NewYork Post reports that victims of sexual abuse at the hands of New York Clergy have filed a lawsuit against the pope in which they have claimed that despite the pope as well as Vatican being aware that a significant number of priests were involved in molestation of children, they did not act against the erring priests and instead chose to be mute spectators.
Seven survivors have filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday and accused “the Holy See” of negligence by asking bishops to cover up instances of sexual abuse from around the world.
The NewYork Post quotes the lawsuit as charging – “The Holy See has known for centuries that Catholic priests were using their positions and roles in Catholic parishes and schools to sexually molest children.”
Church sex attorney Jeff Herman, who is representing the complainants, said that he has been preparing the lawsuit since the last one year, opined that the settlement could cost the Vatican billions; much like what Purdue Pharma had to pay for the opioid crisis.
Herman has further stated that since the pope, through the Holy See (governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church), had specifically instructed bishops to keep sexual abuse faced by children a secret, families of the children remained unaware and thereby exposed the kids to paedophiles.
It must be noted that Pope Francis recently abolished Vatican secrecy rules after growing pressure on the Catholic Church – this now allows legal authorities to acquire details of sexual abuse cases which were previously kept highly confidential. Herman said the timing of the Pope’s decision was “divine” and made it “crystal clear” that the shield of silence came from the top down.
Herman also informed that it is amply clear that the Holy See was involved in the cover up which allowed rampant child sex abuse of thousands of children in New York. The lawsuit has been filed under Child Victims Act that allows victims to revive old claims.
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