Opinion Piece: Stop protecting predators with the passage of S.B. 29

Letter to the editor, published in The News Journal, May 14, 2007

The recent full page ad condemning S.B. 29’s attempt to protect children from sexual abuse says a lot. In fact it obscures the simple truth: Children have not been protected from sexual abuse because of the two-year statute of limitations.

The ad makes it seem that most sexual abuse is done by Catholic priests. In fact, priests account for single digit percentages of abuse. Most abuse is actually done by family members.

News reports about dioceses filing for bankruptcy makes it appear that churches, hospitals and schools will have to be closed. Filing for bankruptcy is simply a legal strategy to delay court proceedings.

The Catholic Church is well insured and the church owns enormous amounts of commercial real estate.

So let’s not miss the point: pass S.B. 29 to protect the children and not the predators.

William J. Heaney, Wilmington