CALIFORNIA
Chronicle of Philanthropy
Catholic leaders in California are waging a battle to defeat state legislation aimed at giving some alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse additional time to file civil lawsuits against the church, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A church-linked group, the California Council of Nonprofit Organizations, has retained five lobbying firms and spent $75,000 fighting the measure. In a church newspaper last month, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez urged parishioners to contact legislators about the bill, which he said “puts the social services and educational work of the Church at risk.”
California dioceses took no position on a 2002 law that loosened the statute of limitations on molestation claims and have since paid $1.2-billion in settlements. A key provision of the new bill would lift the statute for one year for some accusers who missed previous deadlines.
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