Attorney wants pope to testify on clergy sex abuse

“The pope has certain knowledge relevant to this case”

Pope Benedict XVI should be questioned soon about clergy sex abuse in the Catholic church because he is the most knowledgeable person on the topic and his advanced age makes future testimony unlikely, an attorney said Monday.

Many similar lawsuits have named the pope, the Vatican and other high-ranking church officials as defendants but have failed.

This request comes as part of a lawsuit by three men claiming top church officials should have warned about sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville. A federal judge last year let those claims stand while dismissing other aspects of the lawsuit. It's now pending before the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Read more