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Bill would lift limits on child abuse suits

Katie Kerwin McCrimmon

Published January 14, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Gwyn Green said she is confident her bill will do well this year.

Gwyn Green said she is confident her bill will do well this year.

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Colorado's Catholic Church leaders are planning to again fight a bill that would give victims more time to sue predators who sexually abused them as children.

A measure by state Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, would lift the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits for children who suffer sexual abuse from now on. Any past victims for whom the statute of limitations has expired would have a two-year window - starting in July - to file a civil lawsuit against their alleged abusers or any institution that knowingly allowed the abuse.

Ted Thompson, executive director for the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children, called on Colorado lawmakers to unanimously pass the bill.

"This issue is black and white," Thompson said. "When it comes to the sexual abuse of a child, a statute of limitation only limits the victims. You limit the person who suffered the abuse and give a get-out-of-jail- free card to the guy who did the abuse."

Under Colorado's current statute of limitations, Coloradans who suffer abuse have six years after they turn 18 to sue their abusers. Children's advocates say that is not enough time because many victims blame themselves and often hide their abuse for years before reporting it or considering criminal or civil action against their abuser.

In 2006, Green sponsored a bill that would have allowed victims unlimited time to file future lawsuits against private institutions if those institutions tried to cover up sexual abuse. The Catholic Church felt it was being unfairly singled out.

The bill eventually was amended to include public schools and governments. Those groups then joined in opposing the measure. The sponsors let their bill die rather than see it weakened.

This year's measure, House Bill 1011, never mentions the Catholic Church, but lobbyists for the church plan to fight it and have mounted campaigns against similar bills across the country.

In the Archdiocese of Denver, 44 cases of alleged sexual abuse have surfaced since 2005. The cases involved four priests, two of whom are now dead.

Archdiocesan spokeswoman Jeanette DeMelo said that lawyers for the church have settled 20 of those cases through mediation. Five other past victims approached the church directly and have participated in "healing and assistance'' with the archdiocese. An additional 19 civil suits still are pending against the church.

DeMelo said church officials have put in place extensive training programs and background checks to safeguard children in churches and schools.

"The archdiocese has been very committed to the safety of children,'' she said.

In the past, priests accused of abuse were sometimes transferred from church to church. Now, DeMelo said, church officials have stringent policies about removing suspected abusers.

"No one who has a credible allegation of sexual abuse against them works in the ministry in the archdiocese,'' she said.

Today, DeMelo said, church officials work hard to reach out to potential victims. "We have been proactive in seeking to offer healing assistance and mediation to past victims of sexual abuse.''

The Archdiocese of Denver has faced at least 35 lawsuits based on alleged sexual abuse decades ago by two priests, both of whom have died. Some of the suits were settled through mediation. DeMelo declined to comment on the proposed bill or the status of the other lawsuits.

Green, who is Catholic, said her motivation in supporting the bill was never to target the Catholic Church. Instead, as a mother, grandmother and social worker, she said she cares deeply about children and wanted to protect them from sexual predators and the long-term, costly impacts of abuse.

She was alarmed, she said, when she found that nearly all children who suffer sexual abuse are victims of a person in their family or an acquaintance in a position of trust.

Green's bill would allow lawsuits against private and public institutions only if the leaders of those institutions knew that the sexual predator had committed previous sexual abuse and failed to prevent additional abuse.

"I think it's really ironic that the leaders of a church that profess to follow Jesus would be working against the protection of children." Green said.

"I'm just trying to make abusers financially accountable."

Green said she is confident her bill will do well this year. She already has had GOP lawmakers step forward as co-sponsors.

Thompson said that 85 percent of the sexual abuse of children stems from people who are not clergy members.

mccrimmonk@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2502

Comments

  • January 14, 2008

    8:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    Go for it Gwyn! I wish you luck on getting this bill turned into law.

    Scott

  • January 14, 2008

    12:16 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    vudumom writes:

    If 85% of sexual abuse of children are not clergy members,Then why don't she draft a bill like Jessica's law 25 years to life 1st offense on a child 12 and under?
    Wouldn't make sense to go after 85% than 15%?

