Vatican complains after French court rules in favor of nun dismissed from religious order

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — The Holy See has formally protested to France after a court there ruled that a former high-ranking Vatican official was liable for what the court determined to be the wrongful dismissal of a nun from a religious order. In a statement Saturday, the Vatican said it had received no notification of any such verdict. But it said the ruling nevertheless represented a “grave violation” of the right to religious freedom. According to French media, the Lorient tribunal on April 3 ruled in favor of the nun, who was forced to leave her religious order after a Vatican investigation.