COLORADO
The Pueblo Chieftain
By MARVIN READ
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
The state's three Roman Catholic bishops have jointly criticized proposed legislation that would lift the statute of limitation for child sexual-abuse lawsuits.
Pueblo's Bishop Arthur Tafoya joined Denver's Archbishop Charles Chaput and Colorado Springs' Bishop Michael Sheridan for the statement, issued Monday.
Proposals by state Reps. Rosemary Marshall, D-Denver, and Gwyn Green, D-Denver, along with state Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Golden, and state Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, "would eliminate or modify statutes of limitation so that a childhood sexual abuse victim could wait 30 years, 40 years, or even longer before filing a suit for damages against Catholic institutions and other private entities in Colorado," the bishops said.
But, the bishops complained, the proposed legislation would not affect public entities such as public schools and there appears to be unequal applications of justice - "a soft version when the sexual offender works for a public entity, and another, much harder version, when the offender works for a Catholic or private institution."