Vatican Entitled To Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Protection

A federal court in Kentucky on Thursday dealt a setback to victims of sexual abuse who are attempting to bring a class action against the Vatican claiming that it covered up sexual abuse by priests. The Associated Press yesterday reported on the details of Judge John G. Heyburn II's opinion. The court ruled that the Holy See is a foreign state and can be sued only under the strict requirements of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). That Act permits suits against foreign governments in limited circumstances. The lawsuit argues that the Holy See engaged in both commercial and harmful activity in the United States, both of which are grounds permitting a suit to be brought under the FSIA. In this case, however, the court ruled that initially the plaintiffs failed to strictly follow the service of process requirements of the FSIA. Instead of serving the Vatican Foreign Minister, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, plaintiffs served his boss, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The court gave plaintiffs 60 more days to effect proper service of process.