Catholic sexual abuse survivor: 3 actions N.J. should take immediately to keep kids safe | Opinion
New Jersey lags behind Pennsylvania, New York and many other states when it comes to helping childhood victims of sexual abuse.
Justice and fighting for what is right are in New Jersey’s DNA. During the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Trenton changed the course of the conflict, and of history.
Today, given the Vatican’s failure at its worldwide summit to take meaningful action to protect children from sexual abuse, New Jersey legislators need to step up. New Jersey can again send a message to the world: We pull out all the stops to protect our children, and no one or no institution will stop us.
The catalyst for the recent Vatican summit was the excellent work of law enforcement in Pennsylvania, where six months ago, grand jury revelations documented that the Catholic Church systematically covered up abuse of 1,000 children by 300 priests. This sent shock waves still reverberating around the nation and the world.
New Jersey has taken many positive steps since that report, but the work is incomplete as it lags behind Pennsylvania, New York and many other states.
There are three actions New Jersey should take immediately.
Empanel grand juries to investigate all institutions that aid and abet child molesters. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal has described the hotline he set up for receiving reports of abuse within the state’s Catholic Church, following the Pennsylvania grand jury report, as “ringing off the hook.” It is anticipated that the investigation into New Jersey’s Catholic Church will find even more abuse than in Pennsylvania.
As in Pennsylvania, a grand jury should investigate the Catholic Church. Other grand juries should investigate other institutions in the state with similar conduct.
Give victims more time to pursue civil remedies. In New Jersey, victims of childhood sexual abuse have less time to seek civil justice than those robbed of their possessions. Victims must file by age 20 or within two years of recovering memory of the abuse.
New York had a similar problem and fixed it. In a near-unanimous vote, legislators passed a one-year window for adults who have experienced sexual assault, but previously did not qualify to sue, to file civil lawsuits against abusers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed the measure.
New Jersey can do better. For more than 15 years, Sen. Joseph Vitale (D., Middlesex) has been pushing legislation to extend the civil statute of limitations. It would allow a two-year window for victims to seek civil justice and raise the age limit for filing a lawsuit to 55 or to within seven years of the memory no longer being repressed.
The conventional thinking in New Jersey politics is that the legislation will pass, because it is reasonable and overdue. Such thinking, though, must not lead to passivity, which could doom it.
The Catholic Church and other institutions are acting behind the scenes, hoping that pressure for the measure and outrage over recent institutional cover-ups of abuse subsides. That simply must not be allowed to happen.
With Gov. Phil Murphy and most legislators supporting the legislation, political procrastination is a cancer that must be exorcised. The Vitale measure should be passed by the Assembly and Senate and signed by the governor immediately.
Tell police where the offenders live. A list of 188 credibly accused child sexual abusers that the Catholic Church recently issued is getting much attention. The church should provide the current addresses of these offenders to the Attorney General’s Office and local police so that New Jersey’s children are protected.
The brazenness of the Catholic Church in covering up these crimes of abusive priests is staggering and has made a mockery of the letter and spirit of New Jersey’s laws protecting children. Tougher laws are necessary to help survivors heal and deter other crimes.
Today, one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before age 18. By financially constraining abusers and their enablers, New Jersey becomes a safer place.
Our children, and grandchildren, deserve nothing less.
Paul Steidler is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a Catholic priest. He grew up in New Jersey, is a Villanova University graduate, and now lives in Virginia.