From Addicting Info: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/21/catholic-church-defends-pedophile-priests-crusades-against-new-sex-abuse-victims-protections/
Stephen D. Foster Jr.
July 21, 2013
If you were hoping for the day when the Catholic Church would stop standing with pedophile priests and begin standing with their victims, you’ll have to wait. California lawmakers have been working tirelessly on a bill that would strengthen protections for the victims of pedophile priests by lifting the statute of limitations on reporting sexual abuse for a group of people who may have missed the previous deadline.
According to the Huffington Post,
Senate Bill 131 would permit many victims who would otherwise be unable to file a civil suit due to time and age restrictions… to sue their abuser’s employer in civil court.
The proposed law would lift the statute of limitations for one year for the group of alleged victims who were 26 and older and missed the previous deadline.
It all goes back to 2011, when the California Supreme Court ruled against five brothers who attempted to a bring a suit against the Catholic Church decades after a priest sexually abused them. The brothers repressed the painfully memories all that time until they were finally able to remember and pinpoint the abuse as the root of their constant distress. However, the court ruled that they would be unable to bring their lawsuit, even though the priest had admitted to abusing at least two of the brothers before dying in 2010, because the statute of limitations had run out.
It may be too late for the brothers to get justice for themselves, but it won’t be too late for other victims if the state government of California has anything to say about it. The ruling of the court inspired lawmakers to introduce a bill designed to lift the limitations for a year so that newly discovered victims can come forward and sue the Catholic Church, as happened in 2003.
Continue reading at: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/21/catholic-church-defends-pedophile-priests-crusades-against-new-sex-abuse-victims-protections/
