SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union-Tribune
By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 29, 2005
Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church and for people who say they were abused by priests are using a case in San Diego federal court to do what they can't do in state court.
Church officials are trying to invalidate the 2002 state law that lifted the statute of limitations for bringing decades-old civil claims of sexual abuse.
The lawyers for people who say they are victims are using it to expose sometimes graphic allegations of abuse and what they call cover-ups in a series of recent declarations.
Such arguments can't be made in state court because lawyers on both sides agreed to seek mediation for about 140 lawsuits filed against the church in San Diego after a nationwide scandal prompted the change in the law.
None of the cases filed in San Diego has gone to trial.