The Archbishop and House Bill 5473

Tag: usa

Archbishop Henry J. Mansell has written a column for The Catholic Transcript regarding House Bill 5473, which would have extended the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual assault and abuse, while it placed limits on precisely who could sue, and under what circumstances.

The bill will not be brought to a vote this legislative session, which ends Wednesday.

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In his column, after decrying "various columnists and reporters" who "have conveyed mistaken information about this," the archbishop wrote:

As I have written and stated many times, we regard sexual abuse of minors as a heinous act, a heart-sickening event, a grievous sin, and a serious crime.

We must continue our work to make sure that our efforts to prevent it continue to be effective. We will, at the same time, make every effort in good faith to assist victims in the past with all the means at our disposal.

As one of those columnists and reporters referenced, I am unclear from the column what mistaken information has been put forth by the media, as opposed to the archdiocese.

I also respectfully invite Archbishop Mansell to answer victims who've asked to meet with him, but whose requests have been ignored.

In another view of the bill, a Texas blogger says shame on the insurance lobbyists, who, along with St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, also lobbied against HB 5473. Paint this as you will, but this successful lobbying effort on the part of the archdiocese, hospital, and insurance lobbyists only served to deny victims their day in court, period.

http://blogs.courant.com/susan_campbe...-bill.html