Posted on 01/03/2020 8:31:48 PM PST by marshmallow
Rhode Island is one of seven states to have extended the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Diocese of Providence has challenged a new Rhode Island law that greatly expands the time window for filing childhood sexual abuse lawsuits.
In July, a bill was signed into law by Gov. Gina Raimondo, D extending the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases from seven to 35 years in Rhode Island. The 35-year window would commence from the victim’s 18th birthday. The law also includes a “seven year discovery” provision allowing victims to file lawsuits up to seven years after they have re-discovered childhood abuse as an adult, such as through therapy sessions.
Several months later, in September, a lawsuit was filed by Philip Edwardo against the Diocese of Providence alleging that he was abused by a diocesan priest, Father Phillip Magaldi, hundreds of times in the 1970s and 1980s.
According to the Providence Journal, lawyers for the diocese have argued that the extension of the statute of limitations is invalid as previous abuse cases had already expired under the old law.
According to state court public records, Edwardo’s complaint was filed on September 30 and a memorandum in support of motion to dismiss the case was filed on December 19. A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for April 15, 2020.
The diocese did not initially respond to CNA’s request for comment on Tuesday.
The complaint named Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, previous bishop Louis Gelineau, the diocese, and St. Anthony’s parish in Providence as defendants. Father Magaldi was pastor of St. Anthony’s at the time Edwardo said he was abused.
Father Magaldi is named on the diocese’s list of credibly accused priests; according to the diocese, he was stationed at St. Anthony’s parish.......
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
I’m ambivalent.
On the one hand, I’d like to see all predatory pervert priests get what’s coming to them.
On the other, a lot of false charges have been made in the name of “recovered memories”.
It’s very hard to defend yourself if the witnesses are dead or have disappeared into the wind. Many of the accused priests are dead as well but that doesn’t stop the greedy lawyers from piling on.
Way to go you baby raping SOBs. The catholic church will never fully cooperate with LE or AG offices and will always cover for their pedophile priests.
Much ado about nothing.
The cases still have to be proven.
IMO, extending statute of limitation is unwise.
There is simply no way to expect a jury to figure out the facts of a case after many decades have passed.
It is an open invitation for fraud by scheming individuals and their crooked lawyers.
Anyway, time wounds all heels.
How does someone defend himself against a criminal complaint that happened 35 years ago?
The Catholic Church has about 1.2 billion members. Not all of us have raped babies. Has no one in your Church ever done anything wrong?
Many won’t cooperate, many will.
I'm referring to the church hierarchy that stonewalls any investigation into their pedophile priests. Quite frankly, why anyone would remain a catholic is beyond me. My mother tried to shove that crap down our throats, but none of us bought it. When she died, catholicism in our family died. Good riddance to it is all I can say. And that happened before any awareness of all the pedophilia became common knowledge.
The hierarchy is divided on the issue and approaches.
To be honest, I’d like it if it appeared to be a great deal more divided, but there is diversity, and some have been quite responsive.
It used to be that some Bishops would be quite happy to have clerics “turned over to the secular arm” to deal with such things, and the secular arm took a rather different approach.
You might be very pleased with the manner in which the Knights Templar were suppressed.
That said, justice is a virtue—and in the end those inclined to either severity or what seems to be mercy ought to keep that in mind.
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