In an editorial published today in the NY Times, the paper endorsed Bishop Thomas Gumbleton’s plea for a one year window for those victimized by sexual predators to bring civil claims to the courts. This is an extremely important step for victims who seek healing.

A former priest was sentenced to the maximum 111 years in prison for molestation. Jurors found Paul LeBrun guilty of three counts of sexual conduct with a minor and three of child molestation. The accusations involved six boys ranging in age from 11 to 13 years old and the alleged acts occurred between 1986 and 1991 at St. John Vianney Church in Avondale, Blessed Sacrament in Tolleson, and on camping trips.
During the trial, victims described how LeBrun abused his position to win their trust, only to molest them.
A unique aspect of the trial was Judge McClennen’s decision to allow four victims from Indiana to testify to show that LeBrun had a propensity to abuse young boys.

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 75, has come forward and stated that he too was a victim of priest sexual abuse. Gumbleton has often spoke out for victims’ rights and argued that bishops should stop hiding behing their lawyers and deal pastorally with the victims. Gumbleton recently testified before the Ohio legislature arguing for a repeal of the state’s statute of limitations. As a victim, the bishop knows firsthand how difficult it is to come forward after being sexually abused. The courageous stance that Bishop Gumbleton has taken is unprecedented and should be applauded by people of all faiths. He is an example to us all.

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton has come forward to reveal that he too was a child victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest. The scandal has now victimized one of the leaders of the Catholic Church. Gumbleton, 75, has always been an outspoken voice for peace and justice issues and decided to come forward now in order to urge state legislatures and the Church itself to deal justly with victims of clergy sexual abuse. Gumbleton courageously lends his voice to the victims when some question why it has taken so long for victims to come forward and relate their tale of horror. Gumbleton knows firsthand how difficult it is for victims to speak out and has urged the Ohio legislature to repeal antiquated statutes of limitations barring victims from access to justice in the courts. He has also called on the Catholic Church to deal pastorally with victims. He criticized some of his fellow prelates for refusing to meet with victims. Unfortunately, he will probably endure the same type of response from the Church as did Thomas More and any other courageous person who has dared fight for justice. I tip my hat to Bishop Gumbleton, a man of faith and a true shepherd.

Father Richard Emerson resigned from his Michigan City parish one year after being removed by Bishop Melczek after a credible allegation of child abuse. Of course, I informed the Diocese of Gary and Bishop Melczek six months prior to Emerson’s resignation that he was abusing boys while on loan to the Diocese of Orlando. At first, no one believed my client but as the investigation continued it became clear that Emerson was not the innocent, hard working priest he claimed to be. By the way, Emerson’s whereabouts are still unknown to everyone but the Diocese of Gary who refuse to disclose where he’s located. Meanwhile, the victim waits for some pastoral response from the Diocese. I guess we shouldn’t hold our breath.

Archbishop William Levada, formerly of San Francisco and Portand Oregon, was deposed about policies and procedures in the Diocese of Portland where he was bishop from 1986-1995. Before leaving for his new post as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in August 2005, Levada was slapped with a subpoena to testify about the church abuse scandal in Portland. Levada, the highest ranking American church figure in Rome, supervises the handling of clergy involved in sexual abuse of minors.
Despite the length of the deposition, the potentially damaging nature of the questioning was dramatically reduced by Judge Elizabeth Perris who gave an order on December 30 limiting the scope of the proceeding to Levada’s knowledge of church policies and procedures involving sexual abuse claims.
Prior to being ordained a bishop, Levada had worked in the same Congregation for the present Pope Benedict XVI.

In a major victory for victims of sexual abuse, acting Governor Richard Codey has signed into law a bill that will allow sexual abuse victims to sue churches and private schools for hiring and harboring sexual predators. Prompted largely by the child sex abuse scandal in the Cahtolic Church, the bill applies across the board to private schools, churches, Scout troops, and Little Leagues. From now on sexual predators can’t be protected by antiquated charitable immunity laws in NJ. This is a cause for hope for all the victims and those who work with them.

Acting Governor Richard Codey yesterday signed into law a measure that will allow lawsuits against churches, private schools and other non-profit institutions for past negligent hirings of employees who sexually abused children. Non-profit organizations such as churches have long had ironclad immunity against such lawsuits. NJ is the 48th state in the nation to pass such a law.
This is good news for victims of sexual abuse. Sexual predators should never be shielded by the law or the community, whether that community be a school or a church. A zero tolerance stance toward such heinous crimes is the only way to protect our children and bring healing to those who’ve suffered this violation.

Many states across the country are now considering revising their statute of limitations regarding the sexual abuse of minors. The terrible scandal in the Catholic Church has given rise to more victims coming forward and revealing their tragic abuse stories. There is a growing recognition that this type of trauma runs very deep and the road to recovery takes great courage as well as many years of therapy. It is very often the case that a minor victim of sexual abuse is not able to come forward until that minor becomes a full grown adult. Unfortunately, many of those adult victims have lead and continue to lead lives that bear the scars of that trauma. In NY state, the Court of Appeals will hear arguments this week to overturn the statute of limitations in abuse cases and allow these victims to proceed in their quest for justice. Let’s hope the court does the right thing and allows the victims to heal.

The Court of Appeals, NY’s highest court, will hear arguments today for the very first time in priest abuse cases seeking to allow old claims against the church to proceed. The two cases before the court date back to the 1960’s and have been barred by the state statute of limitations. The victims will argue that church officials in the Brooklyn and Syracuse dioceses covered up the abuse and effectively prevented the victims from seeking justice in the courts before the statute of limitations expired. Of course, we now know that dioceses around the world were instructed in 1962 and again in 2001 to keep secret these abuse cases. The latest instruction came from then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who is now Pope Benedict XVI.