ST. PAUL, Minn. — Three brothers who were sexually abused by a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Vatican, claiming the Holy See bears responsibility because the case was mishandled by former Archbishop John Nienstedt and the Vatican’s former ambassador to the United States.

The lawsuit attempts to trace a direct line from clergy sex abuse victims to the Vatican, through Minnesota church officials.

Luke, Stephen and Ben Hoffman were abused by former priest Curtis Wehmeyer, roughly between 2009 and 2012. “I have too many nieces and nephews to let something like this happen to anybody else,” Stephen Hoffman said.

Nienstedt and the former ambassador, Carlo Maria Vigano, have previously denied the allegations raised in the lawsuit. The Vatican’s U.S. lawyer, Jeffrey Lena, had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include two other men who say they were molested by Catholic priests. Those two men sued the Vatican separately within the last year, but attorney Jeff Anderson withdrew their cases in anticipation of Tuesday’s lawsuit. Anderson had also sued the Vatican on two prior occasions without success. Anderson said he believes the new lawsuit is stronger because he’s made a more complete effort to document Vatican authority over Catholic clerics and to portray the church as a commercial enterprise.

Because it has the status of a foreign nation, the Vatican is generally exempt from lawsuits in the United States. Exceptions to the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act include wrongful acts committed against U.S. citizens and commercial activities undertaken by foreign nations. The new lawsuit seeks monetary damages, but the plaintiffs said truth is the goal. The lawsuit asks for court orders requiring the Vatican to turn over names of “credibly accused” priests, along with related records.

By Associated Press