Mario"s lawyer, Carla Corsetti, told us the time limit has hindered countless sex abuse cases due to the years it can take for survivors to mentally process the crime. But, she adds, the problem runs deeper - to Italy"s constitution and the 1929 Lateran Pact signed by the then-ruling dictator Benito Mussolini, which gave the Vatican legal autonomy from Italy. This gives the clergy recourse to Vatican law over that of Italy, in effect potentially shielding them from Italian justice.