A lot of these cases have ended in settlements, where an archdiocese pays out money to the former victims. These settlements are often huge - hundreds of millions of dollars - and involve thousands of victims.
Each archdiocese, for financial purposes, is independent. So, for example, the San Diego archdiocese is independent financially from the Portland archdiocese. If an archdiocese goes bankrupt due to settlement claims, this doesn't bankrupt the other archdioceses, and the debts don't pass to the Vatican.
My question is, should it be this way? If an archdiocese can't cover its settlement expenses, should sex abuse victims be able to go after the Vatican itself in US courts, to get judgments enforced against Vatican assets worldwide? We do this with countries like Iran - why not the Vatican?
2007-09-30
13:19:19
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12 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
in
Religion & Spirituality