NEW YORK
New York Post
By Kirstan Conley and Carl Campanile
Assembly Democrats, under pressure from the Catholic Church to pass a tax break to help parochial schools, on Monday revived a bill that would allow lawsuits involving decades-old claims of sexual abuse by priests.
“This is a retaliatory strike against the church,” Dennis Poust, spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference, told The Post.
“We haven’t heard a whisper about this bill in six years .
“If this bill becomes law, it will have catastrophic consequences for the church — and they know it,” Poust added.
The legislation, sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Queens), would wipe out a law giving accusers up to five years to file suit once they reach 18. But after that period, lawsuits are barred.
The new law would allow anyone to sue going back decades for one year after the measure is enacted.
The Democratic-controlled Assembly hasn’t seriously debated the sex- abuse issue since 2008, Poust said. But the dormant proposal was amended on Sunday and put before the Assembly Codes Committee on Monday, when the Legislature was considering a flurry of bills before breaking for summer recess.
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