BOSTON (MA)
The Republican - MassLive [Springfield MA]
October 6, 2023
By Alvin Buyinza
A Massachusetts bill that aims to eliminate the time limit of when people can sue for sexual abuse is being met with opposition from the Archdiocese of Boston, an institution that could face numerous legal challenges if the proposed law passes.
Earlier this year, Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Essex, filed a bill to remove the Massachusetts civil statute of limitations requirement. Currently, the Bay State gives survivors up to 35 years to file a civil suit after they’ve been harmed by their abuser.
Lovely, who is a survivor of child sexual abuse, believes there can be no time limit when it comes to speaking up against sexual abuse.
“We want to make sure people have the opportunity to bring action when they are ready to do so,” she told GBH News in June.
But, the Archdiocese of Boston believes the proposal could harm the church’s ability to support survivors of sexual abuse.
“The legislative changes currently proposed and under consideration would jeopardize our ability to continue to do so and would make it difficult to sustain the many works of mercy the Church is committed to through social justice and support for the neediest,” the Archdiocese said in a statement.
It’s a claim that Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston attorney who represents survivors, said “makes no sense.”
In 2002, Garabedian won a $10 million settlement against the Archdiocese of Boston, after he represented 86 people who claimed they were abused by the late Rev. John J. Geoghan, a Catholic priest from Dorchester.
Advocates such as Garabedian have long argued there should be no time limit for when survivors should come forward, as some of them do years after the statute of limitations has expired.
When this happens, survivors are barred from entering claims of sexual abuse in civil court. The feeling of being prohibited from speaking about sexual abuse after coming forward can be “retraumatizing,” Garabedian said.
A practicing attorney for over 40 years, Garabedian said it’s not unusual for survivors to reach out to him decades after their abuse, only to follow up with him years after the initial call.
The trauma of sexual abuse, especially during childhood, often causes survivors to feel ashamed or fearful of their abuser, which can make it difficult to come forward.
“It took an enormous amount of courage to call someone who they thought would believe them,” Garabedian said. “Then it takes an enormous amount of courage to further the claim they have and to be involved in the claim.”
Massachusetts is just one of several states that have taken the first step in lifting their statute of limitations. Both Michigan and Rhode Island have issued similar bills.
As that happens, churches and other organizations that enabled or ignored cases of sexual abuse have become vulnerable to a large number of lawsuits.
Last week, the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, CNN reported. The filing was in response to a new Maryland law that lifted the statute of limitations, a move that would cause the church to hemorrhage millions of dollars in sexual abuse lawsuits.
Steve Sheehan, an advocate of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said that the church’s opposition to the bill is more rooted in its financial interests than its commitment to protecting children.
“If the statute of limitations is lifted, then more victims can come forward,” Sheehan said. “And their concern is more about the money than it is – again – about the children.”