London, April 23: An alleged sex abuse victim of a pedophile priest, who is accused of molesting 200 deaf boys at a Wisconsin school in the United States, has sued the Pope and the Vatican.
Identified in the lawsuit as “John Doe 16” of Illinois, he wrote a March 5, 1995, letter to then-Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano alleging that Rev. Lawrence Murphy molested him for years.
Previously, it was believed that the Vatican first learned of the allegations against Murphy in a July 1996 letter from Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland.
Murphy, who died in 1998, is accused of sexually abusing some 200 boys at the school in the state of Wisconsin from 1950 to 1974.
His case drew renewed scrutiny after the recent release of documents suggesting that a Vatican office led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now the Pope — failed to aggressively discipline Murphy.
The victim says he and his lawyer will attempt to open the Catholic Church’s secret files containing internal investigations into clergy sex abuse. The Vatican is already under pressure from a slew of scandals spreading across the globe.
The Pope says the church is taking action against pedophile priests.
——–Agencies