Archbishop Chaput: Bad public policy & bad law

...the evidence now clearly shows that public institutions, including public schools, are among the most common environments for sexual abuse of minors by adults. But under Colorado law, the financial and legal liability for sexual abuse in public schools is drastically reduced. Since two-thirds of children from practicing Catholic families in Colorado attend public schools, this should gravely concern the whole Catholic community.


In January, legislators offered three bills to the Colorado General Assembly that would extend or eliminate the statute of limitations for allowing lawsuits in the sexual abuse of minors. But every one of these bills — House Bill 1088, House Bill 1090 and especially Senate Bill 143 — ignores the serious problem of sexual abuse in public schools and other public institutions, and focuses instead on religious and private organizations. In other words, some Colorado legislators seem determined to be harsh when it comes to Catholic and other private institutions, and much softer when it comes to their own public institutions, including public schools. And it will be families, including Catholic families, who suffer.

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