The sexual abuse lobby, comprised of professional victims’ advocates, descended on Albany, the New York capital, on May 3-4. But we beat them to the punch on May 2 with a full-page ad in the Albany Times-Union, exposing their agenda.
They came from several states, all seeking to convince lawmakers that they need to lift the statute of limitations on crimes involving the sexual abuse of minors. Their real goal, as any honest person will tell you, is to stick it to the Catholic Church.
Bill Donohue wrote the ad (see pp. 4-5), and it sure had an effect: he was attacked by those whom he targeted, as well as their surrogates. Most important, it set them back on their heels, taking away their offensive strategy. It was fun watching them play defense, something they are unaccustomed to doing.
The ad drew attention to the real problem that exists today, namely public school employees who molest students with impunity. It also provided evidence that this ceased to be a problem for the Catholic Church a long time ago, yet the drumbeat of propaganda continues.
It should be noted that the New York State bishops are not opposed to revisions in the law that are fair. But if proposals do not apply equally to both the private and the public sectors, that is unfair.
They also oppose revisions that would allow for a “look back” period, where claims of wrongdoing extending back decades can be given a hearing. We know what that is all about—there is no army of lawyers ready to jump on any institution other than the Catholic Church.
We didn’t settle for an ad: we continued for the next two days with news releases demanding that the public schools not get a pass from any proposed legislation. Lawmakers such as Margaret Markey are out to get the Church, which is why they don’t target the public schools. It is so obvious what their agenda is.
We also took on Bishop-Accountability, SNAP, Call to Action, and Catholic Whistle-blowers, a motley crew of embittered ex-Catholics, some of whom have been formally excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
We titled our statement, “Catholic Bashers Storm Albany,” thus alerting lawmakers not to give them a nanosecond to espouse their hateful agenda. If the public knew more about these rogues, more would be on our side. That is what we try to do: we seek to educate, offering data, not mere opinion.
Fortunately, we are well positioned to get the word out. We will continue to use the microphone to our advantage, anywhere in the nation.
