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  Houston Men Sue Pope over Letter about Sex Abuse
Seminary Student Indicted on Child Sex Abuse Charges

Click 2 Houston [Houston TX]
April 26, 2005

HOUSTON -- Three Houston-area men used a letter written by Pope Benedict XVI while he was a cardinal as the basis for a lawsuit against the Catholic Church, Local 2 reported in an exclusive story Tuesday.

The men claim that they are victims of the church's sex scandal and that a letter written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is proof that he conspired to keep claims of sex abuse secret.

In a Houston federal courtroom, the men's attorneys told Judge Lee Rosenthal Tuesday that the now-pope tried to cover up sex crimes against children in the Catholic Church.

"We believe, actually, that the current pope, when he was head of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, actually was actively involved in that conspiracy," plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Shea said.

The plaintiffs said when they were 11, 12 and 13 years old, they were molested at St. Francis de Sales in southwest Houston in 1995.

The alleged victims said their molester was Juan Carlos Patino-Arango, who was studying to become a priest at St. Mary's Seminary on Memorial Drive. They are suing him, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza for damages.

The pope was added to the lawsuit earlier this year, before he became pontiff, because of a letter he wrote in May 2001.

The letter to bishops states, "cases of this kind are subject to the pontifical secret."

"The pontifical secret, as far as we can tell, means you don't tell anyone about the case," Shea said.

Pope Benedict XVI

In a statement to Local 2, Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza said, "To insinuate that this letter from the Congregation for the Faith is part of a Vatican conspiracy is a total and complete misunderstanding of the purpose of the letter."

A law professor said there are a number of hurdles to suing the pope, most importantly, the fact the U.S. does not allow people to sue a sitting head of state.

"I don't think this is likely to succeed," the professor said.

The archdiocese said there is nothing in the letter that would preclude the church from contacting authorities. Officials said in this case, when the allegations first arose, they immediately expelled the seminary student and contacted Child Protective Services.

Patino-Arango then left the country for Colombia.

In the past year, a grand jury indicted him on child sexual abuse charges. Police hope to bring him back to the states for trial.