US says Pope immune in abuse cover-up lawsuit

THE US Government has told a Texas court that Pope Benedict XVI should be given immunity from a lawsuit accusing him of conspiring to cover up the sexual molestation of three boys by a seminarian.

Assistant US Attorney General Peter Keisler said that, as Pope, Benedict has immunity as the head of a state - the Vatican. He said allowing the lawsuit to proceed would be “incompatible with the United States’ foreign policy interests”.

There was no immediate ruling from Judge Lee Rosenthal of US District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, who has been presiding over the case. However, the Supreme Court has held that US courts are bound by such “suggestion of immunity” motions submitted by the government, Mr Keisler’s filing says.