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	Catholic Church Says Retroactive Law Is Unfair By Carol Demare Albany Times Union March 2, 2006 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=456331&category=REGION&newsdate=3/2/2006 Dennis Poust of the New York State Catholic Conference took issue with comments last week in LawBeat by Mark Furnish of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. The state Court of Appeals held that the statute of limitations could be used as a defense by Roman Catholic dioceses against attempts by victims of clergy sexual abuse to bring civil claims long after the abuse occurred. The cases before the high court were from Utica and Brooklyn, but the ruling applied statewide and Furnish said it "effectively closed the courthouse doors" on victims and the only hope was for state lawmakers to provide relief by removing limitations statues. As co-founder of the regional chapter of SNAP and a member of its national board, Furnish is lobbying the Legislature for legislation similar to bills passed in California and Connecticut. He said the church argues against removing the statute of limitations because the courts would be inundated with frivolous lawsuits and dioceses would be unable to defend themselves. But that didn't happen in California and Connecticut, Furnish said. Poust disagrees. The Catholic Conference spokesman took umbrage with Furnish's remarks on the church's position. When California passed a law in 2003 suspending the statute of limitations for one year, "there were more than 800 claims filed, and several dioceses in that state may face bankruptcy in the future as a result of paying claims on cases that are as much as 70 years old," Poust said. Estimates suggest the total could hit a billion dollars if the claims are successful, he said. The Catholic Conference lobbies on behalf of the states' bishops. "We certainly strongly oppose the sort of legislation that targets the Catholic church ... specifically the retroactive portion where they open a window for decades-old claims to be brought," Poust said. California bishops unsuccessfully challenged the ruling, which that state's top court upheld. It applies only to civil claims brought against the church. The U.S. Constitution prohibits suspending the statute of limitations in criminal cases, Poust said. "California has been the big test case," he said, and bills modeled after California's are pending in Colorado, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In the last few weeks in Albany, the Assembly passed a similar bill sponsored by Queens Democrat Margaret Markey, Poust said. He knows of no companion bill in the state Senate sponsored by the Republican majority. It's the retroactive aspect of such laws that the church opposes, he said. "We have no position on changes going forward on either civil or criminal statutes," such as extending the statues. Currently, adults abused as children have three years after turning 18 to bring a claim, he said. Connecticut changed its law a couple of years ago to allow claims to be brought up to 30 years. "We think it's important to note that these bills ... only affect private institutions like the Catholic Church," and don't apply to molestation cases that may have occurred in public schools, Poust said. "We think there's a fundamental fairness issue at stake here." Local lawmaker elected Robert Farley, 43, of Glenville, a Schenectady County legislator and senior lawyer for the state Senate, has been elected vice chairman of the New York chapter of the National Republican Lawyers Association. The organization provides legal support to further GOP causes. Farley said he was honored to be recognized by his colleagues. Seminar State Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi is the featured speaker at the Albany County Bar Association's Summary Jury Trial seminar this coming Wednesday, March 8, at Jack's Oyster House in Albany. The course provides one hour of continuing legal education credit and begins at 12:15 p.m. For more information or to register, call 445-7691. Carol DeMare can be reached at 454-5431 or by e-mail at cdemare@timesunion.com. Contributing were Mike Goodwin and Michele Morgan Bolton.
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