It seems unbelievable, and yet the Vatican is grappling with a lawsuit brought against it by a nun, Mother Marie Ferréol, who is seeking maxi compensation, including rehiring, after being "fired" from the monastery at which she was staying. The dispute began when Mother Marie Ferréol decided to go to court after being dismissed from a monastery in Brittany after 34 years of service. However, the matter, a religious matter, was dealt with as a common dismissal, involving civil bodies, and that is how the now hotly debated case broke out. Mother Marie Ferréol declared herself fired without just cause and moved against the Vatican as if it were nothing more than a business. The singularity of this choice naturally aroused ill feelings in the Holy See, so much so that a very clear note was delivered to the French embassy, which spoke of "the risk of a serious violation of the fundamental rights to religious freedom and freedom of association of the Catholic faithful”.
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