Springfield, Ill., Dec 3, 2003 / 22:00 pm
The Catholic Church in Illinois, which includes the Archdiocese of Chicago, is challenging a new state law that grants more time for lawsuits to be filed over sexual abuse cases, stating that the new law bears “no rhyme or reason.”
The law was signed this summer, after the yearlong sex-abuse scandal in the U.S. Church, at the urging of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and others. These groups said abuse victims need more time to understand what had happened to them and decide whether to sue. The new law is currently at issue in three abuse lawsuits.
According to Catholic officials, quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times, there is no conflict between combating sexual abuse within the Church and making a legal argument.
''I think we're going to assert our right to defend our position in a court of law,'' said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois.