SEATTLE (WA)
National Catholic Reporter
Caitlin Hendel | Aug. 6, 2013 NCR Today
The 13-year-old effort by a Seattle man to hold the Vatican responsible for priest abuse ended Monday, according to this report by Vatican Radio. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal in John V. Doe v Holy See, after years of wrangling over the legality of suing the Vatican and whether it acts as the employer of U.S. priests.
The suit involved a man now in his 60s who had accused the late Fr. Andrew Ronan of molesting him when he was a child in Oregon in 1965. The plaintiff tried to place the blame on the Vatican, saying that as Ronan’s employer, it was ultimately responsible for his actions. U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in Portland ruled last year that the Vatican was not Ronan’s employer and therefore not liable in this case.
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