The statute of limitations is the name given to any part of the law that imposes a time limit on the filing of a legal claim. A statute of limitations is intended to protect the interests of all parties by guaranteeing that legal questions are addressed in a timely and fair manner. There are two types: criminal, which deals with the prosecution of an individual for a crime, and civil, which deals with lawsuits for money damages. The legislation with which the Church is concerned this year has to do with the civil statute of limitations – that is, with time limits on suits seeking money damages.

There is no time limit on the prosecution of felonies in Maryland. A person who commits child abuse, or any other felony, in this state can be prosecuted until the day he dies. Maryland is one of only seven states that do not have a statute of limitations on felonies.

The civil statute of limitations – in which money damages are sought – is different. A civil child abuse suit against an individual or private or non‐profit institution may be filed at any time between the claimed occurrence of abuse and the claimant’s 25th birthday, or seven years after the legal age of adulthood. There is no limit on the amount of damages that may be recovered. Even if the time limit for a civil suit has expired, an individual can still be criminally prosecuted and, if convicted, jailed for the crime of child abuse.

Yes. Government agencies, including public schools, are afforded many more protections against civil suits than private institutions. A civil action brought against most public employees or government agencies are subject to much shorter time deadlines (often just six months) and strict limits on the amount of damages that may be recovered.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has long been committed to the treatment and healing of those who have been harmed through abuse. We apologize, offer immediate assistance and pay for counseling, therapy and other assistance not only for victims, but in many cases even for their families. We do this right away and for as long as it is helpful. We do this regardless of the age of the incident and even though there is no legal obligation to do so. We have done this for many years not because a law told us to, but because, as people of faith concerned for the well‐being of others, we believe it is the right thing to do. We provide this support regardless of lawsuits and regardless of statutes of limitations. We have paid $1.5 million in victim counseling and other therapeutic assistance, and additionally more than $5 million in direct payments to victims/survivors has been made. The Archdiocese of Baltimore continues to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to protect children.

Legislation in the 2008 General Assembly session, House Bill 858, would retroactively suspend for nearly two years the statute of limitations for civil child sexual abuse cases. That means that a nearly two‐year window would be created during which time a person who claims he or she was sexually abused as a child has the opportunity to file a civil suit not only against the alleged attacker but also against his/her employer, regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.

This would leave the Church vulnerable to lawsuits from decades‐old claims, including claims involving clergy who are now deceased. In California, where similar legislation passed in 2002, half of the lawsuits filed against the Diocese of San Diego involved priests who are dead, and some lawsuits involved allegations of abuse in the 1940s. This proposed window would NOT alter the existing special time deadlines and damages caps that apply to government entities.

The Church supports providing treatment for victims, holding abusers accountable, and efforts to protect children. The Church opposes the extension or removal of the civil statute of limitations for child abuse cases and/or the creation of a “window” during which decades‐old claims can be filed. There are three main reasons for the Church’s opposition:

HB 858, the bill to suspend/extend the civil statute of limitations, contains no child protection measures. It has no provisions to increase awareness of child abuse, or to promote counseling, or to toughen criminal penalties, or to mandate background checks for employees and volunteers. In fact, the legislation would undermine current child protection laws and policies that properly encourage the immediate reporting of child abuse.

Furthermore, no one who is actually guilty of child abuse would be punished. The litigation which would arise from this bill’s passage would focus on the institutional Church. Allegations of abuse stretch back decades, to a time long before the current bishops, priests, and lay leaders began their service. Many alleged abusers are dead. Yet the Church of today will be forced to pay potentially enormous sums of money.

The dramatic impact of the legislation soon to be considered in Annapolis – like bills that have been before the General Assembly in four of the past five years and similar bills that have been filed in states throughout the country – is focused on private institutions. The legislation does not alter the existing special time deadlines and damages caps that apply to government entities.

While the sins committed by small numbers of priests are heinous and have caused grievous harm, the truth is that most child abuse is not committed by clergy. More than 90 percent of child abuse occurs in the home, and an extensive study conducted by the Associated Press in 2007 revealed that 2,570 public school educators were sanctioned over a five year period following allegations of sexual misconduct, with young people being victimized in at least 1,801 of the cases. Yet in the effort to suspend the civil statute of limitations in Maryland, testimony has targeted the Church, with many witnesses claiming to have been victimized not in Maryland, but other states. Similar efforts have been made in other states across the country with support from many trial lawyers who stand to secure a large percentage of money damages should their work be successful. No other organization, institution or public entity has been so targeted, here or elsewhere.

Statutes of limitation were crafted to protect the interest of all parties and to help guarantee that legal matters are resolved in a timely and fair fashion. Statutes of limitation ensure that witnesses are available, memories are fresh and documents are intact. Statutes of limitations apply to nearly every type of legal claim, and the time limits that exist in the law are relied on by people and groups in our nation of laws to plan their affairs. The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, has recognized the important policies behind statutes of limitations and has previously ruled that it is unconstitutional to retroactively revive a lawsuit that had been barred by limitations, which is what the legislation in question proposes to do.

Yes, it definitely will! If this bill becomes law, it is not the guilty who will pay. The innocent will instead. The dioceses in Maryland and their parishes would be the subject of many decades‐old suits that could cost the Church enormous sums of money.

The Catholic Church is the largest private provider of social services in the State of Maryland. Its schools educate more than 60,000 students, including many who are low‐income, minorities, or not Catholic. Its hospitals and clinics provide medical services to the poor and uninsured. Its outreach programs assist the homeless, the unemployed, immigrants and pregnant women.

In the wake of similar legislation enacted several years ago in California, claims against the Church already total nearly $1.8 billion. Five dioceses have filed for bankruptcy and countless good works of the Church have been hurt or altogether abandoned. There is no reason to believe that the Maryland legislation, if approved, will not have a similarly devastating impact on the services and programs of the Church in our state.