Judge Says Vatican Isn't Priests" Employer

Catholic Sentinel
August 20, 2012

http://www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=19044

Judge Michael Mosman

Catholic priests aren't employed by the Vatican and so the Holy See is not financially liable for priest misdeeds, a federal judge in Portland ruled today.

The entire church leadership, from Pope Benedict and bishops across the nation, have called for better protection for children and worked to make that happen. But bishops have also tried to explain church strcuture to courts, explaining that dioceses are themselves churches, not subsidiaries of the Holy See.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman got the point. His decision ends an ongoing quest from sex abuse victims and their lawyers to seek monetary damages from the Vatican.

"There are no facts to create a true employment relationship between Ronan and the Holy See," Mosman said in his ruling.

The decision comes in the case of a religious order priest who was accused of abusing a boy in Portland in the late 1960s. The plaintiff's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to show that priests are employees of the Holy See. The attorneys said they will appeal Mosman's decision.