The Child Victims Act, a bill that would have loosened restrictions on lawsuits involving the sexual abuse of children, has been withdrawn from consideration in the New York State Assembly. In previous years (2006, 2007, 2008) it passed in the Assembly by wide margins but was blocked by the Republican-controlled State Senate. This year though, the Republicans lost control of the Senate and, faced with the real possibility that the bill could pass there, two dozen non-chordate Democratic Assemblymen who had formerly backed it, withdrew their support. The bill, sponsored by Margaret M. Markey (D, Queens), was then yanked from the calendar by the Assembly leadership.Assemblyman Charles D. Levine, a Long Island Democrat whose district includes mainly Italian-American and Hispanic voters, said, "When it was never going to fly anyway, there was a tendency for many of us who are concerned about victims’ rights to symbolically support legislation like this." Faced with pressure from a letter-writing campaign initiated by the local Catholic Church hierarchy, he withdrew that support.
Support in the Senate has also wavered after two democrats defected to the Republican party. This caused Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate Jr (D, Brooklyn), once a co-sponsor of the bill, to say, “If it’s going to be a one-house bill anyway, why make people take the heat?”
The "heat" was turned up in large part, by pressure from the Catholic Church, a relentless campaigner against this legislation. “We believe this bill is designed to bankrupt the Catholic Church,” said Dennis Poust, spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference, a group representing the bishops of the state’s eight dioceses. Cardinals and bishops have visited Albany on several occasions to lobby against it and a statewide network of Catholic parishioners have bombarded law-makers with letters and emails. Allied with the Church in the campaign against the Child Victim Act, are small, disparate groups including leaders of Hasidic and Sephardic Jewish institutions in Brooklyn who also fear costly child sex-abuse lawsuits.
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1) Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio actively lobbied against the bill (Adams, NY Daily News)
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Comments
For those who don't know, "non-chordate" means "spineless".
Would they be willing to trade off on, let's say, the DEATH PENALTY for child molesters?
Interesting option Jim; choose between bishops or buck$... I wonder if anyone's ever asked them?
A woman who is an ex- Catholic regularly attends my non denominational Christian church on Sunday. Today she told me that last week she attended mass in Pompano Beach Florida and the priest told the congregation that the Catholic church has a "zero tolerance policy" for sexual abuse. Does this look like "zero tolerance" to you? Kurt Gladsky, Founder: Christian Brothers Sexual Abuse Survivors Network
A woman who is an ex- Catholic regularly attends my non denominational Christian church on Sunday. Today she told me that last week she attended mass in Pompano Beach Florida and the priest told the congregation that the Catholic church has a "zero tolerance policy" for sexual abuse. Does this look like "zero tolerance" to you? Kurt Gladsky, Founder: Christian Brothers Sexual Abuse Survivors Network
Since when is protecting children from sexual predators considered a liberal Democrat issue? Like Republicans automatically side with the corporate church?
Just Goes To Show Who REALLY Owns New York.
It's easy to call this admission of guilt, self interest, and hypocrisy.
But if you really think about it, it is actually admission of guilt, self interest, and hypocrisy.
It doesn't surprise in the least. What is frustrating is that the Catholic parishoners are still taken in by it. How can we infuse critical thinking into the minds of this flock of sheep?
it seems to me that the greatest "social work" the catholic church can do with it's zillions of dollars is to compensate victims of its systemic abuse by priests
If they had paid the victims the amount used to lobby against paying the victims and the amount used to cover and whitewash and traffick perp priests to other states and countries they might have earned some respect..
now they have lost all moral and ethical authority and are the laughing stock of the world..
It is unfortunate this legislation did not pass. We have information on clergy abuse and ritual abuse crimes at
ritualabuse.us
I will be happy when every catholic school is finally shut down. How stupid can people be to allow their children to be in contact with these monsters? Screw them all.
SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPREME COURT SPECIAL GRAND JURY
Convened - May 6,02 and thereafter extended to February www.co.suffolk.ny.us/da/press/pdf/DRVC%20GRAND%20JURY%20REPORT.pdf
"Diocese of Rockville Centre (N.Y.) Investigation"
"In recent days it’s been widely reported in the media that the Suffolk County District Attorney's office is investigating whether the Diocese of Rockville Centre has covered up repeated cases of sexual abuse and reassigned accused priests to other parishes within or outside the diocese."
