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Artist News Legal
Vatican may now decide whether or not Katy Perry can buy a former convent
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 2 June 2016
If you thought that whole legal battle Katy Perry was having with some nuns was over, think again. With no resolution on the matter of who actually has the right to sell a former convent to the musician, everything’s now been put on hold to see if the Vatican has anything to say about it.
As previously reported, Perry bought a hilltop property overlooking Hollywood from the Los Angeles Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church last year. However, the Sisters Of The Immaculate Heart Of Mary, who previously occupied the house, reckoned they’d already sold it to local restaurateur Dana Hollister. Moreover, the nuns said that selling the property to the popstar would be a violation of their vows to God, and sought earthly judgement on the matter.
In April, things started looking up for Perry, after an LA County Superior Court Judge “extinguished” the nun’s deed to sell the former convent to Hollister for $15.5 million, paving the way for Perry’s $14.5 million cash offer to go through.
But the nuns’ legal team has now submitted two letters as evidence, which show that the Vatican plans to step in to decide who has the right to sell the property. In the first, sent to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez and dated 22 Mar, Catholic church official Jose Rodriguez Carballo writes that the church’s HQ has “responded to [the nuns] informing them that we were seeking further information from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in order to conduct a comprehensive, objective study of the case”, according to Courthouse News.
In a second letter the following week, another official reiterated this, saying that they were waiting for information from both sides in order to make a decision. “There is no question that the matter is [now] pending in front of the Vatican”, lawyer John Scholnick argued. Judge Stephanie Bowick seemingly agreed that it appeared that was indeed the case, staying her ruling on the matter.
The case, amazingly, continues.
