Statute of limitations extended for abuse

adminonDecember 13, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Statute of limitations extended for abuse

Lawyer in court © Pierre-Antoine Pluquet (KNA)

Until now, anyone who was sexually abused as a child had the right to be prosecuted in New York state from the age of 23. Birthday no longer a chance for legal proceedings. This deadline has now been extended by 22 years, leading to a spectacular claim for damages.

The recently extended statute of limitations for child abuse in New York state has led to a $300 million (264 million euro) damages lawsuit. A woman, now 55, accuses a member of the Franciscan order of sexually abusing her multiple times some 40 years ago.

Did the diocese violate its duty of oversight?

As the Catholic news service CNS reported (Tuesday local time), the lawsuit is pending in New York Supreme Court. It is directed against the Diocese of Buffalo, which at the time, in the view of the plaintiff, had violated its duty of supervision.

The alleged victim, Gail Holler-Kennedy, says the religious priest, who died in 2011, molested her twice a week in an empty classroom at Cardinal O'Hara High School between 1978 and 1981.

First cases under the "Child Victims Act"

The case is among the first in New York state since the Child Victims Act went into effect on 13. February signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The law allows individuals who were victims of sexual abuse in childhood to still be eligible until they reach age 55. to file civil and criminal suits before the end of his life. So far, this was only possible until 23. Birthday possible.

According to the plaintiff's attorney, the suit was filed two days before its 55. Birthday submitted. According to court documents, Holler-Kennedy was 14 years old when the abuse began.

Around 5.500 opponents of abortion and active euthanasia rallied Saturday at the 14. Berlin "March for Life" demonstrates. In the run-up to the march, Cardinal Marx thanked the pro-lifers for their commitment.

Among the participants were Berlin's Catholic Archbishop Heiner Koch and Auxiliary Bishop Matthias Heinrich, as well as Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer. For the first time in years, a Protestant bishop, Hans-Jurgen Abromeit of Greifswald, took part in the event.

In contrast to previous years, the estimates of the number of participants by the organizers and the police coincided. The march was organized by the Bundesverband Lebensrecht, an association of 14 pro-life organizations. According to its information, the annual march is the largest nationwide demonstration for the protection of life. Once again, it was supported by 1.000 counter-demonstrators disrupted with whistles and chants.

Abromeit: "Still need completely different support systems"

At the closing service, Abromeit called for help for pregnant women in emergency situations. "An unwanted pregnancy is a litmus test on the solidarity of society," says Evangelical Lutheran bishop. The commitment to the right to life of unborn children, however, is not about coercion. German law relies on parents accepting them voluntarily.

"But we still need completely different support systems," Abromeit demanded. Fathers, parents, neighbors and employers must accept their responsibility much more intensively, "so that the women do not stand alone in the end". Auxiliary Bishop Heinrich said the march also stood up for the starving, sick and fleeing people who are denied the right to life.

Demand to maintain the ban on advertising for abortions

At the opening rally, the participants agreed with their applause to a series of demands to politicians. So they called for the legal ban on advertising for abortions to be maintained. With regard to the counseling regulation for a penalty-free abortion, they oppose "bills that legitimize abortions".

They also warned against "health insurance funding for blood tests that select unborn children". Families "who take care of children with special needs" need more help and recognition. They also say that palliative care for the terminally ill must be expanded, instead of "permitting killing agents".

Cardinal Marx: Thanks to pro-life organizations for commitment

The Catholic German Bishops' Conference backed the March for Life. The conference chairman, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, thanked the participants in a greeting for their "unwavering commitment" to the protection of human life. Abortion is "fundamentally incompatible with our system of values and law".

Freiburg Archbishop Stephan Burger called the march a sign for all people "who do not want to expose themselves to economic prere of feasibility and optimization for their lives". Limburg Bishop Georg Batzing called on participants to "continue to bring the ie of the protection of life to the public in a persistent, calm, objective and peaceful manner". Thus they would "find recognition as partners in the social discus". The Bishop of Passau, Stefan Oster, praised their "personal testimony that they are giving".

Volker Kauder: March is "both a reminder and a warning"

In a greeting read out, former Bundestag vice president Johannes Singhammer (CSU) praised the march as a "great citizens' initiative". It is not directed against pregnant women in existential distress, but stands up for life.

The CSU politician also called it a "wrong way" to abolish the ban on advertising abortions, which is enshrined in Section 219a of the penal code. What is needed is "publicity for life".

On behalf of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Volker Kauder (CDU) thanked the participants in a welcoming speech. For politicians, the march was "both a reminder and a warning to constantly question the existing protection of life and to react to new medical developments in a way that protects life and promotes life.". Kauder named blood tests to determine disabilities in embryos, as well as ies of organ donation and euthanasia.

Participants from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches

According to the organizers, last year's march had around 7.500 participants also from Protestant and Orthodox churches. Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer (Regensburg) and the auxiliary bishops Hubert Berenbrinker (Paderborn), Matthias Heinrich (Berlin) and Florian Worner (Augsburg) took part as representatives of the Catholic Church.

Several counter-meetings taking place at the same time, including those of the SPD, the Left Party and the Greens, accused the march's participants of standing up "with reactionary-conservative and anti-human demands against abortion and sexual diversity". They called for the abolition of paragraph 219a, which regulates the ban on advertising. (CBA)

Contrite: Donald Trump © Andrew Gombert

Donald Trump's misogynistic remarks have left his evangelical supporters in the U.S. scrambling for explanations. Many leaders of the Christian right defend him anyway – and are now facing headwinds.

Donald Trump has so far gone down well with devout Christians – evangelicals – in the U.S. Apparently his vulgar remarks about women, which came to light over the weekend, have not fundamentally changed that. The character of the Republican presidential candidate, for example, plays only a minor role in the view of Tony Perkins, leader of the influential "Family Research Council".

"Personally, my support for Donald Trump has never been based on shared values," Perkins stressed now. To that end, he shares concerns with Trump "on ies such as the Supreme Court being filled with justices who ignore our capture" or America's "vulnerability to Islamic terrorists".

Trump remains the better choice for many evangelicals

Compared to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Trump remains the better choice for Perkins. In return, the head of the arch-conservative family organization, which has taken up the cause of defending traditional values, generously overlooks the less than exemplary behavior of his candidate for the White House.

In the second TV duel with Hillary Clinton, Trump appeared remorseful on Sunday night (local time), but at the same time qualified his much-discussed sexist remarks, which date back to 2005, as "locker room talk".

Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, who was among Trump's earliest supporters on the Christian right, did criticize Trump's misogynistic remarks in the widely cited video as "lewd, hurtful and indefensible". Subsequently, however, Jeffress did just that. He probably would not want to see the candidate "as a Sunday school teacher". But when it comes to "family values," the pastor emphasized, "the most important ie for us is the catch-all court of law".

Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition made a similar argument. He said it is not merely a matter of character, but what the candidate stands for. "In the hierarchy of our concerns, an eleven-year-old private conversation with a talk show host on a bus trip ranks low."

Apology from Trump

Another influential evangelical, Pastor Mark Burns, argues that the Trump of 2005 is not the same person he is today. He has apologized, he says, and that should be all right. Foster Friess, a major donor to the Christian right, thinks so too, saying, "I'm not defending Trump. I forgive him. What is more fundamental about the message of Jesus??"

Southern Baptist Ethics Commission Chairman Russell Moore, on the other hand, can hardly believe how Trump's pastor friends are bending over backwards. "How unworthy is this? What a scandal in light of the message of Jesus Christ and the sincerity of our witness," Moore asks. He is joined by the president of the theological seminary of the largest single Protestant church in the U.S., Albert Mohler. "I feel humiliated by the arguments of some evangelicals. Lord, help us."

Petition of evangelical critics

While many evangelical leaders are holding Trump's ground, it remains unclear whether the faithful will follow them in doing so. Especially as there are breakaway movements within the U.S. evangelical movement from the political agenda of the Christian Right.

Within hours, a petition from evangelical critics of the presidential candidate reached out on "change.org" more than 18.000 signatures. "We, the undersigned, will never tolerate the racist, religious, and gender bigotry that Donald Trump continually and willingly foments."

The conservative Catholic advocacy group CatholicVote.org called for Trump's resignation after the video came to light. The Republican presidential candidate's statements about women were "disgusting and simply indefensible by anything," the private Catholic media network CNA/EWTN quoted from a statement distributed over the weekend by the Catholic lay organization. If Trump doesn't take the consequences himself and resign, the party will have to take action, it continued.

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