BishopAccountability.org
	Healing Legislation By Dr. Jaime Romo Healing and Spirituality March 22, 2010 http://www.jaimeromo.com/blog/ UNITED STATES -- I spent last weekend at the International Male Survivor conference. It was counter-intuitive to go somewhere with such a focus on the complexities and impact of sexual abuse on males to find so much wisdom and healing people and positive energy. It was a gathering of survivors of sexual abuse and supporters, including members of the therapeutic community as survivors and supporters. I attended workshops about incest, clergy abuse, multiple personalities, international healing efforts, and the current struggle to help the NY Senate to pass a bill that has been passed three times by the House and rejected by the Senate to change the statute of limitations (SOL). Some people think that SOL means 'simply out of luck.' I prefer to think that the repeal of the SOL in New York would represent a new Statute of Liberty. I'll paraphrase a presentation by Harvard law professor, Larry Lessig, who discussed blame and responsibility for ending sexual abuse. He was the attorney who took up the John Hardwicke case in New Jersey, which overturned a law that gave immunity to charitable organizations (e.g., churches), even when sexual abuse of minors was well documented and rampant at the American Boychoir School. Lessig took Hardwicke's case when it was thrown out of court because the Charitable Immunity Act said that "No nonprofit corporation shall be liable for the negligence of any agent or servant of such." But this was not negligence; it was willful, wanton, criminal action. After two years, the Supreme court of New Jersey affirmed that a school could be liable, which would mean that insurance companies would pick up phone if this happens again. The ruling meant that there were incentives there to protect kids. Looking back at March 24, 1989, we learned about the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The captain was clearly intoxicated. He said no, and that he only 4 vodkas that morning. His blood alcohol level was 6 times the legal limit. But the big legal battle was about 'was he intoxicated or not.' The legal conclusion was that there was 'some doubt.' There was no doubt that he was an alcoholic. In 1985, Exxon sent him for treatment. In 1986 and again in 1988, his license was revoked following a DUI. He couldn't drive a Volkswagen, but he was allowed to drive the Exxon Valdez. But forget about him for a moment; there were others were around him. Didn't they have a part in this disaster by doing nothing? What do we think about those people? We can obsess on criminal, while mistakenly missing those around that person. We mustn't forget the good, decent people, who don't pick up the phone to intervene. We need to build a sense of responsibility by those around person at the center of a crime. There's a similar discussion about obvious cases where politicians didn't act on behalf of the common good. One example is in 2003, when the FDA said that 25% of anyone's daily caloric intake as sugar was healthy, when the sugar industry balked at the World Health Organization's standard of 10%. Lessig's point is that a legislator in the middle is not the only guilty one. What about those around? It is not enough to blame the addict. We need others around the addict to demand from her or him what is right. The Hardwicke case was but one of many shameful conspiracies by those who are allegedly committed to the weak and vulnerable, except when a checkbook is at stake. Instead of the Church standing on Hardwicke's side, it argued for immunity. The leaders who should have known better acted to make things worse, and then denied responsibility. There is a struggle going on now in New York to overturn a law that says that victim of abuse must file a lawsuit within 5 years of coming of age. A child abused as a 10 year old, has until 23 to file a lawsuit. That standard is ridiculous. I didn't understand my abuse until I was in my 40s. Many people don't understand till later. I believe that a lesson we can take from past investigations of social and environmental tragedies is that when it comes to stopping sexual abuse, the only innocent character in the mix is the victim. The rest of us, from the one who did harm, to those who perpetuated the harm, to those of us who don't pick up the phone, are guilty. Do something about New York today. Rally for the civil rights of victims of sexual abuse today. If you can't join with others who will go to Albany today with the NY City Alliance against Sexual Assault, encourage others to be there. Or maybe you can call to ask or demand that the New York State Catholic Conference stand up for, not against, this SOL legislation. You might check http://bit.ly/nyjustice and sign a petition. What matters is that you do something. Survivors understand how important this legislation is. So do the countries of Switzerland and Australia. They don't have a statute of limitations regarding sexual abuse. This is the heart of what I'm saying. Until we stop this abuse, all of us are guilty. Until we stop this abuse, all of us are guilty.
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