Dropping of Sex Abuse Lawsuit in Kentucky Again Vatican Viewed as Major Legal Victory

John Allen has a good piece on this here. Though the case was dropped I do the Plantiff's lawyers are correct that legally it would be hard to hold the Vatican legally liable even under the theory of the Bishop/Pope relationship.

Update let me contest the importance of something the very good reporter John Allens says

Ironically, the O’Bryan case could actually turn out to be more memorable for Catholic theology than for American civil law.
As part of the proceedings, Lena filed two lengthy memoranda from canonist Edward Peters of Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, forcefully defending the autonomy of the local bishop. To assert that bishops are no more than Vatican employees, Peters wrote, is “contrary to basic principles underlying the structure of the church.”
Since these memos were filed on behalf of the Holy See, they arguably carry a semi-official status as expressions of Vatican policy. The nature of the relationship between the papacy and the bishops has long been a hotly debated point, which suggests that these documents may be pondered in theological circles long after attorneys have forgotten about the abandoned lawsuit which prompted them.

I am not sure how groundbreaking this is since the Catholic Catechism basically says the same thing.

Of course as to sexual abuse the Vatican will be more involved and I suppose held more responsible in the future.