SUIT AGAINST THE VATICAN

[Vance R. Koven]

At 05:31 PM 4/4/02 -0600, David E. Guinn wrote:
>What I find very interesting is the suggestion that the suit against the
>Vatican will be defended on the grounds of sovereign immunity.  While I
>think I understand that rationale, does this mean that the Catholic Church
>in America ought to be treated as the agent of a foreign government?

More like a wholly-owned subsidiary, I should think. Catholic bishops in
the US have the status of "corporation sole," a common-law construct that
insulates their liability from one another. Would the Bishop of Rome get
the same exemption from agency or respondeat superior?

Sovereign immunity might well be a show-stopper, but the Vatican has other
strings on its bow: personal jurisdiction for one, "act of state" for
another (or does somebody want to argue that the Hickenlooper Amendment
governs?).


Vance R. Koven
Boston, Massachusetts USA
vrkoven at world.std.com