Vatican Legal Scheme to Dodge Liability to Victims

It is revealing to watch the Roman Catholic Church - which sheds crocodile tears for victims of sexual abuse - try to utilize every legal maneuver available to dodge the consequences of the sins and malfeasance of the Church hierarchy from Popes on down the line. Claim remorse, but do all possible to protect the Church's one true God: money and its riches. It is too bad that as much effort did not go into protecting children and youth from known sexual predators. Part of true remorse is accepting the consequences of one's wrong doing and the Church still has not taken this step - and likely never will. Certainly not under the current leadership. Here are highlights from Google News on the latest strategy of the Vatican to yet again abuse the victims of predator priests:
*
The Vatican on Monday will make its most detailed argument yet for why it is not liable for bishops who allowed priests to molest children in the U.S., in a motion that could affect other efforts to sue the Holy See in American courts, The Associated Press has learned.
*
In a motion to dismiss a lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, the Holy See is expected to argue that a key Vatican document calling for secrecy in church trials for sex abuse cases was not, as victims' lawyers say, proof of a Vatican-orchestrated cover up. The Vatican's U.S. attorney, Jeffrey Lena, said Sunday there was no evidence the document was even known to the archdiocese in question — much less used.
*
In addition, the Holy See is expected to assert that bishops aren't Vatican employees because they aren't paid by Rome, don't act on Rome's behalf and aren't controlled day-to-day by the pope — factors courts use to determine whether employers are liable for the actions of their workers, Lena told the AP.
*
The Holy See is trying to fend off the first U.S. case to reach the stage of determining whether victims actually have a claim against the Vatican itself for negligence for the failure of bishops to alert police or the public about Roman Catholic priests who molested children.
*
The case was filed in 2004 in district court in Louisville, Kentucky, by three men who claim they were abused by priests decades ago and claim negligence by the Vatican. Their attorney, William McMurry, is seeking class-action status for the case, saying there are thousands of victims across the country.
*
The Vatican's motion is being closely watched as the clerical abuse scandal swirls around the Holy See, since the court's eventual decision could have implications for a new lawsuit naming top Vatican officials that was recently filed in Wisconsin and another one in Oregon is pending before the Supreme Court.
*
In my view, the argument that bishops are not employees of the Vatican is beyond disingenuous. Bishops can only be appointed and can only be removed by the Pope. Moreover, every diocese pays an assessment to the Vatican just as every parish pays an assessment to the diocese in which it is located. It is a feudal style system with all power vested ultimately in Rome. In justice, the Vatican needs to get nailed on this. If the Church will not reform itself for the right reason, then perhaps huge monetary losses will force it to change.