The
attorney for a man who says he was sexually abused decades ago by a now-deceased
priest at a Wisconsin school for the deaf says the Vatican has refused to be
served with a lawsuit over the matter.
The
Vatican rejected a lawsuit brought by a man who was allegedly sexually abused by
a priest at St. John's School for the Deaf in Milwaukee, according to the
victim's attorney.
According
to the victim's attorney, the Vatican rejected a lawsuit brought by the man who
was allegedly sexually abused.
HIGHLIGHTS
The
suit requested to name Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinals Bertone and Sodano as
defendants for allegedly covering up Father Lawrence Murphy's abuse, but the
request was sent back.
St.
Paul attorney Jeff Anderson said his firm tried to serve the lawsuit at the
Vatican last week, but it was returned by Federal Express. forbes.com
The
lawsuit contends Pope Benedict XVI and others conspired to keep quiet decades of
abuse allegations against the Rev. Lawrence Murphy.
Anderson's
client, 61-year-old Terry Kohut is one of up to 200 people allegedly abused by
Murphy at the Milwaukee-area school between 1950 and 1974.
FACTS & FIGURES
Vatican
attorney Jeffrey Lena says the lawsuit should have been served through
diplomatic channels.
Anderson's
client is a deaf man from Illinois who alleged that the late Rev. Lawrence
Murphy molested him while Murphy worked at a Milwaukee-area school for the
deaf.
Murphy,
who died in 1998, has been accused of sexually abusing about 200 boys at the
school from 1950-1974. sctimes.com
The
Catholic sex abuse cases are an ongoing series of scandals in the Catholic
Church related to sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of
religious orders.
In
the United States, churches have paid more than $2 billion in compensation to
victims.