Lawsuit accuses Vatican Bank of role in World War II crimes

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Lawsuit accuses Vatican Bank of role in World War II crimes

BY RON GROSSMAN

Chicago Tribune


CHICAGO - (KRT) - Like any new pope, Benedict XVI inherits some problems from his predecessor, among them sexual abuse scandals and a Catholic Church deeply divided between progressives and traditionalists.

Then there are William Dorich's accusations.

Dorich, a Los Angeles book publisher, is the force behind a class-action lawsuit against the Vatican Bank and the Franciscan Order.

Filed in a federal court in California, the suit alleges that immediately after World War II, the bank - the financial arm of the Roman Catholic Church - helped fleeing members of a brutal, pro-Nazi regime in Croatia hide and launder millions of dollars worth of loot, including gold and jewelry taken from concentration camp prisoners.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/nation/12084513.htm

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1. Ironic, given that the Rome murder trial of 'God's Banker' Roberto

Calvi, resumes in October.....

[SpiralHawk]

2. Grandpappy Bush and the Vatican: Bankers to the Nazis

The cobwebs in the Skull & Boner crypt are thick and stringy...

[NAO]

3. Anyone know how RCC is structured to avoid attachment of Vatican assets?

If a local Walmart is sued for 300 million dollars, and the plaintiffs prevail, the judgment will be paid from Walmart Corporate coffers. It would be immoral and illegal for that one Walmart store to declare bankruptcy and then divide it's assets among the plaintiffs.

But that is exactly what is happening with the victims of Roman Catholic Pedophile priests. One Diocese declares bankruptcy, and the plaintiffs get shorted payment on their judgments, while the unimaginable wealth of the Vatican is not touched.

How do they get away with this? Shouldn't the plaintiffs be able to attach the Vatican assets and force them to pay the judgments in full? Shouldn't harmed parties be able to obtain judgments against the Vatican, and enforce payment from it's coffers, liquidating it's "treasures" if necessary to compensate victims?

If the Vatican were ever to be held civilly and criminally responsible for the actions of RCC officers (Inquisitors, Priests, Bishops, and Popes) that have been illegal and caused extreme suffering and damage, up to and including death, I don't think they could pay amends even if they were entirely liquidated and the treasures of the Vatican basement sold them on ebay with the proceeds going to the victims.

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4. Vatican Bank lost over $400million when Banco Ambrosiano collapsed

and 'God's Banker' Roberto Calvi was murdered - July 1982.

Most recent large portfolio loss occured in September 2001 when the Vatica lost a reputed $1.2billion following the collapse of Enron. A further $150million was alleged to have been lost in portfolio investments when WorldCom wnet down the pan.

Some UK press reports in 2002 said that senior members of Saudi Arabia's ruling Al-Saud family coughed up and wrote off these portfolio losses.