CONNECTICUT
Catholic League
Bill Donohue defends the Archdiocese of Hartford:
* Jacob Doe claims he was molested in the early 1980s by a priest, Father Ivan Ferguson, who died in 2002.
* Doe had until 1988 to file a lawsuit, but he never did.
* In 1991, the statute of limitations was amended to 17 years.
* Doe had until 2003 to file a lawsuit, but he never did.
* In 2002 the statute of limitations for civil cases was extended to 30 years; it was made retroactive.
* In 2005, the Archdiocese of Hartford paid $22 million in a settlement with 43 people who claim they were molested by Fr. Ferguson and other priests dating back to the 1960s. Doe was not one of the parties that sued.
* Doe files a lawsuit in 2008 after the statute of limitations was changed in 2002.
* In February 2014, a jury awards Doe $1 million.
There is something wrong with this picture. It is no wonder that lawyers for the archdiocese argue, among other things, that making the statute of limitations retroactive for sexual abuse cases in 1991 and 2002 violates the civil liberties of their defendant.
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