The ruling also upheld the Vatican's defense that it cannot be held liable for the actions of priests and bishops in dioceses around the world. Its ruling came in a case brought by 24 Belgian, French and Dutch nationals who alleged they were sexually abused by priests when they were children. The judgment was available only in French.
The court said all the plaintiffs — except four who did not apply — previously received compensation through an arbitration center set up by the Catholic Church for sexual abuse victims. After Belgian courts said they couldn't sue the Vatican because the Holy See is a sovereign state, the plaintiffs turned to the Strasbourg rights court in and argued that they had been denied the right to sue. A seven-judge panel issued Tuesday's decision with one judge writing a dissenting opinion. The plaintiffs can seek to appeal the ruling to a grand chamber, a rare session presided over by the rights court's president and other top judges.
The dissenting opinion by Judge Darian Pavli buttresses the plaintiffs' chances of getting a grand chamber hearing. Pavli faulted the Belgian courts for not adequately examining the plaintiffs' claims that the Holy See may have been responsible for ordering Belgian bishops to cover up rape and molestation by clergy.
The majority on the court, though, agreed with the Belgian courts' findings that the Holy See cannot be held liable for the faults of bishops because they act autonomously in their own dioceses.
Considering the worldwide implications of allowing his clients to sue the Vatican, he charged the Strasbourg court was afraid to open a floodgate of lawsuits against the Vatican. The Vatican has no comment. The same is true in most countries, he said. In a Texas lawyer named the pope as a defendant in a sexual abuse lawsuit against a local diocese. That leaves the Holy See, whose defense benefits from its quasi-nation status. The general rule across the developed world is that you can sue a nation or state only for its commercial or private actions, and not for its sovereign or public actions, Dellapenna said.
The crucial question, therefore, is whether the Holy See has direct day-to-day control over its far-flung dioceses and priests. Does it act like a corporate boardroom, exercising control from the Vatican? Or is it simply a spiritual advisory body with no real input from day to day? So far, the Holy See has argued successfully that each diocese acts as a separate legal entity, rather than branches of a central organization.
But on the other hand, the US church has programs like national insurance policies that collectively protect those dioceses, he said. At that point, all dioceses would get together, kick in the money and replace the structure. But two years later, the court declined to hear the case. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told the Religion News Service at the time that he "never doubted this would be the response [of the ICC], given the total groundlessness of the accusation.
Attorney Pam Spees, who filed the ICC complaint, told GlobalPost that the court remains the only adequate forum to hear a case against the pope and the Vatican. These conventions are overseen by independent committees with the power to call representatives of countries before them for questioning.
Another said Glennon threatened to kill his parents and take custody of him if he told anyone about his abuse. Their ordeal covers a nine-year period, from to During this time, Glennon gained national notoriety when broadcaster Derryn Hinch publicly revealed his prior convictions while he was awaiting trial on further charges. For Hinch, the outing of Glennon as a repeat child sex offender became a cause celebre.
He was charged, convicted and eventually jailed for contempt after a failed High Court appeal and later, formed his eponymous Justice Party to launch a political career. Credit: Sebastian Costanzo. Glennon was finally jailed in for multiple child sex crimes and remained behind bars until his death. In a letter petitioning the Vatican to take action, then archbishop of Melbourne Frank Little said there was "abundant evidence" Glennon had continued to present himself as a man of the cloth.
This included presiding over baptisms, confirmation, confession and administering other sacraments. One of his criminal trials was shown a video of Glennon leading a mass at Karaglen, with a procession of robed altar boys. Credit: Reuters. It was not until — after Archbishop Little's successor George Pell vowed to bring it to the personal attention of the Pope — that John Paul II issued a decree expelling Glennon from the priesthood.
He was immediately placed on administrative leave and his priestly faculties were consequently removed. He was never again permitted by the church to minister as priest. The decision to join the current Pope to the Supreme Court claim reflects the complex legal structures of the church where a priest is supervised by his local diocese but under canon law, can only be laicised or excommunicated for sex crimes against children by Rome. Malka Leifer right appears in a Jerusalem court.
Earlier this year, the ACT Supreme Court awarded exemplary damages against an Australian National University residential college for its inadequate response towards a student raped during a hazing ritual.
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