The Roman Catholic Church has spent $10.6 million since 2011 on lobbying in northeastern states, where legislatures planned to extend the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases.
A new report published by two law firms that represent clergy sex abuse survivors outlines targeted, high-profile lobbying efforts funded by the church.
“The Church spent nearly $3 million on lobbying in New York, with 80 percent of that spending … going to a Church-sponsored policy arm called the Catholic Conference Policy Group, Inc.,” the report read. “Beginning in 2011, the Catholic Conference Policy Group Inc. had the sole mission of lobbying on ‘statute of limitations, legislative issues, and liability issues’.”
The New York Child Victims Act was signed into law February, extending the statute of limitations for both criminal and civil cases and giving survivors a one-year expanded window to file a lawsuit.
The bulk of these expenditures were spent in Pennsylvania, where a report released by a grand jury in August revealed the church tried to cover up the abuse of over 1,000 children. The Pennsylvania General Assembly has since introduced several bills that would eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution in sex abuse cases.
Other states targeted include Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, where the church collectively spent over $2 million.
This report comes as 39 state legislatures have introduced legislation to reform the statute of limitations in cases concerning child sex abuse.