  • January 14, 2008

    12:28 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BW writes:

    Too bad the Catholic Church spends its time defending its back instead of advocating for the poor.

  • January 16, 2008

    2:59 p.m.

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    psaracino writes:

    As a grown Catholic man, I never thought I'd live to see the day! The Catholic church in Colorado would rather protect its felonious clergy, guilty of raping and sodomizing God's innocent children, rather than support legislation that would bring such criminals to justice. The Catholic leadership in the state of Colorado should be ashamed of itself. They worry about the "honor" of their cardinals, bishops and priest (and the institution, of course)and care not a smidgen for Him whose honor is really at stake - namely, the Lord whom they profess to serve.
    Jesus must be really proud of the men AND women in the Colorado Catholic church! Again I say, you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
    Pete Saracino
    Survivor of clergy sexual abuse as a young boy.

  • January 16, 2008

    3:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    VATICAN2CATHOLIC writes:

    If the opening statement in this article truly represents the position of the Archdiocese of Denver and its Archbishop Charles Chaput, then both the archdiocese and its bishop are in violation of everything the Roman Catholic Church professes and stands for.

    Moreover, it is technically in SCHISM. This may not bother the institutional church and its leadership very much but it should especially bother the catholics of Colorado.

    In their shortsightedness, the leadership of the institutional church would rather protect rapists, molesters, and other assorted child abusers of all kinds rather than pass legislation aimed at the protection of all Colorado's children. Shame on you, shame on you Bishop Charles Chaput, shame on you bishops of Colorado and shame on you Colorado Catholic Conference.

    I purposefully do not say the People of God, because the institutional church is not the real church, of course, which is the People of God, as we know it. The real Church, the People of God, can and will go on without the hierarchy, the institutional church, and perhaps we should begin to think about doing that.

    At the moment, however, what the people of Colorado SHOULD BE DOING is writing and calling their civil servants and telling them that they need to support Gwyn Green's bill come February.

    All Catholics, all Christians, all Jews, all Muslims, ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL, should be writing their representatives in support of this new CHILD ABUSE LEGISLATION which holds all accountable and discriminates against no group - certainly not the catholic church. It holds public, private, catholic, jewish, protestant organizations, all accountable.

    Write and/or call your legislators. Write and/or call your bishops, local pastors and priests. Call the Colorado Catholic Conference. Call your ministers. Call the Elks. Call the Knights of Columbus. Call the Altar and Rosary Society. Call the Catholic War Veterans. Call the VFW. Call the Lions Organization.

    TELL THEM ALL TO START A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THIS LEGISLATION.

    FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT LET THIS LEGISLATION BE DEFEATED.

  • January 17, 2008

    12:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    aurorajeb writes:

    Once again, Colorado Catholic officials have announced they'll use parishioners' donations to fight child protection legislation ("Bill would lift limits on child abuse suits," Jan. 14, 2008).

    Their opposition raises an interesting question: If the church hierarchy has “reformed” itself, as bishops claim, then why would they fear a measure that simply helps victims expose predators in court? If they've “cleaned house” and ousted all of the pedophile priests, what are church officials afraid of now?

  • February 8, 2008

    3:51 a.m.

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    chaco writes:

    I feel that some of the above posts misrepresent what Colorado's bishops have said about this legislation. Since January of 2006 (official statement can be found here, please check it out for yourself: http://www.cocatholicconference.org/c...) they are in favor of this legislation as long as it includes both public (e.g. schools) and private institutions like the Church. If we are serious about ending child abuse, and we should be, then the legisilation should not discriminate on who should be considered. One piece of legislations should address all organizations. When this legislation was last considered it was the addition of public institutions that eroded support. I'd encourage Representative Green to add that provision.

  • February 12, 2008

    2:24 p.m.

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    tricountystudios writes:

    Again, be clear. All are against protecting the abused, but the law cannot be "separate but equal" when dealing with private vs public institutions. This is the church's concern. This is in black and white. To falsely assume and proclaim the church's intention as anything other than this is false, and promotes biggotry. Do not be a biggot. Catch and condemn all the bad guys, not just the Catholic ones.