Tuesday, May 14, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three brothers who were sexually abused by a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed a federal lawsuit today against the Vatican, claiming the Holy See bears responsibility because the case was mishandled by former Archbishop John Nienstedt and the Vatican's former ambassador to the United States.
The lawsuit attempts to trace a direct line from clergy sex abuse victims to the Vatican, through Minnesota church officials. Luke, Stephen and Benedict Hoffman were abused by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer, roughly between 2009 and 2012.
Nienstedt and the former ambassador, Carlo Maria Viganò, have previously denied the allegations raised against them in the new lawsuit. The Vatican's U.S. lawyer, Jeffrey Lena, had no immediate comment. In the past Lena has described sex abuse lawsuits naming the Vatican as a defendant as publicity stunts.
Two other plaintiffs in the suit also say they were molested by Catholic priests, one in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese and another in the Los Angeles archdiocese. Those two men and the plaintiff's attorney in the case filed today, Jeff Anderson, have previously sued the Vatican without success.
Anderson told The Associated Press he believes the new lawsuit has a better chance of succeeding because he's made a more complete effort to document Vatican authority over Catholic clerics and to portray the church as a commercial enterprise.
Because it has the status of a foreign nation, the Vatican is generally exempt from civil lawsuits filed in the United States. Exceptions to the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act include wrongful acts committed against U.S. citizens and commercial activities undertaken by foreign nations.
"The body of evidence and the scope of the complaint is much broader and much more developed than the first time we litigated this," Anderson said.
The new lawsuit seeks monetary damages and asks for court orders requiring the Vatican to turn over names of "credibly accused" priests whose cases been referred to the Holy See, along with records related to those allegations.