BishopAccountability.org
	Helping Abusers By David Clohessy Sun-Sentinel [Florida] April 26, 2007 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pbmail839apr26,0,4011854.story?coll=sfla-news-letters Catholic officials have succeeded again in doing what they've done so well for so long in so many places — blocking badly needed reforms in archaic, predator-friendly child sex abuse laws. Thanks to columnist Howard Goodman for pointing this sad fact out ("Statutes of limitations apply too soon for some victims," Sunday). Bishops have spent millions in recent years on public relations. They've worked hard to convince the public and parishioners that they've changed decades-old successful patterns of covering up horrific child sex crimes. But there's still a huge gap between what church authorities say in public and do in private. Behind closed doors, in Tallahassee and state capitols across the United States, well-paid lobbyists for the church keep battling law enforcement, victims and child advocates, trying to keep pedophile priests and complicit bishops out of court. And as Goodman's column shows, many lawmakers are siding with guilty adults instead of with innocent kids.
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