VENTURA (CA)
Ventura County Star
October 4, 2018
By Tom Kisken
An Oxnard clergy abuse survivor on Thursday announced a lawsuit against the Vatican aimed at an alleged cover-up of abusive priests involving the church’s leaders, including Pope Francis.
Manny Vega told a Los Angeles conference room filled with reporters that he was abused by a priest at Our Lady Of Guadalupe Church in Oxnard as a 10-year-old altar boy. He said his lawsuit filed Wednesday in a California federal court is aimed at bringing what he feels has eluded abuse survivors.
“I’m committed to getting to the truth,” he said a moment after the news conference. “I’m committed to getting to that elusive transparency the church talks about.”
The lawsuit seeks to force the Vatican to release names of accused offenders from a list that lawyer Jeff Anderson said is currently concealed.
Called unprecedented by Anderson, the lawsuit also demands the release of all files and documents kept by the church in California and across the world on priests accused of abuse. It also calls for the names Vatican officials, bishops and others who have been involved in the alleged cover-up.
Anderson said the Vatican is the target because power flows down in the Catholic Church but secrets flow up.
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