Push to open Vatican files

FIVE Americans who were sexually molested by Catholic priests will sue the Vatican to get the names and details of priests involved in abuse, an attorney for the group said on Monday.

The lawsuit in US federal court, which will be formally announced in the city of St Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday, aims to compel the Vatican to open its archives and “release all the identities of thousands of offenders known exclusively by the Vatican and held in strict secrecy,” lawyer Jeff Anderson said in a statement.

The petition also asks for the offenders’ “files and pertinent histories”.