Archbishop Chaput on the lessons of the just-finished legislative session.

Third, given the spirit of the times, another version of this ugly legislation will likely return next year. For the sake of fairness and for the safety of all children, Coloradans need to insist that any future revision of the civil statute of limitation on sexual abuse needs to equally cover all institutions — public, religious and private — with the same penalties, damages and reporting time frames. And it must not impose “retroactive liability,” which amounts to punishing innocent families and communities today for the evil actions of individuals decades in the past.

Finally, we need to keep both the victims of sexual abuse and our parishes and larger Church in our daily prayers. The 2006 Assembly session should remind all of us that the suffering involved in sexual abuse is painfully real and demands our compassion. It should also remind us that some persons would use that suffering to punish today’s Catholic community in ways that have very little to do with real justice or real healing.

We need to reach out sincerely to help victims, and we need to work earnestly to defend our Church. Both of these things serve the truth. Both of these things deserve our energy and prayer.

(The controversial House bill was defeated)