By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, March 3, 2005
ALBANY -- The state's Catholic bishops will gather at the Capitol next week to lobby for the kind of social reforms that are at the foundation of their faith.
Fair funding in education, ethical stem cell research, a ban on embryo experimentation and abolition of the death penalty will be among the hot-button issues.
But critics say what's missing from the aggressive 7-point 2005 agenda brought forth by the clergy's public policy arm -- the New York State Catholic Conference -- is anything for clergy sex abuse victims.
They note there are no renewed requests on the conference's agenda for a mandatory reporting bill. Nor for relaxing the statute of limitations for those who were victimized as children by priests.