SNAP charges that Catholic lobbyists threatened lawmaker
May 07, 2010
Victims' rights advocates in Wisconsin have charged that lobbyists for the Catholic Church threatened that a state senator would be denied Communion if he supported a bill to extend the statute of limitations for sex-abuse cases. The legislator said the charge was "categorically untrue."
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) circulated an email message from a former lawmaker who claimed that Senator Jim Sullivan feared he would be barred from Communion if he backed the legislation. "I really object to the characterization," Sullivan said. He continued:
“This was a bill that was focused almost entirely on opening up a raft of new lawsuits specifically against the Catholic Church. I thought it was inequitable."
SNAP was disappointed that state legislators failed to vote on the proposed bill. The group held a press conference outside Sullivan's parish church, charging that Catholic lobbyists were exerting pressure on lawmakers to scuttle the bill.
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Further information:
- Lawmaker Denies Pressure from Catholic Church to Oppose Bill (WHBL)
- Did Catholic lobbyists play hardball? (Milwaukee Newsbuzz)
- Group Says Democrats Abandoned Clergy Abuse Victims (WUVM)
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Posted by: Thomas429 -
May. 08, 2010 7:55 PM ET USA
Has anyone heard the term "ex-post facto"? I know that abuse occurred. But, I am equally sure that there have been a lot of false charges. Extending what already seems a long statute of limitation is not a good answer.
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Posted by: TheJournalist64 -
May. 07, 2010 9:24 PM ET USA
SNAP is not a victims' rights organization. It is a shill organization for plaintiffs' lawyers and an anti-Catholic group that preaches enmity, not reconciliation.
