Long Island bishop claims proposed bill penalizes 'only the Catholic church'

Jamie Manson
National Catholic Reporter
November 4, 2014

Bishop William Murphy of the diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., has written a letter to Catholics on Long Island advising them that a proposed bill in the New York State Assembly, called The Child Victims Act, "seeks to penalize only the Catholic Church for past crimes of child sex abuse must also be recognized for what it is."

Murphy's letter, which was sent to all pastors in the diocese of Rockville Centre last week and reprinted in many parish bulletins over the weekend, was intended to advise Catholics on today's elections. Even though the bill is not on the ballot, Murphy used the letter as an opportunity to condemn proposed law (a condemnation he has offered regularly since 2009).

The Child Victims Act (which is also known as the "Markey Bill" because it is sponsored by State Assemblyperson Margaret Markey) would serve to protect children by removing the statute of limitations for crimes of sexual abuse of children and minors. It would also open a one-year period for victims previously shut out by New York's outdated statutes of limitations to bring forth charges in civil court.

Murphy, who called the bill an "annual threat," seems to believe that sexual abuse in the Catholic church has been "effectively and permanently ... remedied," writing in the letter:

Those who support [the bill] should be opposed by those of us who know how effectively and permanently the Church has remedied that horrific scourge of the last decade.

Murphy's statement raised the ire of the Catholic Coalition of Conscience, a group representing Call To Action Metro NY, Call to Action Upstate NY, and Voice of the Faithful, New York, among others, who today released a press statement clarifying the bill's provisions:

The Markey bill does not cover only Catholic institutions. In fact, it covers ALL private institutions -- prep schools, sports clubs, youth clubs, private daycare and early childhood centers, churches of all denominations, synagogues, mosques, AND, very importantly, sexual abuse crimes committed against children in a home setting. In addition, the Markey bill would open a door for judges to have more flexibility in dealing with sexual abuse crimes committed on public facilities. The bill is NOT targeting Catholic institutions; there is no mention of Catholic in the bill. The coalition's press release also highlights Murphy's role in sex abuse cover-ups during his tenure under Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law.

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Bishop Murphy is no stranger to controversy. Before coming to Long Island, Bishop Murphy was second in command at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Boston which was led by Cardinal Law. He denied accusations that he helped to protect abusive priests while in that position. However, Murphy's denials contradicted a July 2010 report by the Massachusetts Attorney General that stated that Murphy "placed a higher priority on preventing scandal and providing support to alleged abusers than on protecting children from sexual abuse." The report also stated: "There is overwhelming evidence that for many years Cardinal Law and his senior managers had direct, actual knowledge that substantial numbers of children in the Archdiocese had been sexually abused by substantial numbers of priests. Any claim by the Cardinal or the Archdiocese's senior managers that they did not know about the abuse suffered by, or the continuing threat to, children in the Archdiocese is simply not credible."

BishopAccountability.org, a non-profit project that tracks sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, says Murphy is a "key figure in the sexual abuse crisis, both because of his earlier role in the Boston archdiocese and because of conditions in Rockville Centre.