PORTLAND, Ore. Attorneys for alleged victims of sex abuse are asking a federal judge to let them question a top-ranking Vatican official about a church doctrine that might permit him to lie under oath.
Archbishop William Levada (leh-VAY'-duh) has agreed to be questioned during a January ninth deposition about his tenure as archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995. The San Francisco prelate is the Vatican's guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy.
Attorneys for the victims want to ask Levada whether he would rely on the so-called doctrine of "mental reservation" when answering questions at the deposition in San Francisco. Although the Catholic church teaches it's a sin to lie, the doctrine allows for circumstances where avoiding the truth might serve a higher purpose.
A Vatican attorney says the archbishop's civil oath should be sufficient to ensure honest answers.
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