LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY wolfsinger2k)

From this article, The Vatican is a sovereign nation?"

A U.S. lawyer said Wednesday he will press ahead with a lawsuit alleging Pope Benedict XIV conspired to cover up the abuse of three boys by a seminary student in Texas, despite the pontiff's request for diplomatic immunity.

The Vatican's embassy in Washington filed a request in May for the U.S. government to declare immunity for Pope Benedict as a head of state, according to documents provided by Shea.


Ok, did I miss something here? I thought the Catholic church was a church. When did they gain sovereign nation status allowing them to be entitled to an embassy??? Is the Vatican truly a sovereign nation, even in Italy? Would this translate to every Catholic church becoming an embassy if the Vatican is a "nation"? Oh, this could get very ugly.