The Georgia legislature recently passed a bill, the Hidden Predator Act, that would lift the statute of limitations for two years on civil suits filed against alleged sexual abusers. It is rightly being opposed by the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations. The bill still has to be signed by the governor of Georgia.
As Catholics have seen over and over again, when state legislatures suspend the statute of limitations, they almost never apply to the public schools, even though that is where most of the molestation occurs. Georgia is no different. So we know what the agenda is.
One of the Georgia lawmakers who favors the bill is State Representative Jason Spencer. But he is not content to voice support for it—he has waged a bigoted anti-Catholic campaign against the Atlanta archdiocese. Recently, he repeatedly branded the archdiocese a “pro-child predator special interest group” that is part of the “child sexual predator lobby.”
Rep. Spencer is a Republican conservative pro-life legislator who belongs to a Christian interdenominational church. But his Christian affiliation obviously does not stop him from promoting anti-Catholicism.
Rep. Spencer should apologize to Catholics. He should also be sanctioned by his colleagues for his bigoted remarks. Accordingly, the Catholic League contacted Spiro Amburn, Chief of Staff for House Speaker David Ralston and asked for Speaker Ralston’s leadership on this matter. The League encouraged all Catholics to do the same.
