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	Panel Backs Giving Sex Abuse Victims Chance to Sue By Colleen Slevin The Associated Press, carreid in CBS 4 February 13, 2006 http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_044210827.html (AP) DENVER After hearing from people who said they were abused by Roman Catholic priests as children, a Senate committee on Monday backed giving such victims two years to file lawsuits against their abusers and the church. The church opposes the proposal because the measure (Senate Bill 143) would only relax the statute of limitations for two years in cases involving private institutions. The Colorado Catholic Conference, which represents the dioceses of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, says lawmakers are ignoring abuse that has occurred in public schools and other government institutions. Sex abuse victims said that the change is needed to both help them come to terms with their abuse and to make the names of clergy they believe could still be molesting children public. They say the church shouldn't be protected by the statute of limitations because the priests worked to make them afraid to speak up about the abuse and their superiors covered up their crimes by shuffling them from parish to parish. Martin Murphy, 63, is the eldest of three brothers from Colorado Springs who say they were abused by the same priest, Rev. Leonard Abercrombie, during the 1950s at Camp Saint Malo. "I couldn't talk to anyone, not even my beloved parents. I want to say thank you for unlocking this door," Murphy told the panel. John Patrick Michael Murphy said he didn't tell his wife about the abuse until once in his 30s after he had been drinking and it wasn't until his 40s when he finally sought the help of a psychologist. Martin Nussbaum, a lawyer for the Colorado Catholic Conference, called on lawmakers to "join hands" with the conference and look at how to address sexual abuse against children by all different perpetrators. When asked whether the church would support the bill if public institutions were added, he said he would have to consult his client. Some members of a victims' group sitting behind him threw up their hands and others laughed. Later, Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the church wasn't taking responsibility for past abuse and called its response to the bill "shameful." "You have a higher calling than this. You all should be out in front of this bill," he said. Nussbaum cited a study by Hofstra University professor Carol Shakeshaft which estimated that 6.7 percent of public school students were subjected to physical sexual misconduct and that 9.7 percent are abused if verbal and exposure to pornography is included. Based on those figures, Nussbaum estimated that 56,000 students in Colorado are being abused, four times the number enrolled in Catholic schools. Shakeshaft's study was conducted for the U.S. Department of Education. Some educators objected to the findings because sexual misconduct included sexual abuse along with other behaviors, such as inappropriate jokes. Some educators have taken issue with the way the report combines sexual abuse with other behaviors, such as inappropriate jokes, in one broad category of sexual misconduct. Nussbaum said he had sent out requests for public records on sexual abuse to 30 agencies, including 20 school districts, and had only received one response -- from the agency that oversees teacher licenses. He said that 85 teachers had lost their license after being convicted of sexual misconduct. A second bill being considered in the House would do away with the statute of limitations for all cases after July 1, 1996, allowing alleged abusers to be both criminally prosecuted and sued. A third that deals with procedures for sexual predators also eliminates the statute of limitations for some sex crimes. Sponsor Rep. Gwen Green, D-Golden, said that part will likely be amended Tuesday to include both private and public schools. Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee which will hear that bill, said it's not fair to compare private institutions to public schools because if public school teachers are convicted of abuse they're barred from teaching at other schools. "We're going to see if people put their money where their mouth is," Carroll said. In a letter read at Masses last weekend, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput urged Catholics to lobby against the three bills in their current form, saying that the public schools and other public institutions are among the most common places where children are abused. He said the proposed changes were "unfair, unequal and prejudicial in the legal and financial liability they place on Catholics, because Catholics make up a disproportionate share of Colorado non-profit organizations and institutions, and legislators know it."
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