Holocaust Suit Against Vatican Bank Reinstated

A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Monday reinstated a lawsuit filed by Holocaust survivors who allege that the Vatican Bank laundered assets that had been stolen by the pro-Nazi Croatian regime during World War II.

A 2-1 decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a federal trial court in San Francisco for further proceedings. The court ruled that the plaintiffs could pursue claims for restitution and unjust enrichment, but held that other claims, including allegations that the Vatican benefited from slave labor, were barred because they involved “political questions� that are outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.

The Vatican Bank has previously denied the allegations.