Posted on 05/25/2010 7:49:32 PM PDT by Laissez-faire capitalist
The Obama administration in a brief to the Supreme Court has backed the Vatican's claim of immunity from lawsuits arising from cases of sexual abuse by priests in the United States.
The Supreme Court is considering an appeal by the Vatican of an appellate court ruling that lifted its immunity in the case of an alleged pedophile priest from Oregon.
In a filing on Friday, the solicitor generla's office argued that the Ninth Circuit court of appeals erred in allowing the lawsuit brought by a man who claims he was sexually abused in the 1960's by the Oregon priest.
The unnamed plaintiff, who cited the Holy See and several other parties and defendants, argued the Vatican should be held responsible for transferring the priest to Oregon and letting him serve there despite previous accusations he had abused children in Chicago and Ireland.
The solicitor general's office, which defends the position of president Obama's administration before the Supreme Court, said the Ninth Circuit improperly found the case to be an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a 1976 federal law that sets limits on when other countries can face lawsuits in US courts.
"Although the decision does not conflict with any decision of another court of appeals, the court may wish to grant the petition, vacate the judgment of the court of appeals and remand to that court for further consideration."
... the Vatican plans to argue that Catholic Dioceses are run as seperate entities from the Holy See, and that the only authority that the Pontiff has over bishops around the world is a religious one...
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
What say you?
This has nothing to do with religion or domestic politics.
LOL. Go ahead and tell yourself that.
Do you support Obama on this?
Does anyone here support the Obama administration on this?
Maybe some of his buds are implicated
Maybe...
Obama would love nothing more than to throw the Vatican to the trial lawyer wolves, but his legal advisors are trying to avoid a precedent that might come back on Obama and company tenfold.
The United States is protecting the sovereign immunity of another country in order to protect that of its own. If the Vatican can be sued on these grounds then an international precedent would be established that would allow the United States to be sued for its actions and those of its personnel over seas.
Maybe...
This is what gets me...Liberals are furious over this, but some conservatives wonder if Obama is trying to get Catholic votes.
Perhaps they might be trying to avoid a precedent...
Only problem is, have there been any bishops in the U.S. that have been personally expelled by the Vatican - either by Pope John Paul II or by Pope Benedict XVI?
If so, that might present some problems for the Vatican...
If the Vatican has the power to expel a bishop, then wouldn’t they have the power to keep a bishop from being installed?
Then Obama is agreeing with the Vatican that It is a foreign nation.
I support the rule of law on this. From a canonical point of view, which the state has no constitutional authority to regulate, a bishop derives his ecclesial authority through Apostolic Succession from his ordination, which goes back to the St. Peter, not just to the current Pope. Each Bishop has full responsibility in his own diocese.
From a secular, organizational perspective, the Bishop isn't paid by the Pope or the Vatican and the property and assets of each Diocese isn't owned by the Pope or the Vatican.
Even so, this case deals with instances where it is being argued that the Vatican was acting with knowledge.
In cases of accident or someone acting without knowledge or acting in ignoreance I don’t see how this would set precedent.
Hell yeah. That the law is obvious is but one reason.
The canonical point of view and the rule of law are seperate things. The Vatican itself here says that it does not possess temporal power.
The Vatican says that dioceses are run as sepeerate entities.
If there have been any Bishops that the Vatican has expelled, then that undermines the argument that the diocese is run locally.
If the Vatican can expel a Bishop, then they would have the power to keep a Bishop from coming from Ireland to the US.
Read #13.
The “Vatican” has obviously known of, and has actively aided and abetted the sexual abuse of children by their own priests, internationally, for decades.
There is no way to sugar coat or possibly hide the facts, that an insidious evil rot has invaded the very highest levels of the Catholic Church.
I consign to eternal damnation all those involved.
I think God will agree with me.
The list, ping
Is the foreign nation Vatican in any way shape or form connected to R.C.?
Is the foreign nation Vatican in any way shape or form connected to R.C.?
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