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	Battle with Church Not Likely This Year By Jeri Clausing Denver Post March 17, 2007 http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_5462777 Lawmakers have introduced several bills this year to crack down on sexual predators. Missing, however, are the controversial proposals that sparked last year's ugly showdown with the Catholic Church. "It's pretty sad that we want to toughen up the laws on chaining up big trucks but we don't want to toughen the laws on child abuse," said Matt Cortez, a 46-year-old Denver man who says he was abused by a Pueblo priest when he was a boy. Cortez is among the victims who last year publicly backed bills by Rep. Gwyn Green and Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald that would have made it easier for adults who were molested as children to sue the institutions that harbored their abusers. The Catholic church responded with an intense, expensive and successful lobbying campaign. Green says she has not abandoned the fight. "I'm just trying to figure out what would be the best approach," the Golden Democrat said. "I'm trying to figure out what is best for the children, and what has a reasonable chance of passing." Key, it seems, is Gov. Bill Ritter, who is Catholic. Fitz-Gerald and Green are also Catholic, but stood strong last year against the church's campaign. Green said she met with Ritter about introducing new legislation this year, and that he laid out "parameters" on what he would support. She is unsure now, she said, if her bill will be ready this year. She declined to discuss details of her meeting with Ritter. Ritter's office did not respond Friday to requests for more information on the governor's position. A spokeswoman for the Colorado Catholic Conference said the church remains opposed to any legislation that singles out the church and that it it has made its position clear to "all elected officials." Victims of abuse by priests, meantime, are growing impatient. Cortez, a Denver trucking company dispatcher, said he is gathering letters from victims to send to Ritter requesting an open discussion on the issue. "Last year Fitz-Gerald and Green took a beating on these bills," Cortez said. "Everyone was talking about how they were going to come back this year. Now it seems everyone is running to the hills." Sexual Abuse Prevention Network, a Minnesota victims group, has hired lobbyist Ted Trimpa to make sure that whatever legislation is introduced is strong enough. Fitz-Gerald said she has not met with Ritter on the issue and does not expect to file legislation this session. Sen. Ron Tupa, who co-sponsored Green's bill last year, said he would consider signing on again if Green has a new bill this year. But he conceded the emotional issue was the most difficult of his 12 years in office. "I was physically drained at the end of each debate," he said. Green says she wants to make sure the next round of debate focuses more on the victims. "What was lost in all the brouhaha last year is that a pedophile never stops abusing children," she said. "I'm a social worker and the oldest pedophile I worked with was 95 and he was still active. They need to be unmasked so people know this nice coach, this nice mentor, is abusing kids." Capitol bureau chief Jeri Clausing writes each Sunday. She can be reached at 303-954-1555 or jclausing@denverpost.com.
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