Vatican City, Aug 10, 2010 / 09:03 am
Following the decision of a group of plaintiffs in Kentucky to drop a lawsuit against the Holy See, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi praised the move, saying it was “good news” that the allegations were ultimately proven “unfounded.”
On Tuesday, plaintiffs in the case of O'Bryan vs. the Holy See abandoned their lawsuit against the Vatican. Attorney William McMurry attempted to gain class-action status for the case involving three men who claim they were abused by priests decades ago. He also represented 243 sex abuse victims who settled with the Archdiocese of Louisville in 2003 for $25.3 million.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs attempted to implicate Vatican officials – and potentially even the Pope – in allegedly ignoring or covering up the mishandling of clergy sex-abuse cases by American bishops.
Lauding the abandonment of the lawsuit on Aug. 10, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi told reporters “it is good news that a case that has lasted six years on the alleged involvement of the Holy See in concealing abuse and which has also had strong negative effects on public opinion, has ultimately been proven … unfounded.”