January 30, 2018 11:58 AM UTC

Bad Optics: Catholic Church Fights Child Abuse Reporting Bill

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• by: Colorado Pols

Denver7’s Robert Garrison reports on a bill in the Colorado legislature in response to a recent case of sexual abuse by a teacher in a Colorado middle school–a bill taking fire from an organization with a decidedly troubled past on the issue of child sexual abuse, the Catholic Church:

Legislation that would reform a mandatory system of reporting child abuse in Colorado is not getting support from the Catholic Church.

Senate Bill 18-058 would extend the statute of limitations in cases where a person is required by law to report child abuse but fails to do so.

Currently, the statute of limitations for failing to report child abuse or neglect in Colorado is 18 months, which could result in dropped charges in the recent indictment against three Cherry Creek school leaders accused of hiding allegations made by a specific student in 2013…

However, the lobbying arm for the three Catholic Dioceses in Colorado argues the bill goes too far…[their] statement stops short of detailing how the bill would impact the church, which has been rocked by a decades-long child sex assault scandal. And in some cases, clergy members have been accused of not reporting suspected child abuse.

One the one hand, the Catholic Church has been wrestling with the problem of sexual predators in the ranks of the priesthood for many decades, and can be taken at its word today far more than in previous years that they’re committed to putting a stop to it.

On the other hand, the church has actively covered up the abuse of children by not all, but some clergy for much of that time–going back perhaps literal centuries. The Catholic Church opposing legislation to extend mandatory reporting limitations in abuse cases could therefore be cast in a profoundly negative light.

With this in mind, we would have suggested more subtle lobbying by the church! But it’s a bit late for that now.