The Minnesota Child Victims Act is now a year old and has two more years to go. The Minneapolis Tribune took time for the anniversary to look at how it is going. The story was interesting for its overview, but there are areas that are worth looking at a little closer.
It will be interesting to look back when the cases are all done and to see if even the old law would have provided for these cases. An argument has always existed that fraud stayed the statute of limitation. That while the church has made self-serving statements such as:
The archdiocese, which opposed opening the statute of limitations, still believes time limits “are an important part of ensuring that the civil justice system remains fair to all parties,” Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens said in a written statement.
“We accept and embrace responsibility when we have made mistakes, and will continue to work with courts, victims and attorneys to pursue justice for all parties during this three-year period,” Cozzens said.
Many of the 40,000 documents that have been disclosed suggest otherwise. That it wasn’t a fair system where the church decided what to disclose and when to act. That there were active plans to hide and transfer. That they had no interest in doing anything but protecting the church.
Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.
