BishopAccountability.org
	Keep State out of the Church Newsday April 24, 2009 http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpchu2612688175apr24,0,2983558.story The cardinal sin of the Catholic Church in America and especially here on Long Island was its failure to protect the children entrusted to its care. The sexual abuse of boys and girls by the clergy has tested our capacity to forgive. The victims' accounts remain haunting and emotionally wrenching and to them the church's efforts at outreach and compensation, still lacking. New York State's justice system, however, did not fail those who were abused, and it shouldn't be manipulated now in an effort to punish the church. Righting the church's wrongs is not the role of the State Legislature. Under consideration in Albany is an ill-advised bill that would tamper with the deadlines for bringing childhood sexual abuse lawsuits. It would allow a one-year opportunity to file retroactive claims for compensation and punitive damages regardless of when the abuse occurred - in some cases, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. Suspending these time limits would be an extraordinary attempt to upend our legal traditions. Even worse, it would set a dangerous precedent of allowing the emotions of the times to target a specific group or religion. Three previous versions of a bill proposed by Assemb. Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) have passed the Assembly but were never considered by the Republican-dominated Senate. Likely to pass the Assembly again this session, the latest version's fate is uncertain in the now Democratic-controlled Senate. Also unknown is whether Gov. David A. Paterson would sign it. Under current law, victims of childhood sexual abuse have until they turn 23 to seek amends through the justice system. Statutes of limitations set specific deadlines for when criminal charges can be brought or when lawsuits can be filed in civil cases. Rooted in ancient justice systems, such timetables are the procedural framework allowing our legal system to operate fairly and efficiently. They are designed to protect justice, not prevent it. Experience has taught us that memories fade, witnesses die and evidence can't be found. In criminal law, only murder charges are exempt from the limits. Abuse victims first tried to get legal traction for their expired claims in the courts, but in a 2006 decision, the New York State Court of Appeals rejected multiple claims against the Diocese of Brooklyn. Surely, making an abuse claim public against a priest decades ago was not an easy decision. Some victims say they were too frightened even to tell their parents. Others said the trauma barred them from remembering until the scandal involving the Archdiocese of Boston unraveled similar stories nationwide. But the court said the victims knew they had been abused, knew who committed the acts and knew who employed them. It said nothing had stopped the victims or their parents from filing a timely lawsuit if they had chosen to. After the judicial defeat, New York victims shifted their efforts for a "look back" law to the political arena. A one-year window enacted by California in 2003 had resulted in a $660-million settlement by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. This political effort is so alarming because it clearly targets the Catholic Church. Although other religions and private institutions, such as the Boy Scouts, would also be subject to the law, the Markey bill leaves in place the time ban for lawsuits against public institutions. This is a glaring omission. More sexual abuse of minors has been documented as occurring in public schools than as being perpetrated by Catholic clergy. The public schools are exempt, however, because the powerful teachers unions objected to this unfair law. But there is one proposed bill on childhood sexual abuse that has some merit. It allows minors more time after they turn 18 to seek damages. This bill, proposed by Assemb. Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn), would allow future claims - including those against public employees - to be filed until age 25. We support the Lopez bill, but urge that the time for filing be extended further, to age 28, as it is in the Markey bill. A victim interviewed last week in Newsday said his support of the Markey bill isn't about the money, but about having the truth come out. But the truth is already out: The Catholic Church did harbor sexual predators and the cost of its broken bonds of trust with the public is incalculable. Albany lawmakers, whose politically motivated decisions typically suggest neither careful deliberation nor thoughtful action, are entering a dangerous area. They risk permitting a secular legal system to decide what a religious community owes its aggrieved faithful. To do so is to join in the desire for revenge against a very powerful and wealthy institution. But revenge is not justice.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.