A federal judge in Kentucky has ruled that the Holy See is a foreign state that enjoys certain immunity protections, placing restrictions on a lawsuit by three men who allege the Vatican covered up the sexual abuse of children by priests. According to a ruling obtained Friday by The Associated Press, Judge John G. Heyburn II of the U.S. District Court in Louisville rejected the victims' argument that the Holy See is an international religious organization and ruled that it is a foreign state subject to provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
[Like nearly every article on the subject, this USA Today story fails to mention the direct hand of the Vatican since the 1960s in (a) silencing reports of clergy child abuse and (b) moving abusive clergy to new parishes. This article also fails to bring up the question as to where the line between the Holy See as a foreign state and the Roman Catholic Church as a religion might be found. Because one wonders if 'diplomats' from other foreign states also get tax exempt status in the USA, or if organized networks of child molesters from other foreign states would be treated so kindly.]
Post a Comment