By Joan Bolger

A case centered on the pedophile priest Oliver O’Grady could change the face of the way in which the Catholic Church is held financially accountable in child abuse cases by priests around the world.

The case, which is being taken in San Joaquin, Orange County in California, is the first of its kind to attempt to make a diocese in one country liable for abuse in another.

The plaintiff identified as John Doe, names the seminary where O’Grady was ordained and the Tipperary Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly as a co defendant in the case, as a result of its failure to take action in preventing the disturbed priest from molesting children in California.

The case is being prepared by Los Angeles attorney John Manly and former priest and Benedictine monk Patrick Wall, who is now a senior legal consultant with Manly, McGuire and Stewart, a Los Angeles law firm. It is expected to reach hearing stage in Oakland by next summer.

Wall claims that if their action is successful, financial damages can be pursued against the Irish church under existing international conventions. There is no limit on the damages which San Joaquin's superior court can award.

Both the diocese and the seminary strongly deny the allegation on a number of grounds set out in an affidavit by Archbishop Dermot Clifford. He countered that the archdiocese has never had any direct contact with the plaintiff, nor does it own any property in California, or have any formal employment contact with the U.S. state.

The affidavit also states that the seminary in question is not part of the archdiocese, and so not directly under the control of Cashel and Emly and that O’Grady himself was born in Limerick, again outside the jurisdiction of the diocese.

In a newly released film Deliver Us from Evil, directed by former CNN reporter Amy Berg, O'Grady speaks candidly about his years as a priest and his repeated assaults on children.

He said that his bishop in California -- now the head of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, Cardinal Roger Mahony -- was aware of his activities but continued to assign him to parish work. The film has been shortlisted for Oscar nomination.

O'Grady was ordained at St. Patrick's in Thurles from where he went to the U.S. and embarked on a campaign of child sex abuse. He repeatedly asked for help from U.S. church authorities, but was ignored. During his time as priest he abused 23 young people including a nine-month-old infant.