Here’s some potentially ominous news for the financial health of the Church.

A Kentucky appeals court has ruled that a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Vatican can continue, Associated Press reported yesterday.

In so doing, the court broke with legal precedent that holds that sovereign states such as the Holy See are immune from these kinds of lawsuits.

The decision by the 6th Appeals Court is too complex to summarize properly in this brief Daily Blog item. More details can be obtained from reading the Associated Press article, but it should be noted that the decision dismissed substantial portions of the legal proceedings initiated by Louisville attorney William McMurry, and that the entire lawsuit could be thrown out eventually by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Still, here’s something worth remembering whenever you read about such legal actions: The Kentucky lawsuit, which appears to be based on a misinterpretation of an obscure 1962 Vatican document that dealt with the need to preserve the Church’s requirement for absolute secrecy regarding matters disclosed under the seal of confession, is a class-action suit that seeks “unspecified damages” for the Vatican’s supposed role in covering up the abusive actions of individual Catholic clergy in the United States.

Such abuse is completely indefensible. But that doesn’t mean that trial lawyers, who frequently operate on a contingency basis under which a large share of any damages awarded will end up in their pockets rather than going to actual abuse victims, should be granted permission to declare open season on the finances of the Vatican.

Most media accounts of the legal actions launched against the Church with respect to allegations of clerical sexual abuse ignore the money motive that spurs many trial lawyers to cast their legal nets as wide as possible. In doing so, it is in the interest of these lawyers to try to find sympathetic judges and juries who will award judgments against parties who actually might have nothing to do with the abuse that has been committed.

When trying to assess the legitimacy of such lawsuits, it’s a major mistake to overlook this money motive.

— Tom McFeely