. Legal experts say that the case is likely to be dismissed, in part because the Vatican is a sovereign state - the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does allow for suits against other countries though it makes them difficult - and because U.S. courts have historically erred on the side of the church in borderline cases because of first amendment grounds. Despite dozens of cases filed against the Holy See in recent decades, no U.S. court has ever found the Vatican guilty of anything." [emphasis added]

Note that the Crimine Solicitaciones was in effect at the time of this abuse. "Sent to every bishop in the world in 1962, it outlines procedures for dealing with sexual abuse in the church - specifically the crime of using the privacy of the confessional for acts of sex abuse or to solicit sexual favours. What it commands is the utmost secrecy among those involved, on pain of excommunication, and, lawyers argue, promotes a culture of keeping abuse problems in-house. Alarmingly, the 69-page instruction spells out procedures for shifting accused clerics to new postings." And so there is every reason in the world that the Vatican should be held accountable for all - all - of the child abuse carried out by its clergy since 1962.

The Catholic News Service reports: "The Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, did not ask U.S. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to intervene in a lawsuit against the Vatican, an informed Vatican official told Catholic News Service March 3."