"From what I have seen thus far, I am not at all satisfied with the credibility of public assertions of the Church that it is properly policing its clergy. For these reasons I have requested from New York State Office of Court Administration an order authorizing the empanelling of a "Special Grand Jury" to further the investigation of these allegations.""That request has been granted and the order has been signed."- Suff. Cnty. Dist.Atty. Tom Spota
Excerpts from- Diocese of Rockville Centre Grand Jury Investigation
"The evidence before the Grand Jury "clearly demonstrates" that Diocesan officials agreed to engage in conduct that resulted in the prevention, hindrance and delay in the discovery of criminal conduct by priests. They conceived and agreed to a plan using deception and intimidation to prevent victims from seeking legal solutions to their problems."- Pg.173 SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPREME COURT SPECIAL GRAND JURY
"The Grand Jury has examined many instances of criminal sexual abuse by priests incardinated and/or working in the Diocese of Rockville Centre." Pg.4 SCGJR
"Abusive priests were transferred from parish to parish and between Dioceses."-Pg.106 SCGJR
"Victims were deceived; priests who were civil attorneys portrayed themselves as interested in the concerns of victims and pretended to be acting for their benefit while they acted only to protect the Diocese.-Pg.106
SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPREME COURT SPECIAL GRAND JURY
Convened - May 6,02 and thereafter extended to February28,03 www.co.suffolk.ny.us/da/press/pdf/DRVC%20GRAND%20JURY%20REPORT.pdf
"Diocese of Rockville Centre(N.Y.)Grand Jury Investigation"
"Aggressive legal strategies were employed to defeat and discourage lawsuits even though Diocesan officials knew they were meritorious."-Pg.106
"Victims were deceived; priests who were civil attorneys portrayed themselves as interested in the concerns of victims and pretended to be acting for their benefit while they acted only to protect the Diocese."-Pg.106
"Abusive priests were protected under the guise of confidentiality; their histories mired in secrecy."-Pg.106
"These themes framed a system that left thousands of children in the Diocese exposed to predatory, serial, child molesters working as priests."-Pg.106
"two dozen non-chordate Democratic Assemblymen who had formerly backed it, withdrew their support."
A group of approx.8 "Chordate" Victims of the "Diocese of Rockville Centre" (N.Y.)summoned the Courage and Strength to visit N.Y.Lawmakers in Albany on a weekly basis from Jan.'09 to the end of June'09.
They represented those Victims who were "Shamed into Silence" and lived a life of "TORMENTED SILENCE".
They brought and shared "The Facts", "The Truth" and "Their Stories of Childhood Horror Wrought by Men of God".
The Catholic Church's Bishops went to Albany too!, They brought with them an arsenal of "Lies", "Propaganda" "Busses of Misguided Sheep" and loads of "Parishoners Donations" to hire 3 "High Powered Lobbying Firms" to "Battle the Church's OWN Victims of Child Sexual Abuse".
Wasn't there a Man(a Real Man) who uttered the words..."as you do onto others, you do onto me." I also recall, coming from the altar, something about a "MillStone".
Woe onto the Bishops&Pope
SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPREME COURT SPECIAL GRAND JURY
www.co.suffolk.ny.us/da/press/pdf/DRVC%20GRAND%20JURY%20REPORT.pdf
"Diocese of Rockville Centre (N.Y.) Investigation"
Excerpt from- Diocese of Rockville Centre Grand Jury Investigation....
"The evidence before the Grand Jury "clearly demonstrates" that Diocesan officials agreed to engage in conduct that resulted in the prevention, hindrance and delay in the discovery of criminal conduct by priests. They conceived and agreed to a plan using deception and intimidation to prevent victims from seeking legal solutions to their problems."- Pg.173
Does ANYTHING More Need to be Said???
Damn Right There Is!!!!!!!!
Does anyone see something wrong with non-chordate Men wearing dresses and chasing after little boys????
And women taking on the names of men...Sister Michael, Sister Joseph, Sister Anthony etc. as they beat the living crap out of those little boys that were just Sexually Abused by those men.
Hi, There's Something Wrong Here. The problem lies with non-CELIBATE men in dresses chasing after little boys and non-CHORDATE legislators who cave to pressure from self-interested dioceses and parishioners too brain-washed to understand that "suffer the little children to come unto me" doesn't mean it's ok that some little children suffer as a byproduct of the process.
This church, which tolerates the rape of male children by its priests, is the same church which speaks out incessantly and loudly against equal rights for homosexuals.
Funny thing about that. Jesus had a lot to say about hypocrisy. But He had nothing to say in any of the four gospels about homosexuality.
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