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Of Mercy and Justice in Cardinal Dolan’s Compensation Plan for Church Sex Abuse Victims

New York Daily News
October 6, 2016

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/mercy-justice-cardinal-dolan-compensation-plan-ch-article-1.2820641

No doubt, Timothy Cardinal Dolan would reject the idea that he showed remarkable moral courage in offering compensation to child sex abuse victims who have long been shut out of the courts.

For a priest such as he, love for those who suffer far precedes bravery, always, but with greater conscious dedication in this, Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy.

Regardless, in a temporal realm where cynicism often reads self-interest into generosity, Dolan offered an inspiring example of fortitude as he set a milestone in the search for justice long denied.

Dolan’s pledge that the Archdiocese of New York will pay fair awards to childhood victims whose claims are barred by New York’s cramped statute of limitations implicitly challenges others to follow suit — both in the church and in society at large.

Most important, the cardinal’s acceptance of the obligation to make reparations must lead members of the Legislature to both extend the statute of limitations for future offenses and open the courts to all past victims.

Dolan has a way forward for church abuse victims. (MARCUS SANTOS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Contrary to the widely held impression, priestly sex abuse represents a small fraction of the assaults that take place across all institutions of American society.

Predators find their prey in schools, public and private, at camps, on athletic teams, in foster homes and in numerous other settings. Many are serial offenders.

All rely on young victims to keep silent out of fear and shame. Overwhelmingly, the abusers succeed. Typically, victims carry painful, scarring secrets into maturity, often well in to adulthood.

New York’s statute of limitations requires victims to file suit by the age of 23. Few have the knowledge or resources to mount a court fight at that age, and few have come to grips with their victimization so young in life.

Protestors hold signs outside the Middlesex Superior Courthouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS )

The Daily News this year campaigned to reform the law. At that time, advocates called for eliminating any time limit for filing suit and for a so-called look-back provision that would enable victims of long-ago abuse to go to court as well.

The Catholic Conference supported permitting victims to sue until the age of 28, but staunchly opposed the look-back as opening churches and other institutions to an unlimited number of unverifiable claims from the distant past.

The drive to amend the law died in the Republican-controlled Senate, largely because of opposition by a variety of religious institutions, led by the state’s Catholic hierarchy.

Now, though, Dolan has established a compensation program that bypasses the courts and has no statute of limitations.

Abuse victim Angel Santiago (l.) and his wife Vanaessa listen during a news conference where thousands of documents on victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy from the Chicago Archdiocese were released in Chicago. (JIM YOUNG/REUTERS)

The plan will be run by highly regarded arbitrator Ken Feinberg, who administered the initial 9/11 compensation fund. He plans to follow the same system in determining payments, wielding a blank check that Dolan has issued to him.

After a victim presents a claim, Feinberg will judge its credibility. If he finds merit, he will set an award in line with court settlements for sex abuse cases around the country.

The claimant then can accept or reject. In return for accepting Feinberg’s offer, the claimant gives up the right to later sue the archdiocese.

A three-member panel, including former Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, will oversee Feinberg’s independence.

Some advocates who have long sought justice for child victims criticize Dolan’s plan.

Our views are sharply different — even though we agree on the need to radically overhaul the law and will continue to lead the fight for change.

The archdiocese has case files on roughly 170 complaints against priests dating back years, if not decades. Dolan has given those victims the option of seeking, and surely getting, awards swiftly and without paying high legal fees — because the evidence of guilt is overwhelming.

The claimants — or their survivors — would have no duty to accept Feinberg’s offer. If they choose not to, they can continue to hope that one day the Legislature will act in their favor.

The compensation program, which bypasses the courts and has no statute of limitations, will be run by highly regarded arbitrator Ken Feinberg. (CHARLES DHARAPAK/AP)

Additional victims can also file with Feinberg, who will start a fresh effort to validate their claims. Each one will be reported to a DA.

Both wise and just, Dolan’s program offers the promise of paying fair compensation to those who have no other way to get it.

Additionally, the cardinal sets a precedent that puts the onus on other dioceses to be similarly generous while showing the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo that justice can well be served in cases centered on events of long ago.

 

 

 

 

 




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