US backs Vatican immunity in sex abuse case

According to the Wall Street Journal, (5/25, Jones), the Solicitor General’s office has urged the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the 9th Circuit that would allow an Oregon sex abuse suit against an ex-priest to move forward. The Solicitor General argued that the lower court misapplied the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act when it held the Vatican liable in the suit. The case represents a threat against the Vatican’s historic diplomatic immunity and a potential expansion of liability against the Vatican when its agents commit crimes in the United States.