UNITED STATES
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Jul 19, 2016 by Rob Boston in Wall of Separation
A few days ago, I receive the July-August issue of Catalyst, the newsletter of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
If you’re not familiar with the Catholic League, it’s a right-wing outfit that exists mainly to scream loudly anytime anyone anywhere dares to criticize the clerical leaders in the Catholic Church or the political goals of the bishops. The group, based in New York City, is run by William Donohue, a man who, when it comes to the issue of sexual abuse of minors by priests, is either deliberately provocative or remarkably tone deaf.
That’s a heavy charge, but I can back it up with a headline from the newsletter: “BIG LOSS FOR VICTIMS’ LOBBY; PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF.”
What Donohue is referring to here is the defeat of a New York state bill that would have expanded the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse. Adults who suffered sexual abuse as children would have been given a one-year window to pursue civil cases in court.
The measure, Donohue asserted, “was a vindictive bill pushed by lawyers and activists out to rape the Catholic Church.”
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