Thursday, July 01, 2010

Lawsuit: Church protected abusive Salesian priest

A man who alleges he was abused in the 1960s by a priest who belonged to the Salesian order of the Roman Catholic church has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the religious order and the Vatican.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks unspecified damages.

Court papers allege the Rev. Titian "Jim" Miani abused the plaintiff while he was a student at a Catholic high school in the Southern California city of Bellflower.

The plaintiff alleges the Salesians and the Vatican conspired to transfer Miani to six locations on three continents to cover up his abuse.

Those assignments included Italy, Brazil and Canada.

Vatican attorney Jeffrey Lena did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

SIC: AP