In a story which is yet to reach the mainstream media, but may grow as the case progresses, the Pope and two other people have been named as the Vatican has been served with court papers. The case relates to a allegations of sexual abuse against a priest, now dead, at a Wisconsin school for the deaf.

Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the man making the allegations, said he had been notified the papers were successfully filed through official diplomatic channels.

“Every time we make a step forward, as long as that takes, we are going in the right direction,” Anderson said. “And the direction we’re headed is a measure of accountability. We really believe that we need to put some heat on the Vatican to bring some light.”

The Vatican’s U.S.-based attorney, Jeffrey Lena, said Tuesday that he still has to evaluate the papers to determine whether they meet the requirements imposed by U.S. law.

“It’s premature to comment what will happen next in the case,” he said.

The lawsuit was filed nearly a year ago in federal court on behalf of Terry Kohut, now of Chicago. It claims Pope Benedict XVI and two other top Vatican officials knew about allegations of sexual abuse at St. John’s School for the Deaf outside Milwaukee and called off internal punishment of the accused priest, the Rev. Lawrence Murphy.

Full article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5icsvx0mcrbR3n3_u9KDl33BZ_iBw?docId=6546589