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	US Govt Sides with Vatican in Child Sex Abuse Case By Brett Barrouquere Brisbane Times October 17, 2007 http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/us-govt-sides-with-vatican-in-child-sex-abuse-case/2007/10/17/1192300799661.html LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - The US administration partially sided with the Vatican in a lawsuit seeking class-action damages from the Roman Catholic church and its headquarters for an alleged cover-up of priests sexually abusing children in the United States. The US Justice Department and State Department argued in a friend of the court brief that the Holy See may only be sued as a foreign country, not a religious institution, because the US government recognises it as a foreign state. US law provides immunity to foreign countries from most lawsuits. The filing to the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals comes in a case brought by three men alleging the Vatican orchestrated a cover-up of US priests sexually abusing children. Louisville attorney William McMurry is seeking class-action status, saying there are thousands of victims across the country. US District Judge John Heyburn II ruled in January that the men may pursue their claim that top church officials should have warned the public or local authorities of known or suspected sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville. Heyburn dismissed a large chunk of the lawsuit. Both McMurry and the Vatican appealed the ruling. The 6th Circuit has not ruled on the case. Along with the accusations against the Vatican, the suit challenges the constitutionality of the US Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act, which generally gives immunity to foreign countries from most lawsuits. McMurry has said the law violates the plaintiffs' rights to a trial on the merits of the case. McMurry also argues that the law does not apply to the Holy See because of its dual role as a religious institution and country. The Bush administration's brief defends the law, saying the US government has recognised the Vatican as a country since 1984 and that the president alone, not the court system, may recognise a country. Bush administration lawyers are not taking sides about the merits of the lawsuit. Many lawsuits stemming from the US clergy sex abuse crisis have named the pope, the Vatican and other high-ranking church officials but have failed. Plaintiffs' lawyers who have sought to challenge that protection often could not serve Vatican officials with the papers, among other logistical problems.
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