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	Papal Nuncio Says Bankruptcy Court’s Lawsuit against Him Is Not Valid By Barb Arland-fye The Pilot September 28, 2009 http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=10890 DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNS) -- Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, said a court official has no authority to demand nearly $73,000 from his office, according to a petition filed in federal court. Archbishop Sambi is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Iowa, where the Davenport Diocese is located, to dismiss a lawsuit by a bankruptcy trustee seeking the funds. His petition, filed in early September, also requests that the matter be heard in federal court because that is the proper jurisdiction. The petition will be heard Sept. 30 in the U.S. courthouse in Davenport. Archbishop Sambi will be required to present evidence. Archbishop Sambi's petition states that the apostolic nuncio has diplomatic immunity from lawsuits and that he was not properly served legal documents. Those were sent by U.S. mail rather than in person, as required by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The money in dispute comes from payments the Davenport Diocese made to the apostolic nunciature during a one year-period before the diocese filed for bankruptcy Oct. 10, 2006, court documents show. During that time, the diocese made seven payments totaling $72,906. Approximately half of that money came from the annual collection taken in parishes throughout the diocese to support Peter's Pence, which funds charitable causes chosen by the pope. The money did not belong to the diocese; it was a "pass-through" payment for parishioners' donations to the charitable fund, said Char Maaske, the diocese's chief financial officer. Another portion of the disputed money was a contribution the diocese made to the Vatican for its service to the universal church. That contribution is a requirement under canon law, and the diocese is expected to pay a certain amount each quarter. There was nothing unusual about the payments, she said. Bankruptcy trustee Robert Berger claims in his lawsuit against the apostolic nuncio that the diocesan payments were made with "an actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud the diocese's creditors." The trustee issued summonses to other entities that received payments from the diocese prior to the bankruptcy filing in an effort to gain additional funds for the creditors, who are survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved a 2008 plan that provided for a $37 million settlement among the Davenport Diocese, its creditors and insurers. The diocese is not involved in the current claim made by the creditors.
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