Court Finds Priests Can Be Seen As 'Employees' Of The Vatican
PORTLAND (OR)OPB News
BY KRISTIAN FODEN-VENCIL
Portland, OR March 5, 2009 6:01 a.m.
LawCourt Finds Priests Can Be Seen As 'Employees' Of The Vaticanyers who've been suing churches over the sexual abuse of children, are buzzing with a new court ruling that the Vatican can be sued over the behavior of priests. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.
Legally, the Vatican is a foreign country. And foreign countries cannot be sued under U.S. law -- except under extraordinary circumstances.
Attorney Jeff Anderson appears to have managed to convince the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that some of those circumstances do indeed apply in this case of priest sexual abuse.
Jeff Anderson: "All evidentiary roads -- documentary, testimonial, everything leads to one place. Right to the top of the pyramid. And at the top of the pyramid is the sovereign state called the Vatican and I was convinced that that's where accountability had to be held for years."...
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