Tell Archbishop Dolan to Stop Obstructing Justice for Rape Victims


Tell Archbishop Dolan to Stop Obstructing Justice for Rape Victims
The Issue
Countless victims of child rape in the Catholic Church have yet to see justice done. Untold additional children could still be at risk of child rape within the Church. In Wisconsin, Archbishop Timothy Dolan successfully fought proposed legislation that would have lifted the statutes of limitations. Then, he was promoted to New York and elected President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A recent indictment against the Philadelphia Archdiocese names 37 priests that can't be prosecuted because of the statutes of limitations. Archbishop Dolan is reputed to be a behind-the-scenes dirty fighter. Laws have been proposed in, for example, New York that would lift the statutes of limitations for prosecutions of child rape, but Dolan is said to be a vicious opponent of those proposed laws. It should be lost on nobody, furthermore, that the National Organization for Marriage collaborates to some extent with Dolan. The victims and the safety of the community now require a strong and authoritative voice . . . that of the President . . . to demand of Archbishop Dolan that he stop politicking against, and start politicking for, the lifting of the statutes of limitations for prosecution of child rape. Whereas Archbishop Dolan has threatened President Obama with a "national conflict" over marriage equality, we, the signers of this petition believe that Dolan properly should be concerned with compensating the Church's child rape victims and better providing for the protection of children in the Church today. Please, President Obama, tell Archbishop Dolan that you expect him to behave responsibly towards child rape victims.

The Issue
Countless victims of child rape in the Catholic Church have yet to see justice done. Untold additional children could still be at risk of child rape within the Church. In Wisconsin, Archbishop Timothy Dolan successfully fought proposed legislation that would have lifted the statutes of limitations. Then, he was promoted to New York and elected President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A recent indictment against the Philadelphia Archdiocese names 37 priests that can't be prosecuted because of the statutes of limitations. Archbishop Dolan is reputed to be a behind-the-scenes dirty fighter. Laws have been proposed in, for example, New York that would lift the statutes of limitations for prosecutions of child rape, but Dolan is said to be a vicious opponent of those proposed laws. It should be lost on nobody, furthermore, that the National Organization for Marriage collaborates to some extent with Dolan. The victims and the safety of the community now require a strong and authoritative voice . . . that of the President . . . to demand of Archbishop Dolan that he stop politicking against, and start politicking for, the lifting of the statutes of limitations for prosecution of child rape. Whereas Archbishop Dolan has threatened President Obama with a "national conflict" over marriage equality, we, the signers of this petition believe that Dolan properly should be concerned with compensating the Church's child rape victims and better providing for the protection of children in the Church today. Please, President Obama, tell Archbishop Dolan that you expect him to behave responsibly towards child rape victims.

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Petition created on September 24, 2011