BishopAccountability.org
| ||
Pope Sued, Accused of Sex Coverup Associated Press, carried in CBS News [Rome] August 17, 2005 A lawyer who's suing Pope Benedict for allegedly covering up the sexual abuse of children by a seminarian says he'll challenge U.S. diplomatic recognition of the Vatican if the pope is given immunity as a head of state. In the Texas civil lawsuit, Joseph Ratzinger -- now Pope Benedict -- is accused of conspiring with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to cover up the abuse of three boys during the mid-1990s. Attorney Daniel Shea, who's representing one of three boys suing the pope, told reporters in Rome that President Bush should ignore a Vatican request to confirm Benedict's immunity. Otherwise, Shea says he'll challenge the constitutionality of U.S. recognition of the Vatican as a sovereign state, although similar court challenges have failed in the past. | ||