Brazilian Court Awards Damages Against Priest Who Prevented An Abortion

Life Site News reported yesterday that Brazil's appellate court, the Superior Tribunal de Justiça, has ruled in favor of a couple that brought suit against an activist Catholic priest who in 2005 convinced a court to halt an abortion sought by the couple.  The parents had sought a court order to permit the abortion when it became clear that the fetus suffered a severe deformity. Fr. Luiz Carlos Lodi da Cruz, at the time a law student, intervened and successfully sought habeas corpus on behalf of the fetus. Ultimately the child died eight days after birth. The appellate court, in awarding the parents damages equivalent to $18,537 (US), held that the priest had recklessly abused the legal process, causing useless suffering and intense moral damage to the parents.