Attorney Seeks to Question Pope about Molestation

The request comes in a suit brought by three men alleging the Vatican orchestrated a coverup of priests sexually abusing children in the United States since 1962.

McMurry is seeking class-action status, saying there are thousands of victims nationally. The case is being considered by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Before he was pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith and oversaw reports of sexual abuse by priests. That office, along with its predecessor, the Congregation of the Holy Office, were directly involved with the investigation of sexual abuse by clerics.

McMurry said that would give Pope Benedict XVI an unparalleled knowledge of the scope of sex abuse complaints. "A witness is either important and crucial to this case or not," McMurry said. "The pope has certain knowledge relevant to this case."

Jeffrey Lena, the Berkeley, Calif.-based attorney for the Vatican, had little to say about the motion. "It's novel," Lena said. "It's not appropriate."

The case is likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Pope Benedict XVI may not live long enough to testify if the case is returned for trial, McMurry said. U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II ruled in January 2007 that the men may pursue their claim that top church officials should have warned the public or local authorities of known or suspected sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville. Heyburn dismissed a large chunk of the lawsuit.

Along with the accusations against the Vatican, the suit challenges the constitutionality of the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act, which generally gives immunity to foreign countries from most lawsuits. McMurry said the law violates the plaintiff's rights to a trial on the merits of the case. McMurry also claims that the law doesn't apply to the Holy See because of its dual role as a religious institution and country.