BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News
March 20, 2018, updated March 21, 2018
By Tom Precious
Albany – The spiritual leader of millions of Catholics in New York was at the Capitol Tuesday lobbying against a push to give a one-year window for alleged child abuse victims to sue for damages dating back decades.
“Look-back would be toxic for us,’’ Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said of a one-year litigation period being pushed by child victim organizations and many state lawmakers.
Dolan, who is also leader of the New York State Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm of the state’s bishops, said the church is supportive of “very vigorous” changes to statute of limitations that would increase the age for victims to file civil and criminal actions.
But the church, along with organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, has said a one-year look-back period would open the floodgates to litigation against organizations that could have to defend themselves in cases involving alleged abusers who have been dead or retired for years or decades. Victims groups dismiss the church’s concerns, saying other states that have created windows for litigation have seen no such floodgates open in their civil courts.
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