Catholic cardinal says any new NY law for abuse victims should avoid ‘breaking’ the church

With the New York state Legislature expected to take up a bill that could enable more victims of sex abuse by priests to sue, Cardinal Timothy Dolan is calling for a measure that avoids “breaking” the Roman Catholic Church.

Dolan, who as archbishop of New York leads more than 2 million Catholics, says he is in favor of a proposed “Child Victims Act” but that such a bill should focus on helping victims.

“The emphasis must be on helping them heal, not breaking government, educational, health, welfare, or religious organizations and institutions,” Dolan wrote in a op-ed Tuesday in The Daily News.

To achieve this, the cardinal said the bill should be modeled on an independent program run by the archdiocese of New York and four other dioceses in the state that has already paid over $200 million in compensation to more than 1,000 people.

“The compensation program, which we inaugurated in 2016, works well,” he wrote.

Not only does it ensure “fair and reasonable compensation,” he wrote, it prevents the “real possibility — as has happened elsewhere — of bankrupting both public and private organizations, including churches.”

Dolan’s words came as the church is faced with the likelihood that the state Senate, now in Democratic hands, could join with the state Assembly and governor to pass a Child Victims Act that would do away with statutes of limitations that have prevented some alleged abuse victims from suing the church.

Right now, alleged survivors of abuse cannot file a claim if they are over 23 under New York’s existing statute of limitations, which is among the most restrictive in the country. Read more

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Catholic cardinal says any new NY law for abuse victims should avoid ‘breaking’ the church

Catholic cardinal says any new NY law for abuse victims should avoid ‘breaking’ the church