The Playbook: Statutes of Limitations

The Catholic church has a go-to playbook to avoid liability

in child sex abuse cases. Last time, we talked to Jeff Anderson and Mike

Finnegan, attorneys from Jeff

Anderson & Associates who represent victims of childhood sexual crimes,

about how the Catholic church utilizes bankruptcy to avoid helping victims.

This time, we speak with them again to discuss one other way the Church has

historically escaped liability—by abusing statutes of limitations.

Statutes of limitations are time limits that legal claims

must be filed during in order to become viable cases. They can differ from

state to state. Statutes of limitations make sense in most personal injury

cases, but for cases involving child sex abuse, a deadline of a couple of years

is simply not enough time for many victims to come forward—especially when the

crime is committed by someone the child thinks they can trust, like a member of

the clergy. The Catholic church has been known to groom or coerce victims into

silence until the statute passes, escaping liability completely.