Bill Donohue has written an open letter to members of the California Assembly on the issue of sexual abuse in the schools. Hard as it is to believe, a bill passed the Senate last week that seeks to lift the statute of limitations for one year so that Catholic schools (and other private institutions) can be sued for sexual abuse that allegedly occurred decades ago, but it does not apply to the public schools.
To be specific, no one who was abused in a public school before 2009 can sue the teacher, the school, or the school district, but if someone was abused in a Catholic school when JFK was president, he can sue the teacher (if he is alive), the school, and the diocese. Similar state laws are being entertained elsewhere (e.g., New York), but conditions in the California public schools are so outrageous today that they cry out for special consideration.
Donohue ends his letter by saying, “If someone authorized the National Guard to police a low-crime neighborhood, leaving all other communities alone, we would wonder what in the world is really going on. Similarly, Catholics in California are wondering what in the world is really going on when lawmakers are giving public schools a pass at a time when those same schools are the source of most of the problems.”
To read Donohue’s letter, click here.
