VATICAN CITY
Montana News Association
by MNA PRESS
Vatican City, Vatican City -- Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano asked U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to intervene on the behalf of the Holy See during Rice's recent visit to Rome, a request that Rice declined. Speculation that such requests are commonly made behind closed doors is common, but confirmation is unusual. The Kentucky case that prompted Sodano's request for help is different than most lawsuits working their way through the American court system in that it is the only one in which the Vatican is the lone defendant and the only one directly related to the recent series of sex abuse scandals that have stained the reputation of the Catholic Church in the United States.