NEW YORK
Catholic League
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how the New York State Legislature is handling charges of sexual harassment against Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez:
Assemblyman Lopez says he is innocent of physically abusing female aides. I have no way of telling. He is also charged with giving hush money. The real issue for the Catholic League is the incredible duplicity at work: we have one rule for priests accused of sexual abuse, and another for lawmakers.
The New York Archdiocese, following the rules established by the bishops’ conference, makes it clear that it must “cooperate with public authorities about reporting cases [of sexual abuse] even when the person is no longer a minor.” That’s what “zero tolerance” means.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says, “The Assembly has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment.” Really? Then why weren’t the cops called? Why did he not initially insist, as he was supposed to do, that the case be given to the Assembly Ethics Commission? Instead, he apologizes for not doing so, while still insisting that what he did was “both legally correct and ethical.”
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