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	Church Fights Effort to Extend Limits on Child Abuse Charges By Zach Lowe The Advocate April 5, 2007 http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-abuse6 apr05,0,1286626.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines Hartford - The Roman Catholic Church is fighting a proposal that would give alleged victims of sexual abuse 10 more years to come forward to prosecute or sue offenders. The bill would increase the statute of limitations for child sex crimes to 40 years after a victim turns 18, up from 30 years under current law. Officials from the Diocese of Bridgeport told the Judiciary Committee yesterday that the bill would cost them millions and bring claims that would be too old to counter. "This will be about dead priests who cannot defend themselves," said Nancy Matthews, chancellor for the diocese. Supporters said the bill is crucial for victims who may have repressed memories or kept their stories secret for decades. Several states have removed statutes of limitations, giving sex abuse victims a lifetime to come forward, said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the committee. "This is not a unique proposal," Lawlor said. Beth McCabe, a Canton resident and co-leader of the state chapter of the Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests, testified she kept her abuse hidden for 25 years. "Some victims . . . live in silence about the abuse, thinking they are the only ones who were abused or thinking that no one will believe them," McCabe wrote in testimony submitted to the committee. Extending the statute of limitations would be a way of "providing justice to the victims" and helping them "publicly expose the predators who hurt them," McCabe wrote. Matthews said some victims have come forward after turning 48, just missing the chance to file lawsuits under the 30-year statute of limitations enacted in 2002. In cases so old, witnesses who could defend the church may have died or lost their memories of the alleged incidents, she said. "Sometimes you are forced to settle claims when you have no idea of their validity," said Richard Colbert, an attorney with the Stamford firm Day Pitney LLP who represented the Connecticut Catholic Conference yesterday. Paying further claims would cut into the church's funds for charity and other projects, Matthews said. The church has compensated victims with money from insurance proceeds and profits from sales of undeveloped land, Matthews said. "This statute will fast deplete any remaining available assets," she told the committee. McCabe's testimony quoted a victim who once asked, "Shouldn't it be expensive if you knowingly allow hundreds of innocent children to be repeatedly sodomized and raped?" Matthews said the diocese already provides counseling and financial assistance to abuse victims. That may not work for some victims, said state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the committee. Some victims of abuse by priests "aren't very interested in a helping hand from the Catholic church," McDonald said. The bill, which also proposes minor changes to the state's sex offender registry, is scheduled for further debate this month.
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