• Those affected by church abuse in New York have until Aug. 14, 2021, to take legal action under the Child Victims Act look-back window.
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Catholic sex abuse victims in New York, who suffered at the hands of clergy members as children, now have additional time to seek justice for their alleged abusers.

In January 2019, the New York State Legislature passed a law extending the New York statute of limitations on sex abuse cases, NBC News reported. As a result, victims who were not able to file complaints due to statute of limitation laws are now able to come forward.

A Long Battle

The Legislature passed the new Child Victims Act (CVA) unanimously. Passage of the CVA followed years of opposition from insurance companies and other organizations, as well as the Catholic Church.  Citing fears that litigation brought by Catholic sex abuse victims could drive the Church into bankruptcy, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, had argued vociferously against the law.

Previously, the legislation had passed in the New York State Assembly by large majorities, however, the Republican-controlled state senate blocked it every time. The bill’s passage came after Democrats became the majority party and some concessions were made.

What Changes Have Been Made by New York’s Child Victims Act?

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the CVA into law on Feb. 14, 2019. The legislation increases the amount of time abuse survivors have to take legal action against pedophile priests.

Prosecutors are now able to file criminal charges until a victim is 28 years old, five years longer than before. And until age 55, victims have the right to file a civil suit against their perpetrators — laypeople or clergy. Victims can also bring civil charges against an individual congregation, diocese or members of church leadership they believe protected pedophile priests.

The CVA does not, however, allow for criminal charges to be filed retroactively, although it does make it more difficult going forward for pedophile priests and their superiors to help cover the trail.

Perhaps most importantly, the CVA includes a ‘grandfather clause’ allowing for a one-year window for victims who were unable to bring claims due to the statute of limitations having passed. This and other extensions are also granted to sexual abuse victims abused by adults outside church settings.

The act authorizes the Office of Court Administration to establish the necessary rules to process revived claims in a punctual manner. The time clock on the one-year allowance began ticking six months after the CVA was signed into law or August 14, 2019.

The Catholic Conference of the State of New York allegedly supported this law change, a shift from its previous position, according to the News and Tribune. A likely contributor to the change of heart was the public relations nightmare generated by the Grand Jury investigation of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, along with the Syracuse diocese’s recent revelations.

Pennsylvania’s grand jury report, issued in August 2018, revealed that more than 300 priests in six Keystone State dioceses had been implicated in some 1,000 reported incidents of sexual abuse. The Pennsylvania grand jury also found that Church leaders actively engaged in a campaign to conceal predatory behavior by clergy.

The Times reported in December 2018 that the Syracuse, New York diocese released a list of 57 priests “credibly accused” of sexually predatory behavior against minors. All of the priests on the list have been removed from the ministry or have died.

The Syracuse diocese’s listed spurred other dioceses to come forward with its own lists. An archbishop and seven bishops put forth that this societal evil must be stamped out wherever it exists. Indicating this in a formal statement, they also reminded the public that such injustices are not limited to just one institution but extend to a multitude.

Other Catholic Sex Abuse Cases

Allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy have spanned the world, including the Vatican itself. In December 2018, Australian prelate Cardinal George Pell, formerly a top advisor to Pope Francis, was convicted by a court in Melbourne on five counts of “historical child sexual offenses,” dating back several years.

In the wake of that conviction, the Pope dismissed another member of his Advisory Council, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz of Santiago, Chile. Although Errazuriz has not been implicated in any abuse, he is under investigation for allegedly having knowledge of abuse and failing to take action.

Then, in mid-February 2019, according to the Associated Press, the Pope took action against a former U.S. Cardinal for sexually predatory behavior. Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was found guilty of sexual abuse over several decades and defrocked by the Vatican.

This high-ranking member of U.S. Catholic leadership once served in Washington, D.C. as archbishop. He can no longer wear clerical attire, attend Mass, or participate in sacraments of any kind. McCarrick’s appeal to the Pope was denied. Questions arose as to why it took so long for the punishment to be handed down, given the knowledge among young seminarians of McCarrick’s attempts to ‘court’ them.

After the clergy sex abuse scandal spurred the Pennsylvania grand jury investigation, victims have continued to tell their stories.

In February 2019, New York’s largest diocese—Brooklyn—released a list of Catholic priests with credible sexual assault allegations against them.

What Did the Brooklyn Diocese Report Reveal?

In early 2019, the Brooklyn diocese named more than 100 New York Catholic priests who had faced credible accusations of child sexual abuse. The list includes decades of allegations in local parishes and Catholic schools.

According to the New York Times, child sex abuse advocates said the list of suspected abusers was double what they expected. New York has proposed strengthening its laws to include religious leaders among the professions legally required to report suspected cases of child abuse.

Brooklyn is one of the country’s largest Catholic diocese and includes gthe borough of Queens. Together the diocese has some 1.5 million people who identify as Catholic.

How do Accusations in Other States Compare?

Just before the report from the Brooklyn diocese, five New Jersey dioceses released a list of nearly 200 Catholic priests with credible accusations leveled against them, according to the Times.

Along with archdioceses in Los Angeles and Boston, the Brooklyn diocese’s list of credibly accused priests is one of the longest from a single diocese. By comparison, the Pennsylvania grand jury report of 300 predator priests covered allegations in six dioceses.

“It is good that Brooklyn included previously unknown abusers by putting them on this list, but it also leaves a lot to be desired,” Terry McKiernan, president of the clerical abuse tracking website BishopAccountability.org, told the Times.

One concerning factor is that in the creation of this list, the Brooklyn diocese was able to choose names and information at its own discretion, calling into question the transparency of the list.

Sister Sally Butler, a Dominican nun in Brooklyn who is a member of Catholic Whistleblowers, told the Times that the Brooklyn diocese’s list has some names she never thought would be included, surpassing her expectations. However, “there are some missing names on this list that have me wondering,” she said. “I think some people are still being protected.”

In a separate May 31, 2019, Associated Press article, it was indicated that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection saw a massive increase in allegations of clergy sexual abuse. According to the Conference’s annual report, there was a near doubling of allegations between July 2017 and June 2018, just before the Pennsylvania grand jury report further stoked the flames of controversy.

The year before, there were 762 registered allegations before jumping to 1,455. As indicated by the Associated Press, the increase is largely attributed to a victim’s compensation fund established in five dioceses in New York State.

It is expected that further compensation programs will be set up following Grand Jury reports in several other states. Just during the period reflected in this annual report, Catholic dioceses and religious orders spent $301.6 million in efforts to step up child protection, payments for legal services, and payments to victims.

Catholic Sex Abuse Victims Are Not Alone

The Roman Catholic Church is not the only religious institution with sexual predators. In 2017, The New York Jewish Week reported on sexual abuse within its orthodox community, and MormonLeaks published a document containing hundreds of confirmed cases of child sexual abuse in the LDS Church over nearly six decades.

Can I File a Catholic Priest Sex Abuse Lawsuit?

If you or someone you love has been sexually assaulted or abused by a priest or other Catholic church leader, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Remember that you are not alone, and that legal help is available to you.

Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by sexual abuse, but it can at least help to provide financial compensation. Litigation can also help hold those responsible for the abuse accountable for their actions as well as those who have helped cover up the abuse